We last drove this road in February 2011- see blog entry http://tealsky.com/2011/02/08/organ-pipe-cactus-national-monument/ It is only a 22 mile road but it took us the whole day to enjoy and appreciate.Allegedly a short one-mile trail at Arch Canyon Overlook. But Henry decided to climb to the top and Pam opted to enjoy the solitude of the wilderness from one spot.Sunset looking West from walk around campground.First 2015 Moon-rise from the east! Our eyes and camera need to swivel back and forth. Such a rich butter yellow-orange color.Another day ends here at this fabulous Biosphere Reserve – we will be back to absorb some more of the magic.
NPS Ranger drove a shuttle van to Senita Basin for us to hike back to campground. The unpaved road paralleled the border of Mexico. The hike was very secluded and incredible.We did not see this Cholla Cactus in Tucson so it probably likes warmer weather as do the Organ Pipe Cacti.Building left from Victoria Mine – we had our picnic lunch enjoying this view.Framing a hiking companion and the view of this wilderness area.Moon rise before sunset. This awesome view is from our campsite!Tonight’s ranger evening program will be on the Moon – how it reflects different cultures and what we know about it. It is quite beautiful to contemplate.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
