The Savage Traveler: Out West Adventure: Part 1--Tucson (Mon.-Wed.)

Feb. 4-9: (Monday) We managed to get up, eat breakfast, close-up the camper, drive to Tucson with two short stops along the way, get a campsite at Gilbert Ray Campground in Tucson Mountain Park, and set-up, all before 11:30! We loved Gilbert Ray last time we were in Tucson and hoped we could get a campsite, since they don’t accept reservations. We again got a site on the outside of the farthest loop (A) so there is no one across from us and behind us is only Sonoran desert filled with Saguaro cactuses. After some reading and relaxing in the sun at our campsite and a two mile bike ride around the campground, we ate wraps in the camper and headed a few miles north to the Saguaro National Park— Tucson Mountain District (West). We went to the Visitors Center first to stamp our National Park passport and to watch their video about the history and resources in the park. It ends with a spectacular opening of the curtains behind the screen showing the splendor of the desert through giant windows. It’s very impressive! From there we took the 5 mile, unpaved Bajada Loop Drive, stopping to take the .8 mile Valley View Overlook trail and the .5 mile Signal Hill Trail, which allowed us to view the ancient petroglyphs on the rocks atop the hill. We had done the same trails on our last visit, but they were still enjoyable. We took a different drive back to the campground and spent the evening at the trailer, using up the grilled chicken with instant mashed potatoes for dinner. Marv set-up the TV but it only gets CBS and METV. For being so close to Tucson, we have pretty poor TV, phone, and 3G reception. Apparently the key is that we are west of the Tucson Mountains. At least we could watch the news and get weather, to find out that the rest of the week will be in the seventies and sunny with a cold front coming Saturday to cool things off by nearly twenty degrees.

Tucson Mountain Park

Petroglyphs

Campsite with desert behind

Saguaros

(Tuesday) Marv made great scrambled eggs full of vegetables for breakfast. Then he made turkey wraps while I made spaghetti sauce in the little Crockpot to leave for the day. Today was our day to explore Saguaro National Park—Rincon Mountain District (East), which we had never made it over to before. It took about 45 minutes to drive there. Our first stop was again the Visitors Center, where we got the passport stamp for their District and watched a slide show that covered more of the history of that side of the park. Then we took the 8 mile, paved Cactus Forest Loop Drive, stopping many times to read interpretive displays and enjoy vistas and overlooks. Towards the end, we stopped at the Loma Verde overlook to enjoy our lunch, perched on rocks at the edge looking down at the expanse of dry wash that is sometimes a raging torrent. We got back to the Visitors Center just in time for a hike with a volunteer naturalist named John. He seems to really enjoy his retirement “job” of volunteering part-time here and part-time at the Desert Museum near our campground. As near as we could tell he is in his mid-eighties and still going strong. He loves to talk and shared numerous stories and lots of information as we slowly made our way on the two mile Freeman Homestead Trail. Only one other person was on the hike; a woman named Ann who works for a U of M research group but in Buffalo, New York, where she lives. It was a very leisurely hike but the day was sunny and in the low seventies so we thoroughly enjoyed it. We saw the foundation and the well for the Freeman Homestead and learned more about the many varieties of cactus. We saw Cactus Wrens, Gila Woodpeckers, Gilded Flickers, and a soaring Red Tail Hawk. John told us many signs of the drought they are experiencing including how thin the paddles of the Prickly Pear are and the scarcity of birds and other animals. It was after 4:00 when we finished so Marv and I drove back towards the campground with a long stop at a McDonald’s to use the WiFi, a car wash so Marv could wash the truck, and to fill-up with gas at $2.99. The spaghetti sauce was ready when we got back so we cooked whole wheat spaghetti and I made an avocado salad for a really great dinner. Writing, reading, and a West Wing DVD filled the rest of the evening.

Lunch with a view

Gila Woodpecker (or Gilded Sapsucker?)

Mother Nature's Cactus Garden in a protected niche

(Wednesday) After pancakes for breakfast, we drove about half an hour away to meet Barb and Joe across from a Trader Joe’s. The four of us rode our bikes nearly 18 miles on the Rillito River Park Loop Trail, along the wide but dry bed of the river. There were many hummingbirds along the way, nearly every hundred yards or so, each clearly commanding their own territories. There were also lots of little ground squirrels or pack rats or something in burrows dug in the soft sand beside the wide, paved trail. It was an easy 8 miles out but when we returned out we realized there was a steady breeze that was now a head wind which made our return trip a bit harder. About a mile from the end we stopped at a deli to order sandwiches which we ate sitting at a table outside in a large, quiet patio area. It was a great way to recover from the ride. From there we returned to our respective vehicles and parted ways. Marv and I stopped at the Trader Joe’s to get a few things then went to the Community Center where we could get showers (the campground doesn’t have showers). Back at the campsite we relaxed a little bit in the late afternoon sun while listening to the MSU/ Minnesota basketball game. At halftime I made salads while Marv grilled salmon to put on them. As the sunset it cooled off quickly, so we ate in the camper while listening to the second half. We missed about the last minute or so of the 11 point win for MSU because we rode our bikes back to the gatehouse to attend a “Stargazing Party” led by two volunteers and someone very knowledgeable who came from town but didn’t introduce himself or explain his expertise. They had two telescopes through which they showed us Jupiter, several nebulas, and lots of stars. They also encouraged us to look with our binoculars. It was really interesting and enjoyable. We finished the evening with reading, doing the dishes, and watching the news.