Friday morning, after breakfast, everybody loaded onto their respective buses to partake in an excursion of their choice. You could choose from golf, skeet shooting, cattle drive, cooking class, spa, airfield tour, etc. I chose the jeep desert excursion. Gene chose the cattle drive (but didn't take his camera).
The bus drove our group a half hour to a ranch where we then loaded on to the jeeps and drove another half hour, through the Sonoran desert, to Hohokam Indian ruins. It was really beautiful--much more than I expected and our ranch hand/driver informed us all about the different varieties of plants and cactus and birds, etc. He even stopped to get a fruit off a Barrel Cactus to slice up for each of us to taste (very savory, I might add).
On the way back, as we were passing through some BLM land, we got stopped by the BLM Boarder Patrol (being only 45 miles from the Mexican boarder). These rangers took their job very seriously and took time to inspect each of the dozen or so jeeps. They even called in a federal helicopter, which started circling us like Vultures, all the while the company camera crew kept filming and snapping pictures for Saturday nights entertainment (a compilation show).
So, let me show you the desert of Tucson.....
The ranch where we boarded the jeeps incidentally was the same ranch that Gene went to for his cattle drive (which he said was a blast...and very dirty). I just think this is so iconic, so picturesque. I love the windmill!
Our convoy of jeeps.
This was our driver/ranch hand. A true, bad-ass cowboy. Really. He was super knowledgeable about the desert, quite serious, though humorous a bit, and I never even got his name (this could be a country song).
The hillside at the Hohokam ruins were simply FILLED with petroglyphs. Our driver warned us to not lift up, or look under rocks because of snakes or scorpions and to never back up because of cactus!
A close up of a petroglyph that apparently means 'water', as in "Where the hell is the water? I'm dying of thirst out here!".
A close up of a Saguaro cactus. Just gorgeous... in a forbidding sort of way.
A close up of a barrel cactus fruit, like the very ones we ate. They are more savory than sweet and taste a bit like a yellow pepper, and make your mouth salivate, which is apparently what will keep you from dying were you to get stranded in the desert.
Ah! Now, did you know that the difference between a cactus plant and a 'desert plant' is that a cactus's thorns radiate from a center point, as opposed to a desert plant who's thorns are singular in alignment. I don't remember what this cactus is, I just thought it was pretty.
Another beautiful cactus...
...and a Prickly Pear cactus flower. Gorgeous.
The BLM rangers questioning the jeep drivers, inspecting 'papers' and generally raining on our parade. Though I don't suppose I blame them, given the risks of their jobs.
The company camera crew filming as a helicopter circles our group of jeeps. This camera man got very annoying (on purpose) and got the ranger to say "Get that camera out of my face!" which was used in the video montage the next night--our jeep excursion played to the tune of 'Cops' ("bad boys, whatchya gonna do..when they come for you"). It was hilarious. (Incidentally, the cooking class was a spoof on 'Top Chef', and the cattle drive was a spoof on the Old Spice commercial "look at your man, now back to me, now back to your man" spoof, cuz they were on horses. hehehe)
A dead Saguaro cactus--probably several hundred years old--very woody ribs with an outer husk. 
Another ranch hand at the Hohokam ruins. This is me pretending to be an artistic photographer. 
The fruits of our labors.