Phoenix

Every year I attend a work conference and try to take someone with me. The past two years, due to government shut downs and budget talks, I haven't been able to go at all.  So this year, I made it and took my mom.  It was in Phoenix, Arizona.
It is very flat and dry there..a stark contrast to Virginia.

 We had big plans to go up in a hot air balloon over the Sonora desert.  But the winds had different plans, so this is as close as we go to the basket.  I'm all for safety and if they didn't want to go up ..neither did I, but that didn't make it any less disappointing. 

 One day we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens..a lot of cacti and succulents.

 But leave it to me to stalk the hummingbirds again. It was a little cooler (70s) the days we were there so i only saw one variety.

 The cacti were immense and we learned a lot about their structure and how they live..very neat.

 

 Then we went to a landmark called "hole in the rock" which..well..is a hole in a rock that overlooks Phoenix.
This is the climb tot it

 And what it looks like from the front

 Once you get up there, it is really a neat vantage point.

 And the view was quite amazing

 a selfie. ;-)

 Then we went to the Phoenix zoo. I was probably too excited to ride the camel. Since the day was overcast, the zoo was not crowded. So we were able to spend a lot of time at each exhibit

 They even had a walk in enclosure with monkeys with no glass or bars between you.  IT was neat and of course you couldn't touch them.

Then we spent a lot of time watching a newborn baby Orangutan who was super cute and acted just like a human baby.

 

 I didn't have my camera set correctly and it was through glass so these aren't great. I should have gotten a video.

 Overall, it was a fun trip.  We ate really well, walked a lot and saw the city.  Oh yeah, and I worked some too.