Catalina Mountains – Tincan Travels

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.

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.