Winter Travels 2019--Part 11: On to Tucson

Jan. 30 & 31: Our time in Tucson was going to be a bit tricky because 1)we had to plan around my infusion (Simponi Aria for Psoriatic Arthritis) and 2)a one week limit on a stay at our campground-of-choice, Gilbert Ray, on the west side of the Tucson Mountains, where they take no reservations. Marv had made a reservation at a private RV Park called Justin’s Diamond J a few miles from Gilbert Ray for these two nights but we couldn’t stay a third there unless we dry camped at the edge of the Park, which was adjacent to the highway. At first they wanted us to set-up right next to the office/laundromat in the parking area. When we demurred, they agreed they could put us in a site for $5 more a night, but we’d have to wait an hour or so for it to be vacated. We agreed to that and parked in the dry camp area to make a lunch. After we ate, we walked over to the site and found that it was empty so we could move in. The RV Park has no bathhouse or rest rooms, expecting everyone to be self-contained. We do have a shower that I don’t think it will get through my thick hair, but we showered before leaving Patagonia so knew we’d be okay. Our site was nice because, although all the sites are narrow, ours backed up to a wide wash so we had a lovely view and a large “back yard”. People on each side of us were very friendly and welcoming, as was a man named Ralph who dropped by to welcome us and invite us for the Potluck and entertainment that was being held that night. After we got set-up, we drove to the supermarket to buy more lettuce, so we could take a big salad with goat cheese and berries, which we found on sale at the market. We walked to the potluck with chairs and our salad and found people going through the (outdoor) line. The management furnished hamburgers and condiments and residents did the rest. We sat at a table with a couple that looked to be about 40 who retired this year and were full-time RVers; They accomplished this by living very frugally, saving every penny, and never having kids. They continue to live frugally, and in fact, were in the dry camp area of the park, which is half price. They were very interesting to talk to but left right after they finished eating. We moved closer to the big bonfire and stayed on to listen to the trio that was the night’s entertainment. After a while we decided to get laundry done and walked back to get our clothes. When we returned the trio was still going strong and they continued nearly the whole time it took us to do our laundry! They weren’t great but they sure had a big repertoire!

The RV Park has a lot of trails winding through the Sonoran desert and so Thursday we took a long hike on the trails. We drove the short way to Tucson Mountain Park, the huge Pima County park which is adjacent to the Saguaro National Park, and which contains Gilbert Ray Campground, where we had stayed twice before. After talking to the person in the office there we made our plan for getting a spot. Back at the RV park, we got as much done as possible for an early getaway Friday to try and get a spot at Gilbert Ray for a week.

Winter Travels 2019--Part 10: Kayaking

Tuesday, our last full day at Patagonia, was also our last chance to take the kayak out on the lake. The day was partly cloudy and a little cooler, so we waited until afternoon. Unfortunately, a breeze seemed to blow up just as we got out on the lake and we worried a bit about maneuverability. Our inflatable Sea Eagle sits high in the water and is easily blown about. But it wasn’t too bad as long as we stuck close to the shore, which we did as we circled the entire east end of Lake Patagonia, which is all a No Wake zone. It was a lovely afternoon, with a bit more sun than the morning, and we were really happy to get out on the rock rimmed lake. There was lots of water fowl to enjoy, and on the far side, away from the campground, we saw a tree full of roosting cormorants. As we paddled closer to take a look at them, we realized that a tree next to them had 5 or 6 larger, bulkier birds roosting. They were blimp shaped, with light colored bellies, dark backs and wings, and there was no sign of a head on any of them. Marv got some good pictures and we continued our pleasant paddle, hoping to stop afterwards at the Visitors Center to try and ID them. But by the time we dried off and put away the kayak, the center was closed. Back at the trailer we read a little bit and Marv began putting away some items to save time tomorrow when we break camp. I got chilly as the clouds moved in again and had gone inside to finish a chapter before I started to make dinner. But Marv came in and suggested that the sunset might be nice because of the clouds so we should hike over to the high bridge across the cove with the Marina where we could get a good look. We climbed up and watched for a while, thinking that it wasn’t going to be much; the clouds were just too thick. A man came up the bridge from the other side and said he was hoping to see the Black Crowned Night Herons come out and start hunting because he had seen a few the night before about dusk. Because he seemed to know birds, we told him about the mysterious ones we had seen in the tree. He suggested they were Cormorants and we said, no, the ones in the tree next to them were and these were much stouter and taller. Then I told Marv to show him one of the pictures on the camera. With surprise he said, “Those are Black Crowned Night Herons!” and he wanted to know more about where we had seen them. As we talked, 5 of them flew in and perched on a tree near us overlooking the water. Our new friend was quite excited! As we watched them and took pictures, we realized that the sky was slowly exploding into color. Four other people came running up the bridge to take pictures of what turned out to be a really spectacular display.

Rufus Ducks, perhaps? I'm forgetting now what we learned on our hike.

A pleasant panorama

Now we know that the white streaks are the head feathers of the Night Heron

Black Crowned Night Heron ready to hunt

Sunset over Lake Patagonia
A special good-bye for us!

Winter Travels 2019--Part 9: Tubac Presidio State Historic Park

Monday we had breakfast and puttered a bit before driving to Nogales. We REALLY wanted to get reservations for our time in Tucson and I wanted to start posting the Blog, which I had kept up on with the writing but had been able to post. We found their nice Library and eventually accomplished what was needed, but not without great frustration and resorting to using my phone as a Hotspot. We bought a quick lunch at a Pizza Place, where I could eat vegetarian for Meatless Monday, if not eating particularly WW PC. I often have to make a choice, and I went for a piece of pizza and salad, knowing I was making a low point tofu stir fry for dinner.

After a stop at the nearby Visitors Center we decided to drive about half an hour away to visit Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. The very fine museum showcases 2000 years of Southwest history, highlights every culture (Native American, Spanish, Mexican, Pioneer American, and Arizonian) with award winning artifacts including Arizona’s first printing press which printed Arizona’s first newspaper, the original 1885 school house, and much more. Following a short informative video, we took a self-guided walk through several buildings and many displays. It really was interesting and well done. I especially enjoyed the information on Cowgirls. We left just before they closed and drove to nearby Tumacácori National Historical Park where we only had about 10 minutes to view the ruins of the adobe church which is over 200 years old. We were happy with how the day turned out, and enjoyed the tofu stir fry back at the trailer.

Only the foundation remains of the Captain's House

Peggy check's out the teacher's desk at the schoolhouse

This mill was used to grind stones from which they extracted silver ore

Old map of the area with the Presidio circled 

Tumacácori Mission church, as restored 

Tumacácori Bell Tower

Tumacácori narrow Nave after restoration

Winter Travels 2019--Part 8: Sasquatch/Bigfoot Researcher/Author and other friends

Sunday we were to meet Barb and Joe in the nearby village of Patagonia at 11:30. I made cheddar garlic biscuits in the Air Fryer for dinner then Marv and I left early so we could buy a few groceries, fill a propane tank, buy gas, and do some internet work. To our dismay the gas/propane station in town was closed down and up for sale. We couldn’t find an internet signal nor LTE, even outside of the (closed) library. At a small convenience store we bought only the two essential items of sausage (for tonight’s Jambalaya) and more tissues. We both have head colds and are going through tons of tissues! The clerk there told us we could find free WiFi at The Gathering Grounds, a small coffee shop across the park from the store. The place was packed with bikers and motorcyclists, out enjoying the pleasant Sunday. As we helped ourselves to coffee a grizzled, bald fellow, noting our MSU t-shirts, asked if we were from Michigan. When we told him yes, he told us that he grew up in Ludington. We stood and chatted a bit then he asked if we’d like to join him at the table with his partner, Patra. We spent about an hour in pleasant conversation with the pair who had lived separately and together in Oregon, New York City, Idaho, Washington, and I forget where else, before settling in Patagonia. Jon had been a Special Ed. Administrator, truck driver, poet, writer, and many other things. Patra didn’t mention if she had had a career of any sort. Partway through, I mentioned that we had seen very little wildlife. Patra and Jon sort of exchanged a glance and he said, “Well, now you’re really gonna think I’m crazy” and he handed me his card, which had his name, email, and as occupation, “Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Research/Author”, along with a photo of a Sasquatch. He told us he saw his first pair when he was 9 years old at the edge of his family’s farm fields in Ludington. Since then he has searched for them and researched them in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, but the best place to find them was right here in Arizona, where he frequently sees them sitting on the hillsides, watching traffic go by on the highway. He was absolutely sincere and pretty convincing, and we talked about that and branched out to include the mountain lions in Michigan that some people don’t believe in either. So, who’s to say? We never did get on the WiFi there.

When it was 11:25 we thanked them for the conversation and sharing their table and headed back across the park to The Velvet Elvis for lunch, where Barb and Joe were just parking. The restaurant had WiFi so as we ate lunch, Marv kept track of the MSU/Purdue game for us, which sadly MSU lost, their first B1G loss of the year. Afterwards, we all went to the Paton Audubon House in town, where a couple had fed birds for thirty years, and welcomed visitors to watch the birds. Since their deaths, the Audubon had taken over the house and feeders and continued the practice. It’s an especially good place to see hummingbirds. Then Barb and Joe followed us to the State Park, where we relaxed in the sunshine and walked the Bird Trail. I made Jambalaya while Marv made a fruit salad and, after the sun set and it cooled off, we crowded around the dinette table and enjoyed dinner. Then they drove back to Green Valley and we did the dishes.

Anna's Hummingbird

Ladderback Woodpecker

Violet Crested Hummingbird (if you can zoom in, you'll see the violet better)

Sonoito Creek along the Bird Trail in the low sun

Joe, Peggy (cooking Jambalaya) & Barb outside our trailer

Joe, Marv & Barb outside our trailer

Winter Travels 2019--Part 7: Lookout Trail at Patagonia State Park

Saturday: The nice thing about staying a week or more in one campground is that it allows us to establish a comfortable and very laid-back rhythm to our days. We took time to make Black Bean and Salsa Bowls with a fried egg on top, and then took our coffee back to the Bird Feeders at the head of the Birding Trail. I made chili to cook all day in the Crock Pot and we packed a lunch to take a long hike for our afternoon. The Sonoito Creek Natural Area adjoins the State Park so we drove a mile or so into their parking area and climbed the Lookout Trail to the top of Partnership Hill, overlooking Patagonia Lake and the surrounding hillsides. All the land in both areas is free range for the ranchers’ cattle, so, like yesterday, we had to watch our step and look out for cow pies and the occasional cow or bull grazing the hard scrabble desert landscape. The trail was quite steep in some places but wrapped around the hill, getting ever higher. The sun was blazing but there was a breeze which made it quite pleasant. The hillside is dotted with barrel cactus, scrawny, stunted ironwood trees, agave, and mostly, ocotillo. Although there were two other trucks in the parking lot, we didn’t see another soul on the hillside and reveled in the view and the quietness as we ate our picnic of lox and bagels, left from last Saturday. When we had finished, the breeze had picked up and we were getting a little chilly so we made our way back down. At the parking lot we decided to continue down the Black Hawk Trail, towards the dam and spillway that formed the reservoir. The gravel road became poured cement just above the spillway and was extremely steep so we decided to turn back, having seen all we cared to see.

Back at the campsite we relaxed for a while and Marv made a repair to the apron on the side of the camper and made corn bread before we both took showers. The chili, salad, and cornbread tasted delicious after our strenuous hike, and afterwards we took a short walk around the campground to enjoy the brilliant stars as the temperature sank into the low 50°s. After a couple of Northern Exposure episodes, we were grateful to slip into bed. It had been a lovely day. 

Yep, we're going to climb that hill!

The trail was sometimes hard to find in all the rocks.

That's "our end" of Lake Patagonia and our trailer is somewhere down there.

This shows pretty much the whole reservoir that is Lake Patagonia.

Peggy poses among the ocotillo and agave.

The dam and wide spillway that form the lake.

Winter Travels 2019--Part 6: Patagonia Birding

Friday we joined a 9:00 Bird Hike on the nearby trail lead by a very knowledgeable volunteer named Di. She was a fount of information and deftly went from giving hints and identifying birds herself, to eliciting the identification from the 13 or so of us in her group as we learned more. Our most exciting sight was a flock of around 30 Mountain Bluebirds, males and females, posing at the top of a large tree. We were amused that the guide and locals were nearly as excited by a flock of Robins; these common backyard visitors (to us) are a rare sight here in southern Arizona. Similarly, people around here get all excited when they sight Northern Cardinals, while we’re more taken by the related but rare (to us) Pyrrhwoxia. The three hours went by very quickly and now we can identify the Black Phoebe and other new-to-us birds with the best of them. We had lunch and spent much of the afternoon reading in the sunshine as the temps rose into the low 70°s. (With temperatures at night in the 30°s and during the day in the 70°s we are shedding and redonning clothes throughout the day but we don’t mind.) Both of us felt like another hike around the campground before we made dinner and worked on the computer for the evening.

Black Phoebe

Add caption

Flock of Mountain Bluebirds

Close-up of the Bluebirds

Sonoita Creek before it opens into the Reservoir called Lake Patagonia

Our Birding group

Bluebirds seen later in the hike, right over our heads

Female Pyrrhwoxia on one of several feeders at the trailhead of the Birding Trail 

Winter Travels 2019--Part 5: Patagonia State Park

Jan. 23-Jan. 30: Our next destination was Patagonia Lake State Park in far southern Arizona. We had stayed at this reservoir, built in 1975 by a consortium of ranchers, farmers, and natural resource people, on our first trip out west and were eager to return to it. The drive was less than 5 hours and we arrived in plenty of time to set-up, including plugging in for electricity and water at our campsite. Such luxury!! Unfortunately, nestled down in the valley as we are, there is no phone or internet signal and we have to drive back to the highway to be in communication. The evening was for relaxing and enjoying the sunset and temperatures in the low 60s.

Thursday we got up at our leisure and made a good breakfast before taking a long hike around the campground, to the Visitors’ Center, and over the steep, high bridge over a channel(built to accommodate dreamed of sailing regattas that never happened), around the Marina, and back to the campsite. We read in the warm sunshine for a while before making lunch and setting off for Sahuarita, on the other side of the mountains. There were two destinations for the afternoon. We were expecting to volunteer at the Food Bank at the Church of the Good Shepherd, with which Sarah had put us in contact. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was crazy busy with volunteers and clients alike. Jim Armstrong, who knew Sarah, greeted us and made us feel very welcome but basically said they didn’t need the help and encouraged us to come to the services and stay for a meal on Sunday. We explained that we thought the church was in Nogales, which is half an hour southeast of the State Park. Sahuarita was actually half an hour or more northwest of Nogales on the other side of the mountains, halfway to Tucson. So we won’t be coming back that weekend, and instead hope to return both to volunteer and for the service when we stay in Tucson. Since we had most of the afternoon in front of us we drove to nearby Madera Canyon and took a hike on a small part of the Old Baldy Mountain Trail, far enough up to look down into the valley a thousand feet below. By then it was time to drive the few miles to Green Valley, our second destination for the day, to see Barb White and Joe Wolfort at the place they rent there. We arrived just in time to watch the MSU/Iowa Basketball game with them. Barb made a lovely fish dinner, we did two loads of laundry, and MSU pulled out another double-digit win to combine for a really nice evening with these dear friends. It was nearly 11:00 by the time we returned to the park where we went to bed, warmed by the good time and our electric heater, electric blanket, and mattress heater.

The view of the Santa Cruz Valley from Madera Canyon hiking trail

It was pretty cool up in the Canyon but the sun was shining strongly on the hillside.
The canyon is nearly straight west of Patagonia, on the other side of the mountains.

Gila Woodpecker

We can't remember this woodpecker. Any help would be appreciated!

A Bridal Sparrow according to the "expert" near the feeders.

Gila Woodpecker