Entering Western Arizona, from California, we try to spend the night down by Organ Pipe Cactus Monument.  We unsuccessfully try to sleep in the large van around midnight, as day temperatures have fallen from 120 F, to 105 F.  So, restlessly, we headed east to Pena Blanca Lake, knowing that we didn't drive 1500 miles to sleep!

Collecting in Arizona never gets boring, a bit hot yes, but never boring!  Here we head East again, towards the Huachuca Mts. and through Montezuma pass, then up to Sierra Vista.  We stayed one night at Copper Canyon, a beautiful and well known canyon, rich in nature!  This was a lot of driving, but a good way to beat the heat of the day.  Most of the interesting collecting can be done in the early morning and evening hours anyway, and of course the night-time blacklighting is what we really drove all this way for!

Heading West, we pick up my mother (Lynn), at the Tucson airport.  After visiting the Sonoran Arthropod Museum, we head South to what I think is the best collecting area of Arizona- Madera Canyon in the Sierra Madre Mts.  Many Herpers cruise Continental Road, leading into the canyon, mornings and nights.  We did a bit of night cruising ourselves, and found a diversity of animals.  

After dropping mom off at the airport again, we pick up Aaron Chambers, and spend a few days collecting with him.  He gets us in to see the collection at the University in Tucson, and shares with us some of his favorite restaurants as we travel North.  Good times were had, as Aaron's sense of humor and tremendous knowledge of Arizona invertebrates and nature.  One moment easily stands out as the most hilarious moment of the trip...when Aaron played the cicada like a musical instrument.  Traveling at night, there is one thing that all collectors must do...hit the rest stops!  Even though everyone is jacked up on coffee ( a diuretic ), the primary reason is to "check the lights"- a phrase that seasoned collectors are very familiar with.  A friendly spirit of competition naturally ensues, as the three of us rush to grab our flashlights and containers.  So picture this, 3 grown men rush out of the car, and my dad hits the pavement first, up to the sidewalk, and scoops up a nice big male Dynastes granti rhinoceros beetle.  Aaron and I know he saw it from inside the van...which is really cheating...if you ask me;-)  So, we split up to cover the territory.  Regrouping, we start to head back to the van.  Aaron stops to pick up a large cicada, which begins buzzing, but shortly stops.  Each time he touches it again, it begins to "buzz".  After realizing the pattern, he proceeds to play the thing like a musical instrument, and until I put the video up, you will just have to trust me that seeing him strum and tap this thing is one of the funniest things you'll ever see! 

A few miscellaneous pictures...