Tucson - Part 1

We arrived in Tucson on January 16 and are staying at the Western Way RV Resort for a full month.  We leave on February 16.  This is the first time we've stayed in one place for this long.  I don't like all the prickly things outside in the place they call the desert, but otherwise it's nice.

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Let me show you a few of the things we've been doing...

Like many people, we watched the inauguration on TV.

Me watching the inauguration

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A few days later, Mom and Dad did a 4.4 mile hike to the Painted Cave in Tucson Mountain Park.

On the way to Painted Cave, Mom and Dad stopped by the Bowen Homestead.  The Bowen's came to Tucson in 1928 and Homesteaded here in 1931.  Their ranch grew to 2,000 acres, which eventually became part of Tucson Mountain Park.  They had a classy house with beautiful views.  This is the view from the living room windows.

The Painted Cave is up on the side of the hill, next to the blue arrow.  The whole hike only had 420 ft of elevation gain, but most of it is between this spot and the cave entrance.  Mom says, YES, it IS as steep as it looks!!

Mom told Dad he was crazy when he set out up the hill.  She was going to just enjoy this beautiful valley, but then she decided to follow him.  Not sure which of my parents is crazier! 😕

Mom said it was worth it.  Petroglyphs in the Painted Cave.

From the Painted Cave there was a great view back to the trail below (next to the blue arrow)

and nice view toward downtown

and of the oncoming rain storm to the west

On the way back to the car, Dad got a photo of rain drops on this cactus.

Looking out the windshield of the car.  Mom said that Tucson had 4.17 inches of rain for all of 2020.   I don't know how much rain we got today, but Mom's hair and T-Shirt were really wet when she got home.

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Another day, Mom and Dad did a hike on the Thunderbird Trail to Cactus Canyon and Gila Monster Loop.  It was 6.4 miles with 755 feet of elevation gain.  It was mostly in Saguaro National Park.  While they didn't see any Gila Monsters, they did see a lot of cactus.

A crested Saguaro

Beautiful views of the mountains

Lots of Saguaros

in all directions

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Then, we had a few days of colder weather. 

We had pea size hail the first day.

Those white spots on me are snow.  That came the next night.

The 3rd day, we had more snow.  When it stopped, we went for a walk to take a look at the snow. 

This is part of the RV Park where we are staying.  The snow didn't accumulate much where we are, but put a nice dusting of snow on the mountains around us.

A little snow stuck to this barrel cactus.

and on this prickly pear

The snow was pretty on the mountains and stayed for several days.

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When the weather got nicer, Mom and Dad did a hike near Oro Valley called the Wild Burro Loop.  It was 5.6 miles with 1,171 ft of elevation gain.  Mom says she needs to pay more attention to the elevation map when she chooses hikes.  This one had a mile of nearly flat trail at the beginning and nearly 1.5 miles of nearly flat trail at the end.  That means it was about 1,000 feet up and back down in just 3 miles.  She said that was killer.

Dad impersonating a Saguaro.  I think heat stroke was setting in.

Beautiful views from those heights.

and lots of interesting rock formations.

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After so much hiking, they decided to take a drive to the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge is on the Arizona/Mexico border. 

This is a photo of the Border Wall.  The construction crew actually blasted a notch into the mountain so they could build the wall on flatter ground.  There was a taller mountain in the other direction and it had an even deeper slot, but Mom's camera couldn't get a clear photo because it was too far away.

One of the things they do at the refuge is run a breeding program for the endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail.  This is a male Quail.

and a female

On the way home, they drove by a place called The Longhorn Grill.  They didn't stop, because they are avoiding restaurants, but they think it gets a 10 for exterior decor.

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Another day, Mom and Dad went on a hike to Bobcat Ridge in Tucson Mountain Park.  This was a 4.5 mile hike with 750 feet of elevation gain.  

That's Bobcat Ridge.  The trail goes up there.

Nice views from the top. 

Dad managed to step on a piece of cactus.  He said it has hard to get off his boot.  Now he knows why I don't like the desert and its spiky plants on my paws.

We can see Bobcat Ridge from our RV.  Mom called me and I went to the window and waved at her.  Can you see me?  I'm under that blue arrow.  That's Kit Peak off in the distance.  It's about 30 miles away.

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A couple of days ago, Mom and Dad did another hike in Tucson Mountain Park.  This hike included parts of the Bittersweet, Camaro, and Sunset Pass Trails.  It was 3.5 miles with 250 feet of elevation gain.

It's hard to believe that we've been here over two weeks.  We are enjoying warmer weather.  It was 81 degrees yesterday.  Next time I'll tell you about the rest of our stay in Tucson. 

Love, 

Doolin