Mad Dogs and......

We shipped-out of one our best stopovers "The Holiday Inn Express", Scottsdale, having told anyone who would listen just how much we enjoyed our stay there.

At 8:30 am it was already warm and promising to get a lot hotter! We took the Interstate South towards Tucson and after sixty miles exited onto a traffic-free highway system, soon arriving at the "Saguaro National Park". The scenic desert 'Loop' drive here is rich with the ominous Saguaro cactus and is awesome.

Its little wonder why the Native Americans have such respect for the desert and this cactus in particular. They believe that the desert speaks to them through the ordinary things with which they interact in their daily life, and that Saguaro cacti embody the spirits of humans. By now the temperature was around one-hundred degrees as we set off for the nearby Desert Zoo, another beautiful spot that every passing visitor should take time-out to see.....the aviary and gardens are tremendous! Then it was off again, this time for Tucson Old Town......a cool film set originally built in the 1930's as the location for some of the most famous Western movies ever made (including "The Three Amigos"!). It was also the location for TV series such as "Little House on the Prairie" and "High Chaparral".

Its a fun place to visit, but time spent outside when the temperature hits one-hundred and ten is testing! So after chatting with a Cowboy who moved her (from Wigan!) aged ten, it was time to find our hotel.

We were in luck....its a very nice 'DoubleTree'! As for music......well we heard quite a bit of this track earlier today!