TUCSON, Ariz. — This summer Good Morning Tucson is bringing back our series from last year, "One Tank Trips," taking you to fund places across Southern Arizona, on a lot less than one tank of gas.
Claire Graham headed to the west side of town to visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Even though she's been many times before, she learned -- the fun way -- there's always something new to see.
Once you make the drive through Saguaro National Park, you'll find a hidden gem in Tucson.
"We are more than just a natural history museum. We are a botanical gardens. We're a zoo and aquarium, and we're also an art institute and gallery," said Marketing and Media Manager Tianna Holder. She played our tour guide for the day, outlining the animals we should look forward to.
"Furry ones are fan favorites, obviously. Ocelot, mountain lion, bobcat. I love our deer. The javelina are super cute and fun. But I also love seeing our snakes," Holder said. "We offer an accessible way to experience and see the Sonoran Desert alive. Of course, when you're hiking, you probably don't want to run into a mountain lion, so you can safely see one here. You don't have be scared that a Gila monster might get you or you'll get stung by a scorpion."
Our first stop was in the reptile room, seeing the snakes and lizards, and of course, hitting the black light button to see all the scorpions light up.
"So you can come here and you can learn why these things that some people think are creepy crawlies are actually beautiful and necessary," Holder explained.
From the reptiles, just follow the path to make your own adventure. One pro-tip, whenever you see a volunteer docent, stop and listen to what they have to say, and take a second to learn something. And of course, don't forget to pause for the view.
As you approach the cave, let your eyes adjust. You'll notice it gets a lot cooler right outside and into the cave, because of the water and the darkness. Inside, there's a little space for kids and kids-at-heart to climb through, and once you get to the opening, try on the bat ears! They really do change the way the world sounds around you.
Then there's a history of the universe, a collection of rocks and minerals fromt he region, a rock quarry where you can mine for shiny things, and even a chance to dig for dinosaur bones.
Then, you'll hit the big animals.
One of the stars you'll run into is Cruz, the rescued mountain lion. He's almost always on his favorite rock, lounging around like a giant house cat. Next door, if you're lucky enough, you might run into the ever-elusive, Strawberry the bear. Claire Graham has been visiting the Desert Museum for 25 years, and had never seen Strawberry before this One Tank Trip visit. She thinks your best bet, is to head out early in the day.
From Strawberry, you'll move onto some owls, the wolves, and deer, before you head out on the Desert Loop Trail to see the javelinas. When the Desert Museum has coyotes, that's where you'll find them too.
When you get hot, bring your kids into the Packrat Playhouse. The are picnic tables inside, vending machines, clean bathrooms, and sunscreen dispensers! You'll give your kids some time to unwind, climb on the play structures, and crawl around inside.
Once you head back out, you'll find several iguanas that aren't in enclosed habitats, leading you to Cat Canyon, with gray fox, the ocelot, coatis and the bobcat.
From there, head through the gardens, stop by the aviaries, and make sure you go feed the stingrays. Yes -- stingrays in the desert may sound weird -- but they're native to the Sonoran Desert in parts of Mexico.
You can also grab a snack or lunch at the restaurants, before you visit the hummingbirds, and don't forget to hit up the aquarium and gift shop on your way out.
In all, set aside maybe three to four hours if you want to see everything, whether it's early in the morning or on a Saturday night this summer, when they're open until 10pm for Cool Summer Nights.
"It's absolutely beautiful," Holder explained. "And our guests don't often get to be on grounds during sunset, so I think that's one of the most magical parts of Cool Summer Nights."
Each Saturday, Cool Summer Nights will have a different theme, like on August 9th -- the Singing with Saguaros night -- when the Desert Museum Family Band will be performing.
From the KGUN 9 studios on the east side of town, it was a 21 mile drive to the Desert Museum. Depending on your gas mileage, that should really only be about a gallon of gas, so it should only cost you a few bucks to get there.
Once you arrive, it's about $30 for general admission. Kids 3 to 12 years old are about $20, and kids 2 and under get in free. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is currently open from 7:30 am - 4:00 pm Monday through Sunday through September, and from 7:30 am - 10:00 pm on Saturdays through August.
