It rained in Yuma

Tuesday, 24 July 2007

For the first time in 3 months, it rained in Yuma for about half an hour this morning! I wished it was raining dogs and cats. A friend said it only rained once during the past 6 months. It was then at night and it was only a few minutes of drizzle. This morning was a little more than a drizzle and after that, the weather felt like back in Malaysia. It was not hot and not cold. I liked it. Someone said he didn't like it because it was humid.

Lake Havasu City - London Bridge

Friday, 20 July 2007

I remembered visiting London bridge when I was in London in 1994 and when Mike said we were visiting London bridge in Lake Havasu City I thought he was joking. There is indeed a London bridge in the state of Arizona, US. What I didn't know is their histories.

Visibly from the area, you can see the flags of USA, UK and the state of Arizona, flying next to each other


I am in the City of London!



The pigeons are visiting as well, but on the left side only


I guess to bright or too hot for them since the sun is setting on the right side


Near the bridge - stalls


Dixie Belle, the paddlewheel boat that cruise on the Lake Havasu.


And the other boats

Containers, Mountains

Friday, 20 July 2007

Container after container passing. A regular sight when travelling between cities. I have been trying to get a picture of it. Either they are too far or I was too slow with my camera.




I think the mountains are beautiful. Someone has climbed the highest mountain in this picture. There is a USA flag at the peak, which I can't capture with my camera :)


This is actually a resort area. There are houses at the foot of the mountains ahead of us. The Colorado river is on the left side of the highway in this picture.


I thought we would be driving back this highway again tomorrow and I would be able to take a picture of the beautiful scenery and the activities on the river. But the GPS had a shorter route for us from Needles to Yuma.

Today we were stopping overnight at Lake Lavasu City.

What amazed me is the difference between the barren mountain and the green green field.

Red Lobster for Friday the 13th

Friday, 13 July 2007

It was a lucky Friday the 13th for Mike. There wasn't a single lobster in the tank when we last visited the Red Lobster seafood restaurant in May but tonight there were plenty!

Michael gets to eat what he loves (forgets about the chloresterol content), as a celebration of his retirement from the government service.

I ordered for baked fish instead as I was too health conscious of lobster having the highest level of chloresterol among all the shell fish. I had a few bites of the lobster meat and it was good!

Tucson - Reid Park Zoo

Wednesday, 4 July 2007

There were not too many people in the zoo even though it was a public holiday. I am glad Michael and me got to spend some time there. We happened to be there in the middle of the day but that was okay because most of the paths were shaded by trees here and there.

We would probably have taken clearer and better pictures of the animals if they were not resting and hiding themselves from the sun. Anyway, here are some of the pictures that I think are worth sharing.

There were 2 areas to walk. This was the entrance to the animals of South America.



The following pictures are some of the animals that I managed to take pictures of:

Spectacled Bear (Andean Bear) - I wondered why they are called "Spectacled"


This squirrel appeared in my path and it was not bothered a single bit as I moved nearer and took pictures of it!

Can you see the Darwin's Rhea (Pterocnemia pennata) resting between the trees?

And the blacked colored Jaguar (Panthera onca) resting on the top of the rock?

Didn't see any sign board to the following area, but I knew from the tour map that we were visiting the animals of Asia.

There were 2 tigers (Panthera tigris). One was resting in a pool while this one walked in circle in the cage.


Children cooling themselves in the "Kenya Get Wet" area.

Do you know which one is the African elephant and which one is the Asian elephant? I was told their ears are different.


It was interesting watching this giraffe eating the hay. The giraffes were labelled as "The Tall Truth"

Can you see the 2 different sized animals?
The 2 White Rhinoceros (square-lipped rhinoceros)(Ceratotherium simum) were resting together while the Speke's Gazelle (Gazella spekei) walking.

This was the longest stop. I could just stand there watching 1 of the 2 Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) swimming, how it swam to one end of pool and did a somersault turn like a freestyle swimmer in a competition! I would have love to feel the thick white/cream fur if there wasn't any glass panel between us. They were swimming next to the glass panel!

I learnt something today, a female peafowl is called a Peahen. This one is white in colour.

A male peafowl is called a Peacock. I had this impression that a peacock is a female because it has a beautiful tail. Like some other animal species, the male uses its beauty to attract the female! Actually during the walk I saw a peacock showing off his tail feathers!

Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)

Last but not least, the Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) sitting.

Michael said the Phoenix zoo is much bigger. I hope we get to visit that in the near future. I just love watching the animals and their behaviours.

Tucson - Quality Inn

Thursday, 5 July 2007

I am so glad we checked out today! I think I am going to get sick if I stay in the hotel room for another day. I was getting bored and I was really feeling sick! We thought we would only be staying there on Sunday and Monday nights but turned out that we had to stay on Tuesday and Wednesday nights as well!

I was so glad when the eye surgeon said Michael could go for the rest of the week, after she examined him this morning. Mike had to see them on Independence Day as well.

Sunday, 1 July 2007

Nice hotel provided by Veteran Affairs hospital for Michael. He was scheduled for his right eye cataract operation tomorrow morning.

One of the blocks of rooms


A wooden stagecoach in display outside the compound.


Also displayed was a wooden buckboard.


and a wooden water trough and well pump handle


A common sight in Arizona - Cactus - round type,


and tall type

Let's Wear Thai

Sunday, 1 July 2007

I told Sister Su that I would wear the Thai skirt that she gave me last Thursday, to church today.

I would like to have a picture taken with her, for rememberance. And that I would like her to wear her traditional Thai clothes too. So here we are!