We enjoyed the beauty of the desert this morning. It was quiet and still with the occasional sounds of doves. We were also entertained by quail and bunnies scurrying thru our campsite. Last night the coyotes put on quite the concert, howling to each other. It’s early in the season so there are some flowers still in bloom. Just love the sights and sounds of the desert.
One of our rules of the road is to take two lane highways or back roads whenever possible. This usually takes a bit more time, but the journey is worth it. Today this took us well off the beaten path. Once we crossed over the Colorado River most of our scenery consisted of blooming Saguaro cacti with a backdrop of jagged mountains.
Our big outing for the day was visiting the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. We spent almost 4 hours here! It was amazing, if not overwhelming. There are over 10,000 instruments displayed. It is very cleverly divided into different regions of the world, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Caribbean, The Oceanas, etc. I believe almost every country of the world is represented!!
We were given headsets and as you walk up to the flat screen display, the headset automatically begins playing a selection of music. There was every single kind of instrument you can imagine and then some. Nose flutes? Who knew.
Because music and dance are so closely intertwined many of the displays also showcased elaborate costumes. I think this was one of my favorite features.
There were also rooms that had the music divided by genres, such as jazz, folk, country, and other obscure categories I had never heard and instruments we had never seen before. So fun to hear what they sounded like filmed in their native environment.
We really enjoyed the experimentation room where we got to play all kinds of instruments. We beat on drums, strummed exotic harps, banged gongs, and tested out the ethereal theremin (as featured in The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations).
We spent so long at the museum we pulled into our campground at dusk. We are camped at the base of Picacho Peak. Here’s a shot of our site this evening looking out over the valley. A nice quiet ending to a music filled day.
