Stage outside St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson, Arizona
It was very foggy when we awoke this morning, but by about 9 am it had cleared so that we could see the mountains to the west. We drove to downtown Tucson and walked around the historical presidio area. We planned to go to the historical museum, but when we got there found that it was closed on Mondays. Then we walked to the art museum, where we discovered the same thing! Fortunately the church of St. Augustine was open, so we were able to go inside it, as well as walk around the grounds.
After we’d gone as far south as the Barrio Histórico District and seen some of the old adobe buildings there, we walked back to where we’d started, and toured a number of artisan shops.
Tucson botanical gardens
By now it was almost noon, so on a whim we searched the GPS for botanical gardens, and found that the Tucson Botanical Gardens were not too far away. We drove there, and went in, where we ate our lunch. Then we toured the butterfly greenhouse where they display many gorgeous tropical butterflies. It was extremely hot and humid, so much so that our glasses and camera lenses fogged up badly. After a while they cleared, and we enjoyed both the butterflies and the orchids in the greenhouse.
When we went back outside we walked through displays of a number of cacti and succulents from around the world. They also have a section devoted to local Sonoran and Chihuahuan Desert plants. We were back to our trailer by about 3 pm, and since it was such a nice afternoon we sat outside and read until suppertime.