camping and travel – 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 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.

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.

Settling In

Sedona is a popular destination in northern Arizona. The striking scenery, hiking and biking draw lots of tourists. It’s popularity can make enjoying the area difficult, from excessive traffic, finding parking at trailheads or making dinner reservations at one of the many fine restaurants in town. Don’t despair, there are ways around these difficulties.

To avoid the crowds we force ourselves to get on the trail early and explore areas that aren’t as well known as the iconic Sedona hikes. We enjoy hiking the Scorpion-Pyramid Loop in Carroll Canyon. It’s a great hike that not many people do.

While the air quality was fine, the smoke from the prescribed burns made for a hazy view of Cathedral Rock.

Mariposa and Elote are two of our favorite places to eat. In Sedona, getting dinner reservations can be a challenge but persistence pays off. We tried going the online route with no success. Elote had moved to a new location since we were last here so we went looking for it. We found ourselves at their new location as they were opening. We got in line with no reservation but they were able to seat us in spite of nothing being available on line. We had a similar problem with Mariposa,: no availability online. We stopped by at the end of their lunch rush and the hostess managed to find us a table on the patio later in the week. The food was outstanding at both restaurants.

Part of the view from the patio at Mariposa

Bubbling Ponds Nature Preserve is located in Page Springs, AZ. This Audubon run preserve near Cottonwood has 1 1/2 miles of bird watching trails.

While Dead Horse Ranch SP is an excellent jumping off spot to explore the Sedona area it offers excellent hiking and biking opportunities right in the park.

The network trails behind our campsite offer miles of challenging biking and hiking.

Smoke from a prescribed burn on the other side of Mingus Mountain

Our friends Andy and Lori have built themselves a lovely home in Jerome. We always enjoy hanging out with them when we visit the area.

This trip they turned us on to some of their favorite bands and dancing establishments. We enjoyed the Spirit Room, in Jerome where Combo Deluxe was playing.

We’ve visited the Sedona area a number of times through the years. In spite of that we have not come close to exhausting all the hiking possibilities. We decided to get up at dawn and get on the road to secure a coveted parking space at the Bear Mountain trail head.

This is a difficult hike, you gain 1,800 feet of elevation in a 2.3 mile hike to the top. We didn’t make it to the top but the hike offers spectacular views all along the trail.

Bonus photo: Shelly hiking the Mescal Trail

The West Fork Trail along Oak Creek is a popular and iconic Sadona hike. The small parking lot at the trail head makes it imperative to arrive early. The lot is generally full by 8am.

The trail is 3.3 miles long, one way, and has 13 water crossings.

The crisp morning hike among the many oak and maple trees gave us our first taste of fall.

During this trip to Red Rock Country we’ve focused on hiking areas we’ve not visited. The Doe Mountain trail is an old favorite however. It’s a short steep trail with lots of switchbacks. After forty minutes on the trail you’ll make it to the top and can enjoy commanding views of West Sedona.

After our Doe Mountain hike we drove to the nearby Fay Canyon trail head. This is a short, 1.3 mile family friendly hike into a box canyon. A half mile down the main trail is a social trail to an easy to miss red rock arch. Shelly felt the need to scramble up and check it out.

Bell Rock, Courthouse Rock, Cathedral Rock and Yavapai Vista Point are located on Route 179 south of Sedona. This section of red rock country is very popular with limited parking. This trip we arrived at these trail heads at around 3:00pm and found parking spots.

Courthouse Rock and Bell Rock as seen from Yavapai Vista Point

We’ve enjoyed our time in this part of Arizona but it’s time to move on. Here’s one more sunset from the smoke filled skies of Cottonwood, Arizona.

Heading West

We left Santa Fe and headed to Arizona where we plan to spend most of the winter months. Our first stop was Homolovi State Park outside of Winslow.

The park is home to the ruins of two 14th century pueblos of the Hisat’sinom people, ancestors of the modern Hopi people.

These ruins have been partially reconstructed

The ruins are littered with pottery shards. The Hopi say that the broken pottery is now part of the land and the trail that Bahana will follow when he returns.

Among the shards along he Little Colorado River

About 12 miles from the park entrance is The Little Painted Desert. At one time this land was privately owned, became a county park and is now owned by the Hopi Nation. We found out about this unadvertised spot from a park ranger. We saw no one during our visit.

Also near camp is Meteor Crater – a well known Route 66 tourist destination. Over 50,000 years ago a meteorite weighing several hundred thousand tons impacted the earth leaving a crater almost a mile wide and 550 feet deep. It’s an impressive sight.

In the 1960’s the crater was the site where the Apollo astronauts trained for their mission to the moon.

The historic town of Winslow (also a well known Route 66 destination) is a short drive from camp. It’s claim to fame originates from a couple of musical references.

While traveling the desert southwest we’ve seen a meteorological phenomenon known as a virga or dry storm. What happens is that moisture builds up and precipitates from the clouds but evaporates before it hits the ground; creating a dry storm. While we’ve seen this phenomenon before, we’ve never seen it at sunset. That changed on our last night at Homolovi State Park.

From Winslow we continued on to Cottonwood, Arizona and Dead Horse Ranch State Park. The park puts us in a perfect location to explore Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Jerome and Sedona.

The park features a couple of lagoons, the Verde River as well as hiking and biking trails.

The red rock county that is Sedona always calls us back to hike and contemplate. One of the easiest places to do that is the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park.

The stupa is filled with relics and is a place for meditation

These prayer wheels are filled with thousands of mantras for peace. As you walk clockwise around the wheels you spin them sending prayers for peace into the world.

The Stupa allows easy access to the Thunder Mountain trail system and Chimney Rock.

Our friends Andy and Lori are putting the finishing touches on their new house in Jerome. We last saw the project two years ago. We drove up the mountain to check on the progress and take in the annular, ring of fire, solar eclipse.

In our location we could observe 80% coverage of the sun. Not a complete ring of fire but a noticeable drop from in temperature as the sun was covered.

The temperatures have been 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. With temperatures rising into the 90’s we decided to take a day trip tho Flagstaff for cooler temperatures. We headed to Campbell Mesa for some hiking among the Ponderosa Pines.

Just behind our campsite is a small mesa that offers great views as the sun sets. Whenever we’re in camp at sunset we wander up for a look.

The smoke/haze in the valley is the result of prescribed burns

The smoke makes for some striking sunsets

Land of Enchantment, part two

While we love hanging out in Santa Fe our location allows us the chance to explore and enjoy other locales in the area. An hour and a half to the north is Los Alamos, home of the Manhattan Project. The drive takes you through a striking high desert landscape.

The original Manhattan Project front gate

The land that the city of Los Alamos currently occupies was taken by the US government as the site of the Manhattan Project. In 1943, when the government exercised its right of eminent domain, the property was the site of the Los Alamos Ranch School. The school was a private preparatory school for boys that not only focused on academics but also outdoor survival skills.

Los Alamos was originally built as a closed city. Those who came to work on developing the atomic bomb stayed in this small community.

There are around 13,000 people who currently make Los Alamos home. The legacy of the Manhattan Project can be seen throughout the city.

Robert Oppenheimer (Laboratory Director) and General Leslie Groves(Commanding General).

The Mesa Public Library provides a welcoming community space that has an affordable used bookstore, art gallery and book collection for the residents.

The art gallery was presenting a provocative photo exhibit by Jeff Corwin, “Guns In America”.

North of Santa Fe on the way to Taos are the hot springs of Ojo Caliente. The springs are located outdoors and provide a relaxing environment.

One of the culinary delights of New Mexico is the Green Chili Cheeseburger. It seems like every restaurant that serves one is serving the best in the state. This week we visited the quirky town of Madrid located twenty minutes south of our camp. This is where we found, in our humble opinion, the best Green Chili Cheeseburger at the Mineshaft Tavern. No photo of the burgers, we gobbled them down too fast.

We’ve camped at Santa Fe Skies RV Park several times and thought we knew the area well. This visit we discovered a cool BLM tract not 15 minutes away. At the Cieneguilla Recreation Area you can hike to petroglyphs or go to the top of the mesa for a nice 3 mile hike.

Pat’s sister Carolyn had a bucket list idea to ride the Cumbres- Toltec steam train out of Chama ~we joined her for a fun day on the rails.

The line is the longest and highest narrow gauge railroad in the US. The line starts in Chama, NM and ends in Antonito, CO, a 64 mile trip. We opted to ride a 25.7 section from Chama, NM to Osier, CO. The trip took us through Cumbres Pass, the highest point on the line at 10,015 feet above sea level.

It took two engines to get us through Cumbres Pass

Our brother in-law Ed taking in the view of Cascade Trestle, the highest bridge on the line

Our train took us through some spectacular mountain scenery.

The ride back to Santa Fe takes you by Ghost Ranch and the Village of Abiquiu. This is Georgia O’Keeffe Country, the landscape that inspired many of her paintings.

Albuquerque is about a 1 hour drive south from where we are set up. We had tickets to two performances at the Outpost that were part of the New Mexico Jazz Festival.

The Outpost is a nonprofit organization that hosts an intimate performance space. We saw Joel Harrison’s Anthem of Unity project and the Aaron Goldberg Trio.

We arrived in Albuquerque early in the day to visit the The National Hispanic Cultural Center. The Center’s mission is to promote the work of Hispanic artists from around the world. The work was varied and very good.

Pants, from Percha Series, 2014 by Nicholas Herrera

A Slice of American Pie, 2008 by Luis Tapia

We had fun wandering the Center’s extensive campus.

Before our show we wandered over to Central Avenue (Historic Route 66) to take in the sites and grab a bite to eat.

The entry to the Kimo Building built in 1927

For dinner we settled on Oni, a ramen shop near the Kimo Building.

Santa Fe RV Park has a .75 mile walking path around the park. It’s a perfect route to see the always amazing Santa Fe sunsets.

Kentucky: Quilting to Bourbon

Paducah, Kentucky is home to the National Quilt Museum. We’ve been trying to get there for awhile. This trip we made it happen.

We arrived during Quilt Week, a massive gathering of quilters and vendors of all things quilting. Our focus was on the museum and their current exhibitions. We were not disappointed. To call what these quilters do quilts fails to convey the level of artistry involved in producing this work.

Summer Fun, 2022 by Marina Landi and Fabia Diniz

Yes! That was done with dyed fabric and thread.

Black Star Family, First Class Tickets to Liberia, 2018 by Bisa Butler

One of the major shows at the museum was called “Showstopper “ highlighting the work of Marilyn Badger, a competitive quilter. And showstoppers they were.

The other major museum show was “Larger Then Life” by Velda Newman. She dyes all of her fabrics and hand quilts everything.

“Zinnia” took two years to complete and is 17 1/2 feet long and over 7 feet tall

There are more mind blowing “Quilts” than would be practical to include here. If you enjoy this kind of textile art you owe yourself a visit to Paducah or at least a visit to the museum’s website: quiltmuseum.org.

After spending a day looking at quilts and rubbing shoulders with the hordes we drove to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area for some bike riding.

We left Paducah and continued our journey north for a stop along the bourbon trail in Bardstown, Kentucky.

Bardstown refers to itself as “the bourbon capital of the world “. This is no idle boast given the number of distilleries in the area. In fact, as you wander the town you can smell corn mash being fermented.

One of the lovely federalist style brick homes found in Bardstown

We enjoyed wandering the “historic “ downtown

We weren’t there to wander Main Street but visit distilleries. We had one tour booked but decided to do some visits without tours.

One of the numerous rickhouses ( where the barrels of bourbon are aged) found on the grounds of Bardstown Bourbon Company

The Bardstown Bourbon Company is a new distillery in the area. They’ve been around less than seven years and have an outstanding bar in their new modern facility.

We also stopped by the Heaven Hill Distillery. The original distillery burned down in 1996 but they bought a facility in Louisville to continue to make whiskey. In 2022 they rebuilt their rickhouses on the sight of their original distillery.

We did book a tour and tasting at Willet, a smaller, family owned and operated distillery. The family were pig farmers until the abolition of prohibition in 1933 when they decided to ride the whiskey wave sweeping the country. The grounds are beautiful and they have great food @ the bar.

We made time to spend an afternoon at the 600 acre Bernhiem Arboretum. While wandering about we ran into few amenable trolls.

Thomas Dambo one of the many artists in residence that work with the arboretum created the troll series.

Sounds of the Whippoorwill by Justin Roberts

It’s been a great trip and after stopping at the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio for our annual repair and maintenance date, we head back to Buffalo. We plan on being back on the road in September.

Northbound

We left the New Orleans area and turned the Tincan north to Oxford, Mississippi. Oxford has an interesting history. It’s home to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where in 1962 James Meredith integrated the university. Oxford was also the home of the author William Faulkner.

We camped about 30 minutes south of town in an Army Corp of Engineers campground called Persimmon Hill on Enid Lake. This was a great stop, the Army Corp campgrounds are very spacious and often have sewer hookups. This one had hiking, biking and fishing.

We drove into town and were taken aback by the traffic and people wandering around. The Ole Miss baseball team is the defending US Collegiate Champions and they were playing their rivals LSU over the weekend. In addition, Morgan Wallen (we had to ask who he was) was playing two large stadium shows as well. He’s a country artist which explained all the cowboy boots and hats. In spite of the crowds we were able to do most of what we had planned other than wander the University campus.

Faulkner never taught at Ole Miss and only attended for three semesters before quitting. However, the University maintains the house and does tours.

We realized we were only an hour away from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. We’ve wanted to visit for awhile so we took advantage of our proximity to make it happen.

The museum is built around the former Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered in 1968. The museum opened in 1991 and has exhibits that trace the US civil rights movement from the 17th century to the present. The museum is very well done and worth checking out.

On the balcony looking towards the rooming house where the fatal shot originated

While we ended our stay in Mississippi on a somber note we enjoyed our visit and are sure to return. But it’s time to pack up and head to Kentucky.