Tincan Travels

Happy Trails at Desert Trails

We’ve moved to south Tucson to a private RV Park for an extended stay. The plan is to stay here for the next three months. We’ve been here before and have enjoyed our stays. Between the proximity to the desert and the park community we feel right at home.

We reconnected with Shelley and Brian, some folks we hung out with on our last visit to Desert Trails two years ago, .

Pat and Shelley with Brian’s reflection (Thanks for the image Brian)

Shortly after arriving Pat, Shelley and Brian drove south to Tubac, a historic town near the Mexican border. They were having their Festival of Lights which featured lots of luminaries. Shelly had to stay back to sleep and fight off a cold.

We also reconnected with another old neighbor from past visits.

The park has a group of residents that gets together and invites local bands to play at the park once a month. We arrived in time to enjoy the first concert of the season, the Heather Harding Band. Heather is a Tucson blues legend who plays violin and sings. It was a terrific show.

The proximity and easy access to the desert for biking and hiking is the real draw here. The RV Park borders Tucson Mountain Park with 62 miles of trails. The park was established in 1929 and encompasses 20,000 acres. There’s a lot to explore.

One of the many washes on the Ironwood Trail

A crested saguaro is a rare mutation that occurs in 1 in 20,000 normal saguaros. The reason for this fan like mutation are unknown but thought to be from genetics, frost, or lightning damage. This one is a short bike ride from camp.

Sunsets in Arizona can be intense. This one is from this week

A Short Pause in Phoenix

With Tucson in our rear view mirror we headed north to Phoenix or more accurately east of Phoenix in Mesa.

We landed in Usery Mountain Regional Park, one of our favorite Maricopa county parks.

The recent rain has made the desert very happy and green.

We spend our days biking and hiking the desert and it just doesn’t get old.

While riding the trails at dusk we passed a saguaro with a Harris hawk at its nest.

The Harris Hawk is an interesting bird of prey in that they hunt cooperatively in packs. They are referred to as “wolves of the sky”.

We took a break from riding and flew to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with our son and his family.

While visiting we got a taste of the weather we’re escaping.

It was touch and go with the weather but we did make it back to Phoenix in spite of the airport delays.

On our first day back at camp we decided to take a short hike along the Vista Trail.

After our hike we drove over to the Tonto National Forest and the Salt River where wild horses can be seen. We didn’t see any horses this trip but it’s always magical to be around water while in the desert.

Phoenix has many wonderful museums to explore. This trip we stopped at the Phoenix Museum of Art. We were drawn there by a special exhibit called “Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists From Japan”.

Tanka Yu- Bag Work, glazed Shigaraki stoneware

Yes. This is made of clay. We kept returning to this piece in awe of the skill that was required to create this sculpture.

Tanka Tomomi- Dream Flight, porcelaneous stoneware

Back at camp we filled our final days at Usery Mountain Park hiking, biking and birdwatching.

These lovebirds are not native to Phoenix but descendants of escaped pet birds. Local legend holds that the birds escaped from an overturned delivery truck bound for a pet store. Regardless of how they showed up they are thriving in Phoenix.

We’ve had a lovely stay but it’s time to head back to Tucson.

Tucson Reveries

We have visited Catalina state Park a number of times. There’s an hike we enjoy near the campground that had no name and wasn’t an official trail. This year the trail has made it to the list of official park trails- the Alamo Loop. We’re not sure how this 3.2 mile loop got its name.

The trail starts in sandy wash and takes you into the Catalina’s and the Coronado National Forest.

Those are Fairy Dusters in the foreground

Though we’ve visited Tucson many times we have not visited one of its iconic cultural attractions, DeGazia Gallery in the Sun. This 10 acre Foothills retreat includes a number of adobe structures and gallery all built in the 1950’s by the artist Ted DeGrazi. DeGrazi’s work focused on portraying the cultures of the Sonoran desert through a variety of mediums.

DeGrazi decorated many of the buildings walls with murals depicting life in the Sonoran desert.

Golden Barrel Cactus in the DeGrazi cactus garden

We picked up stakes and moved spots where we had better views of the Catalina’s and the Pusch Ridge.

After moving the clouds opened up and we got to experience some desert rain.

The next morning this Sacred Datura bloomed in our campsite.

After the rain we decided to hike up the Moreno Pools, about 2 miles out and back.

The rain also got us to leave camp and visit the Tucson Museum of Art in the Historic Arts District of Tucson. We enjoyed their collection of Mesoamerican and Latin American art.

Standing Male Dignitary, clay-400-800 AD
Veracruz, Mexico

Rooftop Church-Urbano Gutierrez, Peru-Late 20th Century

These elaborate clay churches are made to be installed on the roofs of newly constructed homes. It’s understood that placing a church on the house’s roof will protect it.

Tecuanimeh Dance Costumes, Mexico -late 20th Century

Dance Mask- Pascola, Yaqui or Mayo- late 20th Century

We left the museum and wandered around the neighboring Arts District.

We love to go out and listen to music and Tucson offers plenty of listening opportunities. As we mentioned, the Century Room in the Congress Hotel is a great place to hear music. A Saturday night performance by the Premazzi/Nassar Quartet out of NYC drew us downtown. The band did not disappoint, a great set of music.

Simona Premazzi(piano), Noah Garabedian(bass), Kyle Nassar(sax), Jay Sawyer(drums)

And the sun sets on another week in Tucson.

Tucson Again

We’ve visited the Tucson area a number of times through the years. There have been many changes, increased congestion, building and rising temperatures. In spite of these negatives the stark beauty of the Sonoran Desert and its iconic saguaro cactus continues to draw us back.

The unseasonably warm temperatures continued making hiking and biking difficult. We decided to drive seventeen miles north to gain 2000 ft in elevation and have the temperatures drop ten degrees at Oracle state Park. The park is relatively new in the state, it was opened and dedicated on October 1, 2001. The 1.25 mile Geology Trail Loop offers an easy and informative walk.

It had rained last week and as a result, we were treated to a number of wildflower bloomings.

Much of the trail runs along a dry creek bed and offers lovely views of the surrounding mountains.

Along the trail you can see piles of Oracle Granite, the most common rock found in the park. It is a coarse grained igneous rock which is the bedrock of Southern Arizona.

Besides exploring the desert we’ve been taking advantage of what the City of Tucson has to offer.

One of the many fine murals you’ll see as you wander downtown Tucson

While downtown we attended a jazz concert at the Century Club, as fine a venue to enjoy jazz as you’ll find. We went to see Cory Weeds Meets Chris Hazelton.

Strolling the historic Barrio Viejo near downtown is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Offering art galleries, interesting shops and cafes along with historic architecture.

A short distance from camp is Honey Bee Canyon. The canyon is surrounded by high end gated housing developments. Adequate parking is provided for hikers and as you drop into the canyon that development disappears.

While it’s been hot we have not lacked for things to do. Just being surrounded by the beauty of the Catalina Mountains is enough.

Back to Tucson

After spending last winter in Florida, we decided it was time to visit some of our favorite Arizona destinations. We left the north east later than usual due to dental and medical issues. This necessitated a quick trip across the country, Elkhart, Indiana, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. While, the trip across wasn’t relaxed, we did find time to do a few things along the way. In Nashville on a Monday we found our way to an East Nashville institution, The Underdog to catch Guthrie Trapp.

Guthrie Trapp himself

While in Santa Rosa we had time to visit their Blue Hole.

The Blue Hole is a popular destination for divers

We had one more stop before arriving in Tucson.

Site 6 at the Las Cruces KOA with plenty of views of the Organ Mountains

Mesilla is a historic town near Las Cruces. This is where the Gadsden Purchase was signed and the site where Billy the Kid’s trial took place. It also served as the capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona during the Civil War. While we were there the historic plaza hosted community alters commemorating el dia de los muertos.

From Las Cruces we went directly to Catalina State Park, one of our favorites in Tucson.

The temperatures have been high, high 80’s to low 90’s. Too hot to do much serious hiking or biking. These temperatures necessitate getting on the trail early.

While we wait for the temperatures to be more seasonal we’ll catch up on movies and reading. Not so bad.

Jeykell Island-Biked It, Liked It

Jekyll Island is a barrier island on the southern coast of Georgia. The island is 7miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide with 24 miles of bicycle trails. The island was purchased by the state in 1947 and it became a state park the next year. We booked a camping spot in the only campground on the Island.

The island was given its name by James Oglethorpe, the English general who was responsible for establishing an English colony in Georgia. He named it after his friend and financial supporter Sir Joesph Jeykell.

Apparently, there’s a place for Shelly on the island

We spent most days biking the paths around the island.

One side of the island faces the Atlantic Ocean with lots of accessible beaches. While we didn’t have many “beach” days we did make time to be on the water.

Driftwood Beach is a popular destination on the island.

In the late 1800’s, the island became a private hunting club for some of the wealthiest families in the world (1/6th of the world’s wealth was controlled by club members). In 1886 the Jeykell Island Club was built as the club’s clubhouse.

Some of the families built cottages near the Clubhouse when they felt that the clubhouse could not adequately provide for their families needs.

The entrance to Hollybourne Cottage-1890

The members also constructed an interfaith chapel, Faith Chapel, for members use.

The Chapel was adorned with a lovely signed Tiffany stained glass window

Sandwiched into the historic district of Jekyll Island is the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Distressed and damaged sea turtles are rescued and nursed back to health and later released. A worthy endeavor that’s worth checking out.

When Jekyll Island opened as a state park in 1948 all of Georgia’s citizens were not welcomed to the new park. Because of segregation African Americans could not visit many parts of the island, including its beaches. In 1950 African Americans from nearby Brunswick requested a portion of the island for their enjoyment. The state designated an area at the south end of the island for their use. St. Andrew’s Beach was the only beach in Georgia open to black Georgians.

Coincidentally, Saint Andrews Beach is also where “The Wanderer“ arrived off the coast of Georgia in 1858. The ship was one of the last documented ships carrying illegal African slaves to America. The trans Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in 1807.

While we’ve traveled the south many times we have never visited one of the area’s plantations. A short distance from Jekyll Island is the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site.

The property was purchased and the plantation established in 1806. By 1849 the plantation was using 357 slaves to cultivate 7,300 acres of rice. It was through the blood and sweat of these enslaved people that converted this cypress swamp into a profitable rice plantation.

Former slave/sharecropper housing for two families

The last family member died in 1973 and left the property to the state of Georgia with a trust to preserve the site for posterity.

While there is plenty to explore in the area we’re feeling the need to move on. We hear Savannah calling.

Oceanside at Butler Beach

Most state campgrounds limit your stays to two weeks. We wanted to stay the month of February in the St. Augustine area on the ocean. Bryn Mawr Ocean RV Resort fit the bill as it is located on the ocean side of historic A1A.

Our site is next to the park’s heated pool and spa.

It’s just a five minute walk over a dune to a wonderful beach.

The beach is wide and at low tide hard enough to ride your bike for 10 miles.

This area is adjacent to the land that was purchased by local African American businessman Frank B. Butler in 1927. He bought the land out of frustration with the beaches of St. Augustine being designated “Whites Only”, with violators being arrested. Despite white opposition Butler Beach became the only beach available to African Americans between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. When Butler died in 1974 the family left the remaining parcel to the county for a park.

While walking and biking along a beautiful ocean beach is a great way to spend the day you have to change it up periodically. We searched the area and headed to the Tolomato River Boardwalk Preserve. The 1.7 mile(round trip) boardwalk is located just north of St. Augustine.

The boardwalk takes you through a large marsh of needle rushes to the Tolomato River.

One of the many tidal streams seen from the boardwalk

Gardens always attract our attention. A short drive south of our “camp” is Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. Owen D. Young (a founder of the RCA Corporation) purchased the property as a winter home in 1937 and it was later donated to the state by his wife Louise in 1964.

A number of ponds dot the formal gardens

The gardens also have a number of hiking trails.

North of St. Augustine on a barrier island is the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve which protects 76,000 acres of Florida’s northeast coast. The reserve offers hiking, biking and fishing opportunities.

You never know who you’ll meet along the trail.

The bike trails take you to the convergence of the Guana, Tolomato and Matanzas Rivers where we saw a pod of dolphins.

On one of the many cold wet days this month we drove to St. Augustine for a tour of our favorite local chocolatier.

While we spent a great deal of time at the beach our goal was to spend time with our extended families in Florida.

While we did a lot visiting we still found time to wander the beaches.

You can never tell who you’ll see at the beach

Our daily walk over the dunes to the beach gave us a chance to visit with the locals.

We’ve enjoyed our time in Florida catching up with family and friends. In spite of the allure of life at the beach we’ll be moving north into southern Georgia.

South Bound- January in Florida

While Florida may not be our favorite destination we decided to begin our winter travels by visiting with our numerous relatives and friends that are scattered around the state.

We started out at one of our favorite Florida State Parks, Anastasia State Park.

This St. Augustine park puts us about 30 minutes from Shelly’s sister Andrea and brother in-law Jeff.

What we love about this park is the easy access to its undeveloped five mile shoreline. It’s a great beach for walking and at low tide bike riding.

As beautiful as this stretch of undeveloped shoreline is, it has not been safe from development. Ron DiSantis, the governor, has proposed building a lodge, high rise condos and a golf course here. So far, local residents have rallied enough support to beat back this plan.

Florida weather in January can be iffy. This January it’s been colder than we remember from past visits. Biking and walking the beach have been a chilly affair. We decided to do a side trip Palatka and checkout the Ravine Gardens State Park.

This 152 acre park contains steelhead ravines surrounding a spring fed stream. Unlike ravines that are created by surface erosion, steelhead ravines are the result of seeping underground water which undercuts the sandy slopes and causing them to collapse.

In 1933 the city of Palatka decided to turn the ravines into a formal garden. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) got to work transforming the ravines into formal gardens.

The slopes of the ravines were heavy planted with over 40,000 azalea plants and two suspension bridges were built for viewing the plantings.

The city of St. Augustine has an interesting history and is always a fun place to wander. We started our wandering in the historically black neighborhood of Lincolnville.

The Lincolnville Museum & Cultural Center

The museum focuses on the vibrant African American community that thrived in St. Augustine. Definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in St. Augustine. (They don’t allow photography in the museum.)

The centerpiece of the college is the former luxury hotel Ponce de Leon. The hotel was built in 1888 by railroad magnate Henry Flagler and is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Adjacent to the state park is the St. Augustine Amphitheater. The parking lot of the amphitheater hosts a popular Saturday Farmer’s Market. Whenever we are camping we check the market out. During this visit we were greeted with a large red, white and blue striped tent.

It turned out that a circus was in town. We love the circus and snagged a couple of seats for their final performance.

We enjoyed all the performers; the clown, the juggling, the Ring Master, acrobatics and feats of strength, but “Lady Beast” had a unique act that got our attention.

Camping at Anastasia State Park is always a pleasure but we were ready to continue south on the Florida peninsula.

We moved to Wickham Park in Melbourne Florida. This was just a place holder for us while we went to visit our friends Bill and Sandy in Vero Beach.

From Melbourne we travelled further south to Jupiter and Johnathan Dickinson State Park.

Johnathan Dickinson is Florida’s largest state park in Southeast Florida. The park offers a variety of activities from hiking, biking or paddling along the Loxahatchee River which runs through the park.

We shared the trails with some of the local residents.

One of Pat’s high school friends, Lynne, lives in Jupiter and stopped by to spend the day. In addition, Bill and Sandy brought ther camper to the park to spend a few days. We booked a boat tour of the Loxahatchee River. The weather was cold and windy so we had the boat to ourselves.

We left Jupiter and headed north toward Ormond Beach and Tomoka River State Park hoping for warmer weather.

We lucked out with the weather during a beach visit with Pat’s brother Mike and his wife Donna.

Unfortunately, that warm weather was short lived, replaced with colder temperatures and rain. In between rain showers we managed to get out on our bikes and do some hiking.

Tomoka Point was the location of the Timucua Indian village of Nocoroco. It was the first Indian Village south of St Augustine encountered by the Spanish in 1605. At the time of European contact the Timucua population in Florida was in the tens of thousands. By 1698 exposure to European diseases reduced those numbers to less than 1000. The last known Timucuan died in 1767.

While the weather wasn’t great we enjoyed our time in the park. We then headed to the Gainesville area, a place we’ve never visited. We booked a spot at a private park, Santa Fe River Palms RV Resort. Private parks aren’t our first choice but this one was conveniently located.

The weather in Gainesville did not cooperate during our stay. We needed to disconnect our water for three consecutive nights to avoid damaging our water lines. One morning we awoke to 25 degrees~not the weather we had hoped for. The cold temperatures had us searching for some interesting indoor activities.

The Florida Museum of Natural History is located on the campus of the University of Florida and has an extensive collection of mammalian fossils. The above Mammoth skeleton was uncovered in the Florida panhandle and dates back 10-12,000 years.

Interestingly no land dinosaur bones can be found in Florida. Why? During the time of Dinosaurs, 65 million years ago, Florida was under water.

Part of the museum’s Florida shell collection

Next to the Natural History Museum is the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. The museum’s ten galleries opened in 1990.

Kehinde Wiley- Margret,Countess of Blessington 2018

Stevan Dohanos- Trailer Park Garden 1951

Even though the weather conditions were not ideal we decided to wander the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. This 68 acre facility has 24 major collections that are visually accessible along 1 1/2 mile paved walkway. This includes the state’s largest public display of bamboos as well as the largest herb garden in the Southeast.

Once we decided to get outside and do some hiking and biking regardless of the temperature; we chose Paynes Prairie and headed out.

The prairie in Paynes Prairie is a large Floridian highlands freshwater marsh. The park’s 22,000 acres has 270 species of birds, a herd of bison and wild horses descended from horses brought to Florida by early Spanish explorers. The park also has eight trails for hiking and biking.

Pat’s mother, Betty, visited Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and was quite taken with the experience. Her experience motivated us to visit. This old Florida homestead was MK Rawlings home in the 1930’s where she wrote her Pulitzer Prize winning novel The “Yearling”. The park consists of her home, farmyard and trails.

Relaxing on the porch of the hired hands cabin

On our last day in Gainesville we made a quick trip to Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park. The park consists of a 120 foot deep sinkhole with 132 stairs leading to an observation platform. While sinkholes are common in Florida, Devil’s Millhopper is unique in that it exposes 100 feet of rock layers for study.

Part of the walking trail around the sinkhole

We enjoyed our stay in Gainesville in spite of the cold temperatures. There is plenty we missed and would return on our next visit to Florida.

Bentonville, Arkansas

We’ve been hearing about Bentonville, Arkansas for sometime. During our extended stay in Tucson many of the mountain bikers raved up the Bentonville’s bike infrastructure. Tracy and Cooper recommended Blowing Springs Campground in Bella Vista with downtown Bentonville accessible via six miles of paved bike path.

The campground sits beside the paved Razorback Greenway, a 40 mile path that connects Bentonville with Fayetteville to the south. In addition to the Greenway you have access to miles of mountain biking trails.

Along the Greenway you’ll encounter riders of all ages and skill levels. You will also encounter a variety of bicycle themed sculptures.

A giant furry Sasquatch made of steel and bike chains created by Amanda Willshire in 2018

Some of the trails had advanced technical features that were more than we could handle but offered great hiking opportunities.

Northwest Arkansas has been undergoing a major transformation during the last two decades. At the center of that transformation is Bentonville, headquarters of the Walmart empire. One of the Walton family heirs, Alice, has made major investments in Bentonville. She’s created a collection of American art and had a museum built(2011) to house the collection, Crystal Bridges.

The Museum is in the mist of a two-year expansion project

Miles of wooded walkways showcase the museum’s outdoor art installations.

Three People on Four Benches, 1979 by George Segal

Narcissus Garden, 1966-present by Yayoi Kusama

Turquoise Reeds and Ozark Flori, 2012 by Dale Chihuly

Fly’s Eye Dome, 1981 by Buckminster Fuller

Monochrome II, 2010-2018 by Nancy Rubins

We also enjoyed wandering through the museum’s indoor exhibits.

Trace Me Back, 2023 by Marie Bannerot McInerney

Infinity Mirrored Room,- My Heart is Dancing into the Universe, 2018 by Yayoi Kusama

Admission to the museum and its grounds are always free. However, special exhibits can have an admission fee($12). While we were in town “Exquisite Creatures “ by Christopher Marley opened. Marley uses “creatures” from the natural world to create his work.

We enjoyed our time exploring Crystal Bridges and the areas bike trails as well as Bentonville. The town is attracting tourists and new residents by the droves. We were there during spring break which attracts lots of young families who all seemed to be on bicycles.

There are numerous bike shops, coffee roasters, entertainment and quality restaurants.

A short distance southwest of Bentonville is Rogers, another up and coming Northwest Arkansas town.

Part of the Rogers entertainment district

Rogers is also home to this can’t miss attraction

We’ve been here for one week and are already talking about our next trip to the area. Friendly people, excellent biking, interesting art, fun restaurants, good coffee and beer, what’s not to like.

Las Cruces

We’ve passed through Las Cruces (New Mexico’s second largest city) on past trips to New Mexico but never spent any time exploring the area. The city of 112,000 is at the base of the Organ Mountains. We found a spot at the local KOA which offered commanding views of the mountains.

Our location put us in a position to visit White Sands National Monument, hiking in the Organ Mountains as well as a visit Hatch to purchase some of their famous green chiles. In addition Pat was able to rendezvous with a former colleague from her working days.

White Sands National Monument is located in the Chihuahuan Desert and covers 275 square miles of the Tularosa basin. Most of the sand we encounter is made up of granite but the sand in the Monument is made up of gypsum which has eroded from the surrounding mountains. It’s a surreal experience hiking through the dunes.

Our camp gave us views of the rugged Organ Mountains. This daily exposure made exploring them even more appealing. The mountains offer a lot of hiking options; we started at the Aguirre Spring Recreation Area with the Pine Tree Trail.

Hatch, New Mexico is an hour drive from Las Cruces and is home to some of the best green chilies available. Fresh chili season is in the Fall but we found some that were roasted and then dried(pasado). No visit to Hatch is complete without a trip to Sparky’s for one of their “world famous” green chili cheeseburgers.

While researching hikes in the area Pat found a slot canyon just north of us in Radium Springs. We never pass up an opportunity to hike in a slot canyon.

We also hiked Bar Canyon, a box canyon located in the Organ Mountains near our camp.

The roadrunner is the official state bird of New Mexico. Along Interstate 10 west of Las Cruces, you’ll find Olin Calk’s giant recycled roadrunner. The sculpture is created from landfill debris.

Just a few miles south of Las Cruces is the historic town of Mesilla. In the early 1800’s the Camino Real that traveled from Chihuahua to Santa Fe and the Butterfield Stage Coach from San Antonio to San Diego turned the area into a commercial hub. At that point in history it was part of Mexico. Many of the buildings surrounding the town square date to this time period.

In the early 1850’s Mexico and the US were disputing their national borders. In 1854 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, known as the Gadsden Purchase settled the boundary dispute. The bandshell in the town square commentates its signing.

Mesilla is is also the site where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to death in 1881.

Heading east usually means that our western adventures are nearly over. Las Cruces has been a pleasant pause and we will be back. But now it’s on to Bentonville~ bicycling capital of Northwest Arkansas.