The rain continued today in Phoenix and surrounds. Downtown Phoenix got slightly over 1 inch of rain--a record, since they average 8 inches per year, but where we were the rates went from 2- 2.5 inches of rain, more records. We even had snow! Part of Scottsdale had large amounts of snow and just a bit north in Flagstaff they are snowed in. Not what we were expecting.
Because of the weather, we decided to limit our outdoor activities. We started off in Scottsdale going to Butterfly Wonderland.
The opening 3D video Flight of the Butterflies was worth the price of admittance. It was very well done, and it was a new experience for Chris having never seen a 3D movie before--she is hooked.
From there we went into the chyrsalis viewing area where many butterflies were emerging.
Then we went into the conservatory, which is supposedly the largest in the country. The cool weather had the butterflies hunkering down and not flying a great deal. While the building is heated, I guess they can't heat it enough, because it was even cool for us non-butterflies. We did see butterflies,
but very few flying, and some doing their best to get warm.
An added bonus was that in addition to the butterflies and tropical plants in the conservatory, they had a glass flower display. We saw some beautiful glass flowers.
This facility also had a nice display of rain forest reptiles and an insect collection.
After our educational foray, we went in search of art. As many of you know, I love quirky art and try to bring something back from each trip. We found several local artist coops in neighboring communities and decided to go see. Our first stop was a bit north of Scottsdale in Fountain Hills. As we were driving into this community I started noticing white stuff--snow on the rooftops, and some cars were covered. It was also 39 degrees! They had the road closed to the store we were heading for a weekend arts and crafts fair. There were tents set up as far as the eye could see in every direction and enough port-a-potties to host thousands.
Needless to say, it was a slim crowd with the rainy, cold weather. We did find our gallery and found some neat art, but shipping was not a viable option and we couldn't get it home. We did walk the arts and craft show for a bit, but it was COLD. We headed back to Scottsdale for a lunch at a local favorite eatery - De Falco's. Our half sandwiches were huge, but quite tasty.
After getting a little fortification, we once again braced the weather and went to old Scottsdale and the myriad of galleries and shops there. Rain kicked in pretty hard, so we finally called it quits and headed back to the hotel. The sun did make an appearance for about 5 minutes a couple of times. We debated about getting back out because it looked like the rain was over, but it started back up. We have plenty to eat from all our journies, so we are staying in tonight. We have had a couple of rainbows, and it looks like it might be over now, but it is still cold.
It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but still cool, but we are heading back home in early afternoon. Hope the storms in Arkansas are long gone by the time we journey home. It has been a great trip in spite of the weather and we have done a lot. Good first official trip of retirement--with hopefully many more to come.