Monday, April 15, 2013

What is Colossal to You?

 


Colossal...extremely large! Today for us it was the view...









miles and miles of beautiful desert view! My idea of the perfect place for lunch. Of course, no lunch in the desert is without entertainment...colossal fun to watch!
A tiny Harris' antelope squirrel...

...and his much bigger cousin, a rock squirrel.

            
A curve billed thrasher ( I think...help Judy!)...
...caught in flight...huge for me!



But colossal...finally a picture of a Gambel's Quail. Do you know how fast they are?  They are beautiful! This is the male. He has copper feathers on top of his head, a black face and white stripes above his eyes. Still hoping for a better shot of the top knot.



 

 And yes, a tour in a colossal cave. Actually, it was quite neat. It is a guided tour that takes about 45 minutes. The temperature inside averages 70 degrees.




 Colossal Cave was used from 900 to 1450 by the Hohokam, Sabaipuri, and Apache Indians. It was rediscovered in 1879 by Solomon Lick. He was searching for cattle when he discovered the entrance.
 Since then, it has been the object of interest by people ranging from train robbers to a President of the University of AZ .


The first tours were taken in 1923 with ropes and lanterns and lasted 2 days! Today, thanks to the CCC the cave has walkways and lighting.
 
It has been a nice day for the Taylors. Hope your day was too!
 

 
We were treated to a fireworks show a few nights ago...not sure where they came from. It wasn't colossal, but always a thrill to see them. Thanks for visiting today.
 
Y'all come back!
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7 comments:

  1. TexCynApril 15, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    Haha, I used the word colossal on my post today too! In my case, not blowing my RV's electrical system was colossal -- but your's is much, much more interesting! The new lens is working very well for you!

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  2. RuthApril 15, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    Jack still loves those balls eh?? He really is a little spitfire!!!

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  3. UnknownApril 15, 2013 at 8:51 PM

    Colossal at the moment to us is this forest and all the trees, leaves, and campsites to keep clean. :) But we love it.
    Jack reminds me so much of our Herbie. He was killed on 9/11/01
    Yes the day the tours were bombed. A very sad and heart wrenching story. We still miss him dearly every day.

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  4. our awesome travelsApril 16, 2013 at 5:54 AM

    Just absolutely love the desert views! Great pictures again today.

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  5. Jim and SandieApril 16, 2013 at 7:40 AM

    The cave is on my list for when we visit Tucson for more than a day or two. Love your desert pictures. And those quail are so funny to watch. But they definitely move fast.

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  6. John and Pam WrightApril 16, 2013 at 9:47 AM

    Love those beautiful lunch views! Great photos!

    Neat cave! It doesn't appear to be a living cave??!! But any cave is great fun!

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  7. Big EZ TravelsApril 16, 2013 at 1:26 PM

    I never tire of bird photos and always feel happy for the person who sighted the bird and got the shot. That Gambel's Quail is something else. He seems as proud as a peacock strutting around with that top knot. The cave is really beautiful too, but my cave phobia would probably keep me from going in it.

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