Town Lake Cruise

With beautiful Fall weather in the air, Marilyn and I decided to take an evening cruise on Tempe Town Lake. We packed up some wine and trail mix and drove to the dock. Being successful at smuggling our party supplies on board, we pulled away from the dock and headed for open seas/lake/river.


Under the Mill Avenue Bridge








Evening turned to night and lights illuminated the city around us.













We shut off the motor, cracked open the wine, and life was good.



Dusk over Tempe








We passed under many bridges and count ourselves lucky that no one dropped a rock or spit on us.


A familiar face in the darkness

One of the things to avoid hitting









The boats are electric and sponsored by local utility company. One of the valley's finest companies to be sure. Being electric, they don't travel too fast which is good because when it gets dark you can't see where you're going. Maybe that's why we were the only boat on the lake.

Lions & Tigers & Bears, oh my!

For our anniversary this year we decided to visit Arizona's own African animal kingdom, "Out of Africa". Romantic - no, something we wanted to do - yes. Admission got us wristbands and tickets for the Serengeti safari. The safari vehicle was a converted school bus with all the windows removed. It meanders over a crude road through the "Serengeti". The highlight of the safari is the giraffe. The driver had handed out carrot sticks from a five-gallon paint bucket to all the passengers for the express purpose of feeding the giraffe. At the first stop, the giraffe ambled over, poked its head through the window, and was met with hands full of carrot sticks.


Marilyn feeds giraffe









This is the first time Marilyn and I have seen a giraffe up close and we both noted how its hide looked like bad carpet poorly laid.


woman pokes giraffe to see if hide is real








Although there were other animals on the Serengeti, we were warned not to feed them because they either bit, butted, or would steal your jewelry.

We like fingers with our carrot sticks

Just try stepping off that bus

Nice ring you're wearing there, buddy








The other section of the park was accessible by a tram. The driver/guide stopped at each enclosure feeding the animals pieces of raw chicken. This brought them to the fence and within feet of the crowd. (The reverse would happen if the animals started tossing Chicken McNuggets at the people.)


Oh yeah, mighty tasty chicken





How far do think I can jump?


When's Blondie going to get here with that chicken


It's about time









We thought about having lunch before leaving but at a wild animal park you never know what's in the hot dogs.


Four star dining facilities








With a large variety of rare large animals and the close viewing range, safari in Camp Verde is a winner



Still have all my limbs