Uncategorized – Page 2 – Tincan Travels

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.

Desert Trails- Final Dispatch

Unforeseen circumstances required us to stay put in Tucson for an extra month. The extra month allowed us to continue our desert explorations and enjoy the friendships we’ve made during our stay. We were happy to get more time to bike the nearby desert trails.

Tim, Brian and Sue entering the quirky Fred’s Arena for dinner.

When we travel it’s always fun to meet people from around the country. Two years ago we met fellow Airstreamers Noelle and Andy. While they were in Tucson we hooked up for a hike in the Saguaro National Monument.

We chose the Sendero Esperanza trail.

Tucson is home to a number of museums. While we’ve visited many of them over the years we’ve not made it to The Mini Time Museum of Miniatures. The museum features lots of doll houses, old and new, but we visited to see a special exhibit; The Pencil is Mightier: Art on the Tip of a Pencil by Salavat Fidai.

The extra month also gave us an opportunity to hike the desert under a full moon, no flashlight needed. It was as a unique experience. These photos were taken at around 8:00 pm.

Shelly had another unique experience during our stay, a visit to the mobile barber (El Royo) that was set up next to our local Speedway gas station. The proprietor says he is one of three mobile barbers operating in Tucson.

The Sonoran Desert always draws us back to Tucson. The appeal of Desert Trails RV Park, besides the friends we’ve made, is the easy desert access. We’ll be heading East but we’re sure the call of the desert will have us back in Tucson before long.

Desert Trails- Dispatch 3

Part of our motivation for staying in Tucson was to attend the Tucson Jazz Festival and the city’s Gem and Mineral Show. Our extended stay also gave us a chance to wander downtown Tucson and checkout its many murals.

Most of the shows we attended for the Jazz Festival took place in the Century Room, a relatively new, two year old club in the Congress Hotel.

This is a world class jazz venue that offers music almost nightly. We enjoyed everything we saw at the club and the Old Fashions were tasty.

On of the great things about jazz festivals (besides the music) is meeting and connecting with fellow fans. This trip we met a terrific couple from Los Angeles, Rob and Fumiko. We hung out, went to dinner and enjoyed their company.

We also attended some terrific shows in some of Tucson’s larger music venues.

The Emmitt Cohen Trio at the Rialto Theatre

We enjoyed two shows at the restored Fox Tucson Theatre.

Blue Note Quintet featuring Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, Matt Brewer, Immanuel Wilkins, and Kendrick Scott

It was a phenomenal week of music. The festival got us downtown almost daily which gave us an opportunity to checkout downtown’s many murals.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is an annual event that draws thousands of visitors from around the world. The event is billed as the world’s largest gem and mineral show and we believe it. It’s been on our “to do” list for a while and this year we made it happen.

An African Village was set up in tents on a large parking lot. This is where vendors from Africa set up shop.

It’s an overwhelming experience to wander through the exhibits. After about four hours our eyes glazed over and knew it was time to move on. Meanwhile, back at camp the the Sunday music program continued full speed ahead.

In between all the music we continue to enjoy the stunning Arizona sunsets.

Desert Trails- Dispatch 2

We decided to try something different during this visit to Tucson. Instead of moving around we’ve put down roots at the RV park for an extended stay. Being in the same place for an extended time has allowed us to do more socializing and more completely explore this section of Tucson. We were even able to have the Tincan washed and waxed during our stay.

Pat has decided to take up painting with watercolors as a way to channel her creativity and create a record of our desert stay.

It has become apparent to us during this trip that Arizonans of a certain age enjoy going out to hear live music and dance. Always on the lookout for local music venues we have found a few we enjoy.

Jimmy Carr and the Awkward Moments @ The Congress Hotel

Kevin Pakulis Band @ Borderlands Brewing

All the bands have been different, good and playing danceable music. While it’s been fun to go out on the town it’s the desert that keeps calling us.

We’ve also continued to take our Wednesday morning 1 1/2 mile walk up Tumamoc Hill.

We’ve run into a spate of windy, cold and wet weather. This was not what we came to Arizona for. However, Pat found a spot 22 miles southeast of Tucson where it’s always dry and 70 degrees. Colossal Cave Mountain Park has an ancient karst cave that is classified as a dry cave. What this means is that the cave formations are dry and do not grow. The cave was discovered in 1876 and has had its stalactites and stalagmites, broken off and carted away. In 1933 the CCC came to the cave and built outbuildings, stairs, and laid out park roads. Today the cave is part of a Pima County park.

After a short hike we entered the cave.

During our last visit to Tucson we saw flyers announcing the arrival of the Zoppe Family Circus. Who doesn’t love a one ring circus in a tent? We had to leave Tucson and didn’t attend. This year we made it happen.

This was done about 30ft above the floor, no net

Twenty five miles south of Tucson is the Titan Missile Museum. It is the site of a former intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo which was operational from 1963 to 1984. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in1994. The inert missile is the only one you can still see in its original silo.

The missile carried one W53 warhead with a yield of 9 megatons. For comparison, the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of 15 kilotons.

Most of the tour took place underground and culminated in the control room with a simulated missile launch.

Perhaps a rainbow is in order after contemplating the Titan missile and the mutually assured destruction, that it guaranteed.

I’m not sure why, but winter sunsets in the desert are beautiful and we never get tired of them.

Desert Trails- Dispatch 1

We’ve moved out of one of our favorite state parks and into a private RV park where we can stay for awhile. While our new site is not as scenic as the one in the state park it does have its charms.

About those charms. We are a short walk to a nice private shower and a laundry room. Very convenient. Our site comes with water, electric and a sewer hookup. In addition, our monthly fee works out to be less per day than the state park. The other residents (?!) are friendly and many enjoy organizing activities in the park. The music committee brings in a band twice a month. The first band this month was the Hot Club of Tucson and they were terrific.

The real charm of the park comes from its proximity to Tucson Mountain Park. This Pima county park is 20,000 acres and has 62 miles of non-motorized shared use trails. A short walk or bike ride will put you on the trails.

What causes this rare mutation remains a mystery. Speculation points to freezing as a trigger which may initiate the process. Regardless of the cause they are a treat to behold.

Whenever we find ourselves in Tucson we make a point to visit the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) located on the campus of the University of Arizona.

The CCP was established in 1975 and houses the full archives of some of our favorite photographers, W. Eugene Smith, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, and Gerry Winogrand. The current exhibits featured the work of W. Eugene Smith.

A Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946 by W. Eugene Smith

White Rose Sign, 1957-1958 by W. Eugene Smith

There was also a large exhibit of work by contemporary Korean photographers.

The Pink Project- Jeeyoo and Her Pink Things, Seoul, South Korea, 2007 by Yoon JeongMee

The Blue Project 1-Kihun and His Blue Things, Seoul, South Korea, 2007 by Yoon JeongMee

We joined a group of fellow RVers that hikes Tumamoc Hill every Wednesday morning and then eats lunch together. The 1 1/2 mile hike up the hill is a steep and grueling walk to the top.

But in the final analysis being here is all about the desert.

Megalopolis

We left the Sedona area and headed toward Phoenix. It was with some trepidation that we headed to the valley that is the city of Phoenix where approximately 1.6 million people reside. The valley is surrounded by mountains where you can find some of the nicest county parks we’ve had the pleasure to stay in. We reserved eleven days in Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa, Arizona. It’s a great park for hiking and biking in the Sonoran Desert.

Mesa is located in the East Valley and has had double digit growth since 2010 giving the city a population of just under 500,000. If it’s growth continues at its current rate of 13.3%, in a few years it will surpass Tucson as Arizona’s second largest city.

The Mesa Arts Center is an impressive complex of galleries, performance spaces and art studios. On Thursday they present a lunch time concert series.

William Clipman (percussion) and R. Carlos Nakai (Native American flute)

The galleries featured three exhibitions; Just Cause: The power of contemporary art in social engagement, Facing the Giant: 3 Decades of Dissent- Shepard Fairey and Gift In The Rapture- Caledonia Curry (Swoon).

Hero from the Spiritual Security series 2016 by Alexi Torres

Thalassa, 2022 by SWOON /Caledonia Curry

We’ve long admired the work of Shepard Fairey but have not seen his originals. We weren’t disappointed.

Usery Mountain Regional Park encompasses 3,600 acres with elevation ranges from 1,700 to 2,750 feet and contains a large variety of plants and animals with great birding opportunities. The park features miles of bike trails for every skill level and we spend most of our time in the park exploring those trails. There are two trails that are geared to hikers, the Pass Mountain Trail and the Wind Cave Trail.

Taking a break from biking we laced up our hiking boots and headed to the Pass Mountain Trail and it’s Vista Point, about 4.5 miles round trip.

In between biking and hiking, we found time to visit the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. The Garden features a wide assortment of cacti as well as a gallery for rotating art exhibitions.

The Garden was presenting a large exhibition of the work of Columbian artist Fernando Botero.

One hot afternoon we decided to drive to the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest to see if we could find the wild horses that live along the river.

One of three horses we saw crossing the river

Phoenix is the home of the Heard Museum. The museum features the work of Native American artists, both traditional and modern. The featured exhibition was “Early Days: Indigenous Art from the McMichael”. It was ironic that we came to Phoenix to see work from a gallery in Ontario, Canada. The exhibit featured both historical and contemporary work from throughout Canada.

Hamat’sa Crooked Beak Mask, 2005 by Henry Speck Jr.

Whale and Pook-UbS Transformation Mask, 2002 by Art Thompson

Taksam (left) by Beau Dick and Eagle Spirit (right), 1995 by Simon Dick

While getting around Phoenix can be problematic, it’s an area that has a lot to offer. From great art museums, botanical gardens, restaurants, and local breweries, we’ve enjoyed our stay. We haven’t even mentioned the great regional and state parks that offer outstanding hiking and biking opportunities in addition to the sunsets.

At the end of our stay we experienced a meteorological phenomenon that we had not experienced in Phoenix before. Heavy cloud cover all day. A touch of Buffalo in the desert.

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.