hiking – Tincan Travels

The Beat Goes On

Staying in one place can have its advantages. When we leave Desert Trails we will have been here three months. That’s a long time to a stay in one place. On the plus side, it gives you plenty of time to find your tribe. We’ve met some genuinely lovely people that we enjoy hanging out with. It’s great to find new hiking and biking buddies.

We met Barry and Janice on a previous stay at Desert Trails. Both are avid hikers and bikers. We teamed up with them to take on a Sabino Canyon hike along Bear Creek to the Seven Falls. This five + mile round trip hike requires five water crossings.

It was a demanding hike but we made it.

A trail side view across the canyon toward the Seven Falls

During this year’s stay we met a couple from the state of Washington, Fred and Anne. They told us about a little known cave above the David Yetman Trail that sports pictographs. Barry and Janice joined us and we headed out.

The trail winds through desert washes and hills.

The final ascent to the cave is a hand over hand scramble to get to its mouth.

They even took a chance and went with us to our favorite downtown Jazz club, the Century Room, to hear a tribute to John Coltrane.

During our stay this year we met Lisa and Jim, a couple of full time RVers. We decided to spend some time together hiking the Sabino Canyon Dam trail.

The trail starts out fairly flat but eventually starts gaining altitude.

One of the trails near camp is the Little Cat Mountain loop. We organized a group hike and met at the trail head.

Shelley, Brian, Lizz, Anne, Fred and Pat

Doug and Tim organized a Sunday hike to an old mine opening in a part of Tucson Mountain Park that we were unfamiliar with. A group from the RV park met up and headed out.

Recent rain helped bring on some spring wild flowers.

Our goal was to work our way up a hill for a view of the surrounding desert.

Shelley, Tim, Janine, Pat, Greg, Brian and Doug

We’ve enjoyed our time in Tucson and hanging out with the terrific folks at Desert Trails RV. We are moving on but hope to return in a couple of years. We’ll miss our new friends and those fabulous desert sunsets.

We Have Options

The weather will often dictate our days activity. Too wet? Checkout a movie. Too windy? Leave the bikes locked up and go for a hike where it’s not windy.

Forty six miles south of our location is Madera Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. We choose the 2 mile Bog Springs Trail. The trail is at 5,000 feet with very different topography than what we’ve been camping in.

The Brown Mountain Loop Trail is a 5 mile hike that goes up and over Brown Mountain. The trail is located near by in Tucson Mountain Park. We’ve walked this trail a couple of times over the years and have always walked the trail in a clockwise direction. This time we approached the trail counter clockwise.

The trail starts off fairly flat and then gradually gains elevation.

As you head up the mountain you are rewarded with views of the valley surrounding the mountain.

Near the top we found these Brittlebush blossoms

While we have options away from camp it’s easy to access the desert around our RV park.

We have easy access to different labyrinths

We’re always looking for new culinary delights. This trip we discovered a popular Menlo Park (a nearby neighborhood) breakfast spot, Barista del Barrio. They are known for their excellent breakfast burritos and horchata with espresso.

The park continues to bring in local musicians for monthly concerts. This month brought Grams & Krieger, two of Tucson’s Blues Hall of Famers.

Shelly hooked up with a couple of college sports fans and went to see the undefeated University of Arizona basketball team play. It was quite a spectacle.

The spectacle of Arizona sunsets continue to delight as well.

The Beat Goes On

We’re comfortably ensconced here at Desert Trails. RV life necessitates some mundane routines: there are tanks to empty, groceries to procure, as well as cleaning up around camp. On the bright side we have easy access to the desert and a vibrant community of like minded campers. One of our neighbors told us about a nearby trail system we had not explored so we decided to make the short drive to the Sarasota Trail Head.

The trail ascends to a high point for views of the surrounding desert.

We went back New Year’s Day for our first hike of the year but had to cut it short due to rain.

Mountain biking continues to be a preferred activity here at Desert Trails. Pat has hooked up with group of women who are seasoned mountain bikers and have been coaching her to improve her skills.

Desert Trails RV Park is also a short drive to the Saguaro National Park. The park has a lovely scenic drive and lots of hiking trails. We chose the Valley View Trail for a morning hike.

A short distance from the park is Gates Pass, a popular spot for watching the sun set.

Every day brings more opportunities to watch the sun set…

…and it’s always different!

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.