Author: Henry

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Buenes Aires NWR — Mustang Trail

15-12-27 Buenos Aires NWR Mustang Trail to El Cerro -001
Arivaca is about 30 minutes or so southwest and is known for birding. A cienega is when the bedrock pushes a river to the surface in what otherwise looks like an arroyo. There was not much river on the surface. We did see a pair of eagles catching some thermals, a family of 4 deer, and some other little birds.
15-12-27 Buenos Aires NWR Mustang Trail to El Cerro -002
Another stop in the refuge is the 5-mile Mustang Trail that goes through Chaparral type landscape, with one giant Saguaro!
15-12-27 Buenos Aires NWR Mustang Trail to El Cerro -009 Pam
From the summit looking north with the cottonwood lined creek in the valley far below.
15-12-27 Buenos Aires NWR Mustang Trail to El Cerro -008 Henry
Looking west from the summit. We dubbed the one peak Arrowhead.
15-12-27 Buenos Aires NWR Mustang Trail to El Cerro -004
We had a sunny picnic lunch looking south towards Mexico. Our phones warned us we were no longer using US cell service so we turned them off.
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Sabino Canyon

15-12-25 Sabino Canyon Lake Trail -002
For our second annual Christmas Day hike in Sabino Canyon, we started with a detour to the lake area for a picnic lunch.
15-12-25 Sabino Canyon Lake Trail -006 Henry
How about this peaceful spot along the river?
15-12-25 Sabino Canyon Lake Trail -009 Pam
I could relax here for a while! Nice temps today in the upper 50’s with lots of sunshine.
15-12-25 Sabino Canyon Lake Trail -005
Put ’em up pardner!
15-12-25 Sabino Road Hike -002 Pam Henry
We joined up with our friends to hike the road since we don’t have to share the road with the shuttles today. Nice to have someone take our picture!
15-12-25 Sabino Road Hike -007 Roger
Ha – we all had to wash our feet before going past the first bridge! Two others had water on them but we could jump across on rocks.
15-12-25 Sabino Road Hike -005
Other areas the water was as calm as could be with some great reflections.
15-12-25 Sabino Road Hike -010
Our destination again was the pools by the second to last shuttle stop. We did walk all the way to the end but decided to come back by the road rather than on a trail.
15-12-25 Sabino Road Hike -011 Henry
That is not a crossing! Three more to go on the way back. We then headed over to our friends for an excellent dinner before the hour drive back to our casita.

Link to last year’s photos http://tealsky.com/2014/12/25/sabino-canyon-walking-the-road/

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Saguaro National Park — Christmas Eve

15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -003
A stroll to Signal Hill through an amazing Saguaro cactus forest. And what a fascinating sky to complete the picture.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -005
These saguaros are so interesting – they seem to have such individual personality.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -006
Oh look up there – on those rocks! This is the only angle you can see these carvings. So glad the light was just right!
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -007
What are the meanings of these petroglyphs?
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -008
Really a fun rock outcropping to experience.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -010
Changing shadows on the hike down. This is near a CCC camp and they built the picnic shelters using dead saguaro stems.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -015
Ho Ho Ho. This dead saguaro is setting the mood for tonight’s full moon concert. The rangers had hot chocolate and cookies for us – how nice is that!
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Moonrise Holiday Program -002
The back patio had solo guitar music while the sun was setting.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Moonrise Holiday Program -003
And it was a very peaceful sunset – had to leave our chairs to wander around to the front to capture this image.
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Moonrise Holiday Program -004
A ranger played a Native American wooden flute while the full moon rose. It was so haunting and moving. Quite a memorable experience. Truly a unique way to experience a national park. We saw the first full moon of 2015 rise in Organ Pipe and the last here.
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Winter Solstice Sunset/Moonrise Hike — Saguaro NP

15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -003 Pam
Ready for a 4 mile ranger led hike to the summit of Wasson Peak for sunset. It is a very comfortable 60 degrees for the 2-pm start time.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -005
The Saguaros have so much personality – as does the sky. I am the only photographer in the group so they are not wanting to wait for pictures – locals with too many pictures?
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -008
This is the flavor of the day.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -011
Views of the distant mountains – Santa Catalinas North of Tucson.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -010 Henry
Our hiking group. Freddie, the ranger on the right, was our leader with volunteer Don and Tim. Two women joined us making a party of The Magnificent Seven.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -012 Henry
The moon is a few days from full but can be seen rising over the mountain. It will light our descent hike.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -002
Another picturesque view looking south.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -013
Northwest view from Wasson Peak of the setting sun hitting the landscape.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -015
Unbelievable! A toast to Winter Solstice and the beauty of the start of the longest night of the year.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -017
The cholla gives a sense of place to this Wasson Peak sunset shot.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -019
Hiking down the colors kept coming keeping us entertained for the first mile. The moon lit rest of the hike was so quiet and peaceful. Really special experience!

Last year’s sunset hike http://tealsky.com/2014/12/18/saguaro-national-park-west/

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Green Valley, Arizona

15-12-16 Saguaro NP East Garwood Dam - Greg, Terry, Henry, Marcy, Roger
We met up with friends, 2 couples we had met last year, for lunch at El Molinito restaurant followed by a hike to Garwood Dam in Saguaro National Park East.

Our hikes to this area last year

http://tealsky.com/2014/12/21/sagauro-national-park-east-in-tucson/

http://tealsky.com/2014/12/26/saguaro-aational-park-east-garwood-dam-trail-again/

15-12-22 Hacienda de la Canoa—Docent Tour -001
We organized meeting for a docent led tour of this ranch that had once encompassed all the land in Green Valley.
15-12-22 Hacienda de la Canoa—Docent Tour -003
A view towards Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita mountains.
15-12-22 Hacienda de la Canoa—Docent Tour -005
A detail of the historic fence and refurbished gate. There is also a blacksmithing shop on site.
15-12-22 Condo Lunch Marcy Greg Henry Terry Roger
Our picnic lunch at our casita in Green Valley. A great afternoon as all hung around through wine o’clock. We were well sugared with donuts and hand baked goodies but that balanced the salads and chicken.
15-12-19 Green Valley Sunset -002
A beautiful sunset a short stroll from the casita.
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Cochise Stronghold, Arizona

15-12-11 Cochise Stronghold -001
Not sure if the weather will hold for us, we left the mountains and higher elevations for this nice dispersed location for two nights.
15-12-11 Cochise Stronghold -002
We were rewarded with a nice sunset and good star gazing on the first night.
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -003 Henry
A little snow on the ground after an overnight storm but skies are clearing and it is looking like a promising day.
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -004
Picturesque yucca with a dusting of snow.
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -007
The “tank” at the 2 mile mark. A little bit more snow…
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -005
Well maybe a lot more sow. This little agave’s architecture is so highlighted with the snow – really beautiful.
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -008
Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na BATMAN!
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -009 Pam
Da-DAh, We made our destination before the snow cloud socked us in and created a memorable, not pleasantly, afternoon and evening. Lots of pages read in our book but we were so glad we had gotten out for a hike!
15-12-13 Cochise Stronghold Sunrise -001
After that second night we woke up to bright skies and this water fall in the rocks behind our campsite. We are ready to take the back roads to our casita.

Our last visit to Cochise earlier this  year http://tealsky.com/2015/01/05/cochise-stronghold-national-forest/

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Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico

15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -001
Leaving the Organ Mountains in the rear view mirror, we headed to El Paso, then Pancho Villa State Park museum for a history lesson, Rock City for a picnic lunch, and up the next mountain range to another National Monument.
15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -004
A late afternoon stroll to the Cliff Dwellings was the perfect time of day to experience the hike and the sunlight.
15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -005
The architecture is so fascinating. A volunteer guide was present to make sure we did not miss some of the details.
15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -007
Amazing stone work. This dwelling was not lived in for very long.
15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -002
A panorama of the setting sun over the wilderness. We spent the night in the campground and hiked another canyon in the morning.
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Sagauro National Park — East in Tucson, AZ

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Loma Verde Trail on 3-December – Gorgeous Day!
14-12-19 Sagauro NP East - Garwood Trail -001
Another hike nearby on Garwood Trail on 19-December shows snow on Mt Lemmon.
14-12-19 Sagauro NP East - Garwood Trail -004
The color of the blue sky was hard to resist!
14-12-19 Sagauro NP East - Garwood Trail -005
Early morning back lighting on the grass and the Opuntias on the Garwood Trail
14-12-19 Sagauro NP East - Garwood Trail -008
Don’t fall into the spines! This is an unusual clump of 13 saguaros  growing close together on the Garwood Trail.