As Sarah was entering her final semester of undergraduate studies, the school schedule held a longer than usual break between the end of January Term and the start of second semester in early February. So, she agreed to a warm-weather trip with us and Tucson was chosen due to a direct flight option from Cedar Rapids into Phoenix.
January 30th
In the morning after an overnight stay near the Phoenix Airport, we checked the National Park Service app and noticed Casa Grande Ruins National Monument not too far off the route to Tucson. The Ruins are part of an indigenous Hohokam community that settled and farmed the area from around 1150 to 1450, well before European settlers arrived. We checked out the visitor center and then did a self-guided walk around the main ruins structure. In addition to the cultural significance, a pair of Great Horned Owls has nested in the protective roof since May 2006! After our somewhat brief visit, we continued on to Tucson. We had discovered only the day before that Becky’s uncle Lee and aunt Susan were spending the month of January in Tucson and were still in town. We capped the night with a nice dinner at the historic El Charro Café, which was established in 1922.
January 31st – Hiking in Saguaro National Park Rincon (East) District
Our first day of hiking led us to an 8-mile loop in the Saguaro N.P. Rincon District. Saguaro has two districts, one on each side of the city of Tucson. Becky and I had hiked this area a few years ago; but, there is a network of trail options and we picked a different loop to share with Sarah. The hike started with our first ‘in the wild’ sighting of a roadrunner right at the trailhead with a second wildlife encounter shortly after as horse riders pointed out a small mule deer a short distance off the trail. As we continued on our day, we passed by numerous saguaros that give the park it’s name, along with many other species of cacti and other desert plants. This area has several ‘tanques’ or water retention structures that previously supported ranching in the area that is now the Park. Our destination for the day was the Seven Veils Waterfall, which provided a good spot for lunch, although there was no waterfall to be found on this trip.
February 1 – Hiking in Saguaro National Park Mountain (West) District
On our prior visit, Becky and I only drove into the West district for a quick overlook. On this trip, we chose a roughly 8 mile loop to Wasson Peak. Most of the hike was very similar to the day before, with many Saguaro, Cholla, and other cactus species along the trail. But, since this was a hike to a peak, we had many expansive views of the Avra Valley to the west of the Park.
February 2 – Hiking in Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
This is another area that Becky and I hiked in our 2018 trip; but, again there are many trail options and we chose an 8.5 mile out-and-back along the Bear Canyon Trail to Seven Falls, which also was a dry waterfall during our visit. This hike starts from the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center and is a very popular hike. It took a mile or so to get onto what we considered an actual trail instead of a road (you can actually take a tram up the road to shorten your hike if you want), but after that we followed Bear Canyon alongside a creek that (normally) flows from Seven Falls. Although reading ahead of time indicated that there likely would be a few water crossings, Tucson had little rain over the prior months and the creek was dry the entire way up to the falls. We had lunch at the dry falls, then made our return trip. We don’t normally get too excited by dinners; but, Becky and Sarah both claim that the Birria Burro from Amelia’s Mexican Kitchen was one of the better Mexican meals they’ve ever had. Our wildlife sighting for the day came after dinner, when we returned to our rental condo after dark and found ourselves amongst a group of javelinas. They wouldn’t stay still long enough for a decent picture in the dark; so, the best we have is the rump of one going around a wall in the parking area.
February 3 – Sabino Canyon, Biosphere 2, and Catalina State Park
Our final day in Tucson began with Becky and Sarah completing long training runs up the main Sabino Canyon Road. The road is not open for cars and the tram doesn’t start running until 9 AM, so this left plenty of time for Becky and Sarah to complete the 7.5 mile out-and-back in this amazing place (while I just walked around 4 myself). After the early morning adventures, we cleaned up and packed a lunch for our trip to Biosphere 2, which is about 45 minutes north of Tucson. Biosphere 2 is a science research center originally built in the early 1990s as an experiment for self-contained space settlement. A group of scientists lived in Biosphere 2 for around two years for this experiment. The University of Arizona now owns the facility and continues large-scale biome experiments, such as ocean reef restoration. After the self-guided audio tour, we stopped at Catalina State Park for a late lunch and reading.
