Extreme southern AZ

After leaving the B&B yesterday I made my way towards Portal.  Chris Vincent shared with me a short-cut back to I-10.  For those of you who have never been to Tucson, imagine a large city (not sure of population, at least half a million) with no freeway system.  Interstate 10 enters Tucson on the northwest corner of the city, and kind of hugs the outside edge until it exits on the southeast corner.  Chris' short-cut, which was a good one, still took nearly a half-hour of going the wrong direction to get I-10.
  Well anyways, once I get to I-10 I could see in the distance Tucson was getting pounded by a storm so I pulled off and put on the rain gear.  Putting on the rain gear is a pain, especially along the side of the road, so once the rain gear goes on, its stays on, peiod, until the end of the day.  Well, the interstate ended up going around the perimeter of the storm.  I got maybe four drips of rain on me and that was it!
  With as poorly as the lepping had gone at the B&B due to the weather, I thought I would swing down to Patagonia.  A few folks had seen Great Southern White (a rarity in the US) at the butterfly garden in the city park there in Patagonia.  Patagonia is a neat little town, tucked into the oaks.  It has become a very artsy town and its proximity to the Mexican border, about 20 miles north, also makes it popular with nature nerds looking to see birds and butterflies that one could usually only see in Mexico.
  Well, I did not see Great Southern White, but did pick-up one new species at the butterfly garden, Dull Firetip, which I think is totally misnamed (the dull part).  Look at the pic below and judge for yourself.  I then went by the post office as they have lantana planted out fron and picked up two more new species for the BBY, Palmer's Metalmark and Painted Lady.  Yes, the Painted Lady, the species that every ten year old across the country raises from a caterpillar to adulthood, I saw my first one of the year at the tiny little Patagonia post office.
  Am now in Portal, at the home of my friend Linda Jaske and her husband Paul.  Linda has tagged monarchs for me in this area for years.  She had offered a place for me to stay on my trip back in the spring, before the Horseshoe 2 fire went through.  Linda and Paul dodged a huge bullet.  As I sit on the bed writing, I can look out the window and see the charred remains of the other side of the canyon, a mere 100 yards away.  There for awhile this summer, I was worried whether there would be anything to come back to.  My three favorite places in the state, Alpine, Portal, and Boyce Thompson were all on fire, AT THE SAME TIME!  Thats why it is so important to get out and enjoy your surroundings.  It may not be there tomorrow!

Dull Firetip

Painted Lady

Palmer's Metalmark