Saw two full rainbows over the Santa Catalina Mts. a few days ago.  HUGE storm!  Today (August 31) we also had some major thunderstorms in the Aravaipa, Oracle, and Catalina area. 

Check out the rainbow:

View of the double rainbow:


And a SUPER adorable photo of Ms. Extreme Cuteness herself - SHADY LADY (and her not so attractive Mom looking a little wind blown by the storm breeze    LOL!)

Last night huge thunderstorms with lots of lightening and major rains hit the Tucson area.  The next day, I took a very early morning hike in Catalina State Park and rediscovered the wonder of the Sonoran Desert after a good rain.  I really missed this and am glad to be back hiking in the desert again.


Mud puddles obscured the beginning of the trail.


First wash on the trail is FULL of water - YEE HAW!


Here is the first wash; I am in the water taking the photo looking south...


Blue flower along the trail...there were many of these gorgeous beauties.


Saguaros silhouetted against the receding storm from the night before...


Datura flower; this plant is extremely toxic and also hallucinogenic.  Don't try it;
it is poisonous enough to end one's life...


Second water crossing... looking back after I hiked across the wash.


Busy ants; the thunderstorm creates work for them (sort of like some people create more work for you  LOL!!)


Cluster of blue flowers....

 
Santa Catalina Mt top - close-up with saguaro in the foreground....storm clouds receding in the background...early morning....


Another beautiful flower in much abundance this morning...


No, it's not a forest, it is the Sonoran Desert after a good rain... one of the most beautiful places on earth...


Hiking in the last water crossing at Sutherland wash...


AND - guess what???  The San Pedro River AND Aravaipa Creek had an abundance of flowing water... something to be very grateful for... I am most fortunate to reside here.   Aravaipa Creek is shown below:



I am grateful for big thunderstorms and the Sonoran Desert and all its creatures and plants     Hope you have a nice weekend.  Thanks for continuing to follow my blog.  I will try to post more frequently. 



 

I traveled to Montana in the last week to visit my friend, Jackie, who has been taking care of Shady Lady (my dog) since I have been in China.  Jackie planned an incredible vacation, including cooking me several gourmet meals !!!!  It is wonderful to have Shady back

We also took a road trip up the Seely-Swan Valley and around Flathead Lake. We had picnics and took walks in state parks along the way.  We also visited the National Bison Range (web site:  http://www.fws.gov/bisonrange/nbr/ 

On our last road trip day, we visited the ghost town of Garnet (web site: http://www.garnetghosttown.net/  )

Below are some photos taken during our road trip.  I am SO HAPPY to be with Shady again (she may be less happy, however, as she misses her 'boyfriend' - Tandy, Jackie's short haired miniature dachshund). 

MANY thanks to my fantastic friend, Jackie, for a wonderful vacation and for taking care of Shady Lady!  To my Montana friends and family who I was unable to visit, thanks for understanding. 

Shady and I at Garnet, Montana



Shady on Flathead Lake


Shady and I hiking on the Bitterroot Trail in the National Bison Range


The Mission Mts - probably the most beautiful we saw on this trip.

I am now back in the USA!  It is fantastic to return to the Sonoran Desert and my friends.  Went for a hike this morning at 5:30 AM - saw a red tailed hawk, many quail, and heard nothing but birds and insects.  Incredible   

I will be posting occasionally now that I am back in the USA.  Visit about every 2 weeks for photos, updates, and more.

Thanks for following my China Adventures....

As promised, night photos of Dalian, Liaoning Province, China are posted below:




Light show on the sides of two Dalian skyscrapers...


More of the light show...


New skyscrapers in Dalian...


Light rail line at night...


Night light rail train...

On June 20, my friend Shuyin (her English name is Becky; she was introduced in the 4 April 2011 blog entry about the shopping trip to Zhong Jie Street) invited me to go to Dalian with her.  Dalian is located at the end of the Liaodong Peninsula, surrounded by the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea.  A 4 hour train ride from Shenyang will take you to this beautiful and clean ocean city. 
http://www.cnnshenyang.com/near/show.asp?nearID=159

Upon arrival, Shuyin and I took a taxi to her university (she graduated on June 24 and will be attending Hong Kong University this fall - way to go, Shuyin!!!      She dropped off her suitcase and then we checked into a small, clean hotel near the beach.  Then, being hungry, we devoured a huge lunch at a hot pot restaurant (wish they had these in the USA).  After lunch, we took a LONG walk to check out the beaches and the city (photos below).

Not being very hungry at supper time, we decided to have fruit and went to a local chain restaurant called "Kiss Mango."  I also wished these were in the USA!  Delicious - I ordered mango and pomelo with lots of mango juice and a small scoop of mango ice cream (see photo below).  Since it was a clear night (it had rained earlier in the day), we walked back to the hotel and took photos along the way.  I believe we spent about 5 hours total walking that day!

We stayed overnight in Dalian, then went to the government square the next day.  I will be posting night photos of Dalian and of the government square in a future blog entry.


Shuyin and I on the rocky beach in Dalian.


This was different ...



View from one of the beaches....


Beach bridge...


Seaside ponies...


Lighthouse in Dalian...


More beach... 


Bridge near the sea...


Very striking horse in the park near the ocean...



Park by the ocean; note the steep hills in the background ...

.
A brick circle park just beyond the green park ...



Delicious mango and pomelo supper... YUM!! 
Food is my favorite

More photos from the Dalian trip will be posted in my next blog entry.

After a wonderful vegetarian lunch near the Buddhist Temple, Andy, Stream and I decided to visit one of the large tea markets.  Shenyang has at least two tea markets:
large, 3-4 story buildings containing hundreds of tea shops.  Green tea, puer tea, black teas, flower teas, and herbal teas from many famous Chinese tea regions can be tasted and purchased at these markets.  It is heaven on earth for a tea aficionado! 

I bought some green tea, jasmine green, black tea, and green puer tea (most of it
for gifts; a few for me to take back to enjoy once I return to the USA).  Below are some photos taken outside the tea market and in the tea shops.


Huge tea fountain outside the tea market.  I wish it was full of green tea!


Stream and I in a tea shop with the husband/wife team who are the owners.  This tea shop specializes in puer tea.  We tried both black and green puer tea and I bought a big "cake" of green puer.  It was fantastic!  You can see the 'cakes' of puer wrapped in brown paper lining the shelves of this shop.


Andy and I trying jasmine green tea with the tea shop owner; we also bought tea at this shop, which specialized in flower and herbal teas.


Qilin statue located outside the entrance to the tea market.  Of course I had to
get a photo with it

Once again, thank you for your interest in my blog!!!

On Sunday, June 19, I visited the CienTemple with my friends, Andy and Stream (both are PhD students at the Shenyang Institute for Automation), who have been wonderful tour guides and teachers about Chinese history and culture.  If you have been following my blog you know that over the past 5 months, we have become good friends and that we do a lot of fun thing together when we have time.

The temple we visited, Cien Temple, is one of the largest Buddhist Temples in northeast China. China is an atheist country, however, those citizens who are not atheist are allowed to practice their religion in designated places, such as the Cien Temple. Religion is a private matter here.  Here is a web site about the Temple:
http://www.cnnshenyang.com/scenery/Show.asp?SceneryID=159


Tying a ribbon on a tree outside the temple.  This is a way to respect the Buddhist teachings and wish for peace and harmony in the world.  I hope it works


Detail of a phoenix carving; this is on one of the temple buildings.


Detail of a Qilin carving; a Qilin (pronounced Chee-lynn) has the body of a deer and the head of a dragon. They are a strong but peaceful mythical animals and are my favorite Chinese mythical animal (of course, because they stand for PEACE  


Drum tower near the Cien Temple entrance.


Lion statue inside the Cien Temple.


One of the interior Cien Temple walls...


Monks' quarters and gardens.


Cat in a CD/music store just outside the temple.  The store sold Buddhist recordings and this cat was clearly the queen of the shop.  She loved all the attention!


Cute typical Chinese dog outside a shop near the Buddhist Temple.

Thanks for your continued interest in my blog

Good news! Not all train rides are horrific in China
I took a train from Shenyang to Dalian, and another one back to Shenyang from Dalian, this week.  The train, while full, had seats for everyone and was not smokey.  In fact, it was pretty clean and quiet and pleasant!

Yes, I DO realize there are different classes of trains in China, however, what I have found is that the class designations are not necessarily comparable.  A "K" train on one line may be crowded, smokey, dirty, and unpleasant; while a "K" train on a different line may be clean, full but not crowded, and not smokey.  From talking with my Chinese  friends, where the train is going is a better determiner of the train's conditions, in most cases.  The new high speed trains, of course, are an excellent mode of transportation.

Just wanted to give an update since I have had more experiences and have done some "research" about train rides by consulting local people who have lived here their whole lives.  I will still be apprehensive about train travel, however, and will ask a Chinese friend for help the next time I book tickets.

On Thursday, June 16, Joan and I left on an early train for Heichang, China (yes, the train trip was typical and not pleasant).  From Heicheng, we then took a bus to Xiuyan, China.  The bus trip was excellent, with good views of the countryside and no smoking allowed.  The road was very rough in places, being under construction, which allowed us to move more slowly to see the towns/villages.

We arrived, after 4 hours of travel, in Xiuyan, China, a little-known town almost due south of Shenyang (try MapQuesting it   and went to a hotel to check in.  Joan had been here about 2 weeks ago and had stayed in this hotel.  Our goal for the trip was to visit a jade market here.  After getting settled, we walked down the street in search of lunch and were directed to a small, cleaner restaurant by a local lady.  She was eager to help us and welcome us to her town.  Surprisingly, she proclaimed she "Believed in God" and showed us her cross necklace.  "God Bless You!"  she smiled and waved to us as she headed back to work.  Very friendly person!

I was not very hungry, but did eat some rice (delicious, with toasted egg and a few veggies; it was NOT fried) and a little of the cold dish (cucumbers and peanuts in a soy/vinegar sauce) we ordered.  Interesting options, such as silk worm pupas, silk worm larva, and fat juicy green caterpillars, were displayed, but we passed

After lunch, we went to the jade market, which was busy and full of many beautiful pieces of jade, jade jewerly, jade carvings, etc.  We spent about 2 hours then, then retired to our hotel for a much needed nap.  Weather was a little hot and very humid (did I mention I dislike humidity intensely?  That happens when one grows up in a humid climate, I guess!).

Once the sun went down, the air temperature cooled down and became very pleasant.  Foreigners are a RARE sight in this town, so we felt a little like celebrities with many people staring at us and/or wanting their photo taken with us. Of course, we obliged, but  I would not want to be famous!  Eventually, we escaped the attention and found a delicious restaurant, which cooked meat and vegetables over hot coals, and had a relaxing dinner.  The day ended with perusing a street market.

The next morning, we took a bus back to Heicheng, then another (awful) train ride back to Shenyang.  Again, except for the train travel, it was a fantastic trip.  Photos are below.


Here is our taxi from the train station to the hotel; I bet this guy's legs are in incredible shape!!


Jade Market Entrance (white building with the flags on top).


Inside, looking down on the jade market...


Lunch option, but we passed....


Tastier food option for supper - roasted veggies and meat...


Waiting for the veggies and meat to roast; Joan at the supper restaurant.

Thank you for your continued interest in this blog!