Posted on Fri, 02-Jan-2015Wed, 21-Jan-2015Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument A whole new section of the park has reopened. We took the Red Tank trail-head to Baker Mine and saw these views along the way. Humongous Organ Pipe Cactus – so full of character. Nice scenery. Moon rise during dinner a few days before it is full. Desert View Hike before the ranger evening program on National Parks A to Z.
Posted on Thu, 01-Jan-2015Wed, 21-Jan-2015Happy New Year 2015 We woke up in Tucson with a dusting of snow! Not something that happens there every year. No snow on the road but a beautiful day to drive. We ended the day in a campsite in Organ Pipe National Monument with this scrumptious sunset.
Posted on Mon, 29-Dec-2014Wed, 21-Jan-2015Tumacacori National Historic Site We headed south of Tubac to visit this historic Mission on a cool crisp morning. Founded in 1691, followed by a continuing 157 years of history, this site is very picturesque. This photo seemed to capture the many layers of history. The adobe walls were wonderful! The textures inside the storage building, The missing roof letting in a lot of light. Really fun to photograph. From this site we headed north to the Tubac Presidio, the first State Park in Arizona and definitely worth the time. We learned that the Spanish used the Canary Islands to base all their longitudinal calculations on in their map making. We also enjoyed the art galleries of Tubac. Finally a stop at the current Mission San Xavier de Bac, where we also enjoyed some fresh fry bread!
Posted on Sun, 28-Dec-2014Thu, 22-Jan-2015Tohono Chul Botanic Park Beautiful Sunday afternoon stroll. It is wonderful this acreage has been preserved with all the development closing in on it’s boundaries. The cloud trail adds to the beauty of this scene. Foreshadowing of things to come at the Denver Botanic Gardens: “The nature of Horses”. The white cups are to protect the cactus tips from frost damage. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!! Taken from the parking lot of our condo a culmination of 20 minutes of photographing.
Posted on Fri, 26-Dec-2014Thu, 22-Jan-2015Saguaro National Park East – Garwood Dam Trail Again Vistas – it feels like you can see forever. Lucky Saguaro! Our neighbors from Denver surprised us by coming to Tucson for the weekend. We thought this trail was worth doing again because it has so much diversity. We are no longer in the Rocky Mountains! These barrel cactus are so cute! I really did want to hug one but I only carefully pretended. It is hard to get a sense of scale until you humanize the plants. We lunched by this stream and enjoyed the fabulous…snow free day! Ready to finish the trail. This scarecrow really fanned out against that blue sky. too poetic to resist capturing. A sunset panorama of the Santa Catalina Mountains from the Westin Paloma Resort. Really fun to watch the light and shadow movement.
Posted on Thu, 25-Dec-2014Thu, 22-Jan-2015Sabino Canyon – walking the road This is Christmas Day but it feels and looks more like fall. Who knew the cottonwoods would still have their leaves. The CCC created the road with bridges that are also dams. So the road crosses the creek several times creating these wonderful, inviting pools. Today was perfect for reflecting. It is about a 3-mile walk down the road to this relaxing spot, behind Tram Stop #8. Laying on our backs, we watched the clouds skipping across the mountains. Henry was fascinated with the smooth rocks, how the water had worn them and was pooled in pockets. Small water falls today and the water level is fairly full. A Road Runner came out to say hello and created a nice distraction. Our volunteer friends said to stop by so we did for some fresh cookies. This Saguaro had all clouds pointing towards it saying LOOK AT ME!
Posted on Wed, 24-Dec-2014Thu, 22-Jan-2015Pima Canyon Trail in Santa Catalina Foothills Pima Canyon trailhead was near our condo and a lovely trail following a stream. Such sparkling sunshine. Looking the other direction. The rock formations are a gneiss – like an Oreo cookie with the black and white layers. We saw this beautiful sculpture and wondered how many others had been observant enough to spot it. Little islands growing in the rock. The “moss” plant only greens for a few days after it receives moisture. An evening stroll at the Loew’s Ventana Canyon Resort led us to this natural waterfall above the resort. It is kept flowing year round with pumps. We enjoyed this fabulous sunset there overlooking the infinity pond – such a calm evening produced the mirror like conditions.
Posted on Mon, 22-Dec-2014Thu, 22-Jan-2015Mt Lemmon Road Daytrippers We motored the MINI on fine morning up Mt Lemmon through Santa Catalina National Forest, just North of Tucson and Saguaro NP East. Views across Tucson were a bit hazy but very scenic. We were loving the Saguaro forest! We thought this looked like a blindfolded duck…interesting to see all the Lime Green Lichen. And here is the same rock formation from above. Enjoying the views from Windy Point with the last sips of coffee. Really really interesting geography! On top of the World! Snow near the top in Summerhaven – lots of kids sledding and playing. In the afternoon, we hiked the Babad Do’ag trail (Tohono O’odham for “Frog Mountain”) off the Catalina Highway.