Tucson Mountain Park – 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!

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