Tiny little hummingbird

Lobo of the Desert

Kestrel

On the Road over Gates Pass

Pima County Courthouse

Downtown Tucson

Downtown Tucson

Tucson, AZ: Was supposed to be cloudy for a few days, but this morning dawned bright and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. We decided to go to the Museum of the Desert today and set out around 10:30. It’s only about 10 miles up the road. This museum is an outside venue and very different. It’s a combination zoo, wilderness area with nature trails, and an arboretum. Very different. And we found out that Arizona has more species of rattlesnakes than any other state. The terrain here is perfect rattlesnake habitat. After the museum we drove over the Tucson Mountains on Gates Pass Road. It’s a beautiful drive through the mountains and into downtown Tucson. I really liked Tucson. It’s a small downtown area and very clean with varied architecture. We parked on Main Street in Old Tucson and walked around for a while. Then walked over to a pretty plaza around the Pima County Courthouse and bought a couple of hot dogs from a vendor. After lunch we drove back over the pass and back home. Donned our bathing suits and hit the pool. Felt really good. Salads for dinner tonight. Hit 95 today in down Tucson, but 90 where we are across the mountains.

Telegraph Station

Old Tucson Movie Studio

Rio Lobo River

Little train station

Tucson, AZ: High clouds this morning. Mike left early for the GMC dealer and I sat outside reading for a while. It actually started sprinkling and continued for an hour or so. The local news has been talking about the “monsoon season” which should start shortly. I thought—monsoon? We’re in the desert. But I guess the arroyos and washes and dried up creek beds will be full shortly. I think we leave before that and head north. When Mike came back we decided to go to “Old Tucson” which I thought was an old, historic part of Tucson, but it’s actually a movie set. It was built in 1939 for the movie “Arizona” and they wanted an authentic Tucson at about the mid-1800s. Hundreds of westerns have been made here since. All the Rio Lobo John Wayne movies, Judge Roy Bean, and the last two seasons of Little House on the Prairie were filmed here plus hundreds of others.. It’s in the middle of the desert—only about 10 miles from where we’re staying—and has beautiful mountains all around. After touring that we went and picked up a few groceries and put those away and sat outside enjoying the afternoon. The wind really picked up and blew pretty good for a while. It felt good and the clouds kept it cooler than normal. Think it hit 95 today. Very light dinner tonight since we both had ice cream cones at Old Tucson.

Saguaro National Park

Tucson, AZ

Close-up of saguaro bloom

Petroglyphs

(over 800 years old)

Tucson, AZ: Morning comes early here. We’re on the eastern edge of the Pacific Time Zone, so it was sunny and the birds were singing way early. We were up before 6:00 a.m. Smoothies for breakfast and then Mike was off to the GMC dealer to get the truck checked out. I sat outside and read for a while and then walked around and checked out some of the park models. A really cute place. Came back and washed out a few things and then started cutting up the strawberries we bought a few days ago when Mike returned. Said they hooked the truck up to the computer and there were a slew of error messages. Told him to return tomorrow around 8:00 and it would take a couple of hours to check out. Anyway, we decided to drive up to the Saguaro National Park which is only about 10 miles from where we’re staying. This area is in the Sonoran Desert. This is one of the hottest and driest places on the continent. Even though it is so hot, dry, and intimidating, it contains an enormous diversity of life. And the saguaro (soo-wah-ro) cacti are everywhere here. They don’t even start to get “arms” until they’re 75 years old. So, the large ones in the park are probably over 200 years old! And they are in bloom right now. We walked a couple of small desert trails and then drove a dirt road over the mountains and then back to the main road. Had to go back to town and fuel up since we were close to empty. Had a late lunch and then drove back to hike the little trail to check out the petroglyphs etched in the rocks by the ancient Hohokam people. It is believed these petroglyphs are over 800 years old. The sign at the beginning of the trail said to be careful for rattle snakes, scorpions, gila monsters, and tarantulas. Enjoy your hike. But it was 99 degrees when we did it so I’m sure they were all under ground. We didn’t stay out there long. Back home and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Texas Canyon

This cactus looks fuzzy, but they are 2" spines

Club House

(right across from our site)

Our Site

Sun, 6/7/09:

Silver City, NM, to Tucson, AZ: Left Silver City at 8:45 this morning. We wanted to get out of there before the wind picked up. The wind was horrible last night. I started driving. Took Rt. 90 to I10 through pretty desert foothills. Thought we’d stop for breakfast somewhere on I10 but nothing available until Benson. Not a whole lot of habitation out there. Vegetation is more plentiful which surprised us. And the cacti are different than what we saw in Silver City. And they’re just starting to bloom. We stopped at a rest area at beautiful Texas Canyon. This is an unusual boulder field where huge boulders are in unusual formations—looked like they were placed there, some of them teetering on the brink. The RV Park we’re staying at in Tucson is wonderful. It’s at the foot of the mountains and is a large community of mostly park models with a few RV sites. They have a beautiful rec hall and pool, a professional kitchen, a billiard room, game room, etc. A lot of people winter here. We got set up and then I did a thorough cleaning. Finished and walked around checking things out. We were told when walking at night to always have a flashlight. The rattlesnakes sometimes come out on the road at night. And scorpions. They remove the snakes—against the law to kill them. 88 and sunny in Tucson.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Silver City, NM: Picked up Floyd and Terry this morning at 10:00 and headed to the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument. Was a long drive but really scenic. We stopped at the property they bought in Membres, NM, which is about 30 miles north of Silver City. They have 10 acres and are going to put a house on the property next year. Really pretty area. Had lunch at a really cute restaurant on the way and then continued on. The hike up to the cliff dwellings was not as strenuous as the Cat Walk and it was a really pretty day for a hike. We saw a few forest fires on the way up there. And the gusty winds today didn’t help anything. After hiking around the cliff dwellings we headed back to Silver City and had some drinks at a restaurant in the old historic part of Silver City. Then back to our place and played Hearts until about 9:00. Tomorrow we leave for Tucson. Today is the 65'th anniversary of D-Day.

Emory Pass

Little Cafe in Hillsboro

Former Conoco Station

Lake City Ghost Town

Fri, 6/5/09

Silver City, NM: Did the laundry this morning right here in the RV park, since the laundry is just across from our site. They have a really nice laundry here and the restrooms are fantastic. Each one is a separate room with a toilet, vanity and sink, and huge walk-in shower. Pretty nice. After finishing the laundry we headed over to the Black Range Scenic Byway (Rt. 152). A beautiful drive. At first we were driving through lower mountains covered with buffalo grass and some stunted cedar trees (more like bushes). Then we climbed steadily into a beautiful area heavily forested with pines and cedars. Really beautiful with some amazing rocky buttes and fantastic views. Crossed Emory Pass (8200 ft.) and then steadily down hill. Back into the foothills covered with buffalo grass, cactus, and mesquite and into the cute, historic town of Hillsboro, NM. We stopped at a little café there and had a wonderful lunch. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with cucumbers and Mike had a burger called El Gordo—burger with mushrooms, bacon, peppers, and cheese. This café was a stage stop, a general mercantile, and a drug store. There’s a bunch of historic memorabilia displayed inside. After lunch we walked around this cute little town and checked out some of the shops. They have a very large artist community here and their artwork is for sale in the various shops in town. Very talented people. After browsing we headed back via Rt. 27 and stopped at a ghost town which used to be Lake City. Walked around that for a while. We were wishing we had more time. Had to be careful walking because there were signs around that there were snakes in the area and the nearest medical facility is over 50 miles away. At one time this was a thriving community of 4000 because of the silver mine there. Then the government went to the gold standard and the town started its decline. The wind was really blowing and whistling through the abandoned buildings giving it a really eerie feeling. Left there and drove back to the RV park. Terry and Floyd came over and we played spades for a while.

Floyd on the trail

Terry coming off the suspension bridge

Silver City, NM: This morning we picked Floyd and Terry up and drove up to a place called “The Cat Walk”—about an hour’s drive from Silver City. This is a neat hike through a canyon formed by the San Francisco creek. The trail followed the original pipeline built in the late 1800s which provided power for the copper smelter and drinking water for the town. After our hike we had dinner at the Red Barn in Silver City and then Floyd and Terry came over for jokers and spades. Think I will sleep good tonight. 88 today and partly cloudy.