The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a living museum located in the saguaro-filled outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.

The mission of the museum “is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.”

There is something for everyone, be it educational, inspirational or interactive. They also offer a number of events each month like plant sales, pancake breakfasts and a festival of flight. There is quality dining on the premises.

The Desert Museum is just a few minutes from another Tucson treasure, Old Tucson Studios. If you make the drive via Gates Pass (roughly 30 minutes from downtown Tucson), make sure to allow for a sunset viewing along one of the many designated parking areas in the hills between the museum and the city — that will put everything in perspective.

This post is part of the UpTake Monday Museums & Monuments Series.

Photos: DrStarbuck (quail) and contemplicity (bobcat) via Flickr

Sure, anyone can avoid Phoenix by honoring any number of current boycotts placed upon the city, but politics is a constant storm and those winds tend to wax and wane. The haboob, however, sneaks up on you.

A haboob is a huge dust storm that looks like the gates of hell have been blown off the hinges (hence the heat) and is a fairly common occurrence in the desert areas of the Middle East. And now, apparently the American southwest. The Heritage and Science Park may have more info — if not, they will at least put a roof over you. Dust storms are really dirty.

Granted, many publications claim that such things have been a regular fixture of wind and weather forever, but I spent 28 years in Arizona and never saw more than the occasional dust devil. When I think of an Arizona summer storm I think of a monsoon. Now there’s a reason to visit.

This post is a Wordless Wednesday entry with some words blown in like so much dust.

Photo: Ms. Phoenix via Flickr

House on the Rock in Wisconsin.

Sometimes vacationers want to visit an attraction just to be able to say that they’ve been there. Some destinations are whimsical, silly, or downright odd. Others are firmly tied to the nostalgia and history of the area in which they reside. Here’s a list of the top ten(*) “novelty” destinations to visit in the United States. Consider checking them out if you’re ever in the area!

10 -The House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Unruly architecture that engages all of the senses, complete with exhibits, gardens, and displays that flow into one another with no rhyme or reason. Schedule at least three hours to do the self-tour, because the more you look the more you’ll see.

9 – The Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. This is the Mecca for corn enthusiasts (if there is such a thing). There is an annual festival, murals made of corn that are eaten by the local birds and replaced annually, and decor consisting of over 275,000 ears of corn. The Mitchell Corn Palace is home to area stage shows and sporting events with a year-round calendar of events.

8 – The World’s Largest Yard Sale headquartered in Jamestown, Tennessee. Also known as the “127 Corridor Sale”, this yard sale extends 675 miles from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama. The Sale always starts on the first Thursday in August and continues through the following Sunday.

7 – America’s Stonehenge in North Salem, New Hampshire. No one knows who built the ceremonial chambers, walls, and meeting places of this 4,000 year old complex. Oddly enough, the location also boasts a growing herd of privately owned Alpacas. Visit Stonehenge, buy an Alpaca. Makes perfect sense to me!

6 – Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho. The inn… is shaped like a dog. A beagle, to be exact. It’s a full-service bed-and-breakfast, and pets are welcome (of course). And if you’re a fan of chainsaw art, this place will supply you with more wooden dogs than you can shake a stick at (har).

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A US Airways Boeing 737-300

I’ve had an iffy relationship with US Airways over the past few years. It all started back in 2007. I was sick with the flu and we were traveling home to Arizona from our vacation in Maine. I’m pretty sure there are no direct flights to and from Maine and Arizona. We always end up in a hub in either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. We were delayed in leaving Maine (weather issues) and so landed in Philadelphia too late to catch our connecting flight. Unfortunately, it was the last flight headed to Arizona for the night, and the next one wasn’t until the next morning. Because US Airways holds no responsibility for scheduling issues due to weather, we were not provided any sort of recompense or accommodations for the night. In fact, we got no sympathy whatsoever from the US Airways employees, who seemed in quite a hurry to end their workdays and abandon us to the rapidly-emptying terminal.

We were stuck in the terminal all night long. With the glaring lights and the unnaturally loud television and it was freezing cold and did I mention that I had the flu?

I bundled up in a couple of sweatshirts and huddled under the paper-thin airplane blanket that an employee thoughtfully gave me. We tried as best we could to get some sleep and I was getting sicker by the minute. When we finally boarded the plane at 7:00 the next morning (all the way in the back, no reclining seats), the airplane seat seemed almost comfortable in comparison to the benches in the airport. I vowed never to fly US Airways again.

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