There is No Place Like Home

There is No Place Like Home

The stats: 

miles traveled  9106

average mpg  46.5

average cost of gas  $2.81

After Capitol Reef I switched campsites to Green River State Park located about 60 miles from the Canyonlands/Arches/Moab area.  My stay fell over Memorial Day weekend making it difficult to get much closer to the parks.

In Green River there is a museum dedicated to John Wesley Powell. Powell was the first white explorer to run the Green and the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  Mountain Men knew about the canyons which now comprise Canyonlands, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Grand Canyon Parks but none had ever ventured into the canyons. Powell led two expeditions down the rivers.

In most parks the visitors view is up but in Canyonlands and the Grand Canyon it is downward.  In southern Utah the views at Goosenecks State Park were downward to capture the four hairpin turns of the San Juan River.  Likewise the views from Canyonlands were stupendous but they were extra special from Dead Horse Canyon State Park which sits along the tortuous route of the upper Colorado River.  

From Dead Horse Canyon there was also the opportunity to view the layout of a private salt works.  The works are located over a salt dome on private land. Water is pumped into the salt dome below ground and then is brought up to the surface. A blue dye is added to the water to aid in evaporation and the water is pumped into huge evaporation ponds. The striking blue color of the water against the background of the red sandstone is remarkable.

I took a rafting trip down the Colorado River  which left from the city of Moab.  The drive to the city followed a valley with a huge, miles long escarpment making for a marvelous drive. Our group of seven plus guide formed up in Moab and then were driven through an area called Castle Valley where we launched our raft. We all had paddles but our guide Marybeth rarely needed us to paddle. We had the benefit of the spring thaw to add volume to the river and hasten our way.  The Castle Valley is a lovely area with formations that looked like a locomotive and a teddy bear.  It was fun to study the geology of the land and the hydraulics of the river. There were eddies, whirlpools and sections where the current ran upstream along the banks. It was lovely to just glide along quietly and it get  an up close and personal view of the steep canyon walls and the red rook formations. I wore a hat and sun glasses but by the afternoon I felt like my eyeballs were scorched!

Leaving Green River which is located along I-70,  I had planned to head south to Durango, CO and then head east again to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park and from there head northeast up to I-70 again. I was going to follow I-70 all the way home. As I Left Green River it dawned on me I was on route I-70 and I could just stay on I-70 directly east across Colorado and head for home right that very minute. So that is what I did. I am not sorry I did not get to Durango or the 8th national park in 9 weeks! 

Before  leaving eastern Utah I visited Seco Canyon to view some Indian petroglyphs and pictographs. There were impressive displays of three different eras of Indian wall art. It was nice to see the differences all in one location. From there I headed across Colorado and made it back home in 4.5 days of heavy driving. The distance was over 2100 miles.  I spent two nights in motels but didn’t sleep well. The next two nights I decided to sleep in my car and slept like a baby at a truck stop and at a Walmart.  

There was no evidence of farmland flooding west of the Mississippi but when I crossed the river and entered Illinois it was obvious that they had endured huge storms. There were massive ponds spread over thousands of acres of farmland.  The farmers have definitely been hit hard this spring.

 I just had someone ask me what was my favorite thing. There were many highlights which stand out such as the super bloom in the deserts this year but surprising for me, I am going to list Tucson as my favorite place.  I fell in love with Tucson and can envision myself living there as long as I could vacate the place for two months during the summer because of the heat.  The ambiance and aesthetics of Tucson are amazing. Their roads are wide. There are separate bike lanes. The scenery is amazing with mountains almost encircling the city and its environs.  The saguaro cactus add charm.  The houses are mostly single story and seem to fit into the  landscape rather than sit on top of it. They are painted in desert hues and built in an adobe style with private patios which are walled and gated.  There is a vibrant art scene, an air base with an air museum, an art museum, Unitarian Church, a Chico's and so many things to do and see.  I would love a small house tucked along one of the dippity do roads. I would be sure to have my very own saguaro cactus and shade trees. I would ditch my current furniture and start anew with tile floors, warm southwestern colors and pick up important pieces of furniture from Tubac and other locations in the Southwest. I would have loads of colorful pots with plants and loads of colorful pillows and art work on the walls. I would make an exception to bring my basket swing and spend my time tucked into it with a good book.  I will also have mouse traps everywhere! LOL

Thank you all who took the time to keep in touch and to keep up with my blog while I was away. It means a lot to have had your support.  I have been home almost two weeks and have still not downloaded my pictures. That will have to be another blog post to round this all out. Thank you all again. 

Catherine

Tubac to Capitol Reef Pictures

Tubac

Dino decided to join Brad and I on the road. He promised to pick up the tab on gas.

Definitive proof Brad is still with me.

Petrified Wood before polishing.

I hiked into the Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest.

More Blue mesa with Bentonite deposits.

A wall I found in Holbrook

Dinosaurs of various kinds.

Goosenecks State Park

The Moki Dugway goes up this escarpment.

Can you see the road?

Hairpin turns.

The road is hiding.

Cattle on the roads.

Snow at Three Bridges.

Can you spot one of the arches?

Can you spot my little friend in the pix?

Capitol Reef views.

My very ow marmot.

Views from my campsite in Torrey, UT

Ramblings of a Wanderer

Ramblings of a Wonderer

After leaving Tucson, I headed south about 30 miles to Tubac. Along the way I visited a former Titan Missile site. The site is a museum now and has the only titan missile left.  Our volunteer guide was the site commander who oversaw the decommissioning of the site after a missile treaty with the Soviet Union.  Hearing Marge, our guide,  describe the job of working in a silo with a missile and a nuclear warhead was fascinating.  Except for the crew quarters, no one was ever allowed to be alone and every thing done required two people to accomplish a task.  I wondered why our titans were sited in AZ, AK and MO. I learned the decisions on siting the silos was not political but expedient on soils, distance from the USSR, and infrastructure.  The silos were over 200 feet deep and needed soils and underlying strata to be easily penetrated. The farther from the USSR meant we had more time to react to incoming missiles and infrastructure required a nearby air base and a sizable population capable of building the sites.

Also on the way to Tubac was a copper mining complex and earthworks built of the tailings from the pit mine. Visiting a pit copper mine has always been on my bucket list but tours were only available on Saturdays when I could not be there.

My AirBnB in Tubac was marvelous. I had my own walled patio with a three tiered fountain, plants in pots, bicycles to use, a living room with a kiva style fireplace, a full kitchen and dining area and a sumptuously outfitted four poster bed. The AirBnB was right in town. Tubac is a mecca of shops, arcades and galleries all with their wares spilling out into the streets. Clothing, furniture, Indian wares, Mexican pottery, specialty foods, fine art, garden ornaments and interior accoutrements.  It was a feast of color and texture.  It can be hard on the wallet!

From Tubac I headed up to Flagstaff but because Tubac is very close to Nogales on the Mexican border ICE is out in droves. Going south my car and I were photographed and going north all traffic was again photographed and stopped. They know when you go and return from the border. Driving through Tucson was a breeze but the greater Phoenix traffic was stop and go for over an hour. North of Phoenix the desert returned with a vengeance and there were signs for dust storms.  On top of that electronic signs along the highway also warned of 25-35 mph winds with gusts up to 55+.  Along that stretch of highway it was apparent townhouse construction was underway.  Who would want to live in a known dust storm alley?  But wait, it gets better.  Why on a day with high winds, would a highway crew be out painting lines. They obviously had not looked back to inspect their handiwork!

From Phoenix the highway climbs up to the 7000 foot elevation of Flagstaff. It involves crossing a variety of plant zones. I topped out at one plateau and I was blown away by the beauty. At first I did not understand what I was seeing. It looked like sand spread to the horizon but it turned out to be an almost white grassland. The specter was so ethereal. I felt instantly calm and could picture a herd of buffalo grazing or a lone Indian sitting sedately in his saddle. It was an idyllic scene.

My Flagstaff AirBnB accommodations were in one end of a ranch house.  I had a large sitting and bedroom, bath, and a kitchen area with table and stools, coffee pot and microwave. Again the bedding was sumptuous. The best part was a 20 foot wall with floor to ceiling book cases full of non-fiction books. The owner had to have been a professor from Northern Arizona University. The books covered subjects related to the earth, nature, climate change, philosophy and religion.  I made an extensive list of book titles I would like to read!  I didn't accomplish much in Flagstaff except to have a fantastic steak dinner.  This was only my second splurge on food of my trip. 

Next came Petrified Forest National Park about 40 miles east of Flagstaff.  I stayed at the Holbrook KOA campground which had a unique setup. My site included a partially enclosed shelter with electricity and lights, a double sink and a picnic table. I shared the sink area with the next campsite but we each had our own sides for storage and picnic table. When going slowly, my Prius runs only on the battery making it very quiet. I slid into my site and found the neighbor was into my storage box and helping herself to my paper towels. That is the only time I haven't felt safe so far on this trip. The management moved the other people away from my site.

Holbrook and the National Park are home to sections of Route 66, the old and the new.  And apparently dinosaurs are a BIG thing in Holbrook and the Park. There are model and maybe real dinosaurs everywhere.  AND there are rock shops with a huge selection of petrified wood.  It is illegal to take anything out of the Park but there is plenty of private land on which petrified wood can be found.  Apparently there are places in every state in the Union which have petrified wood.  I am a rock hound so I was in the Mecca of Petrified Wood.  When polished up, the amazing characteristics and beauty of the rock are so enticing.  SO enticing with so much to choose from and so little time to choose.

And then it happened.  I was sitting in the drivers seat reading.  It was dusk but it wasn’t really dark out.  Brad had real gaul.  He didn't even wait until it was full dark before scrambling under the passenger seat.  I use that area for storage and wasn’t able to see him but all that night it felt like he was bouncing off the walls.  He seemed to be everywhere.  The next morning before leaving Holbrook I again emptied my car.  I found another nest and some signs he had been chewing on my stuff down on the second level.  That was it,  I went into Holbrook and bought some sticky traps and then headed out to drive north to Goosenecks State Park in Utah.  Upon arrival, I put out two sticky traps, one in the trunk area and one on the floor in the front passenger area. That night, I was reading again and I heard a scrabble and that was it for Brad! We had a long 24 days together and I finally succeeded in ridding myself of the cheap, free loader.  I really thought he should have offered to share the driving and pitch in for gas. RIP Brad.

I am currently in 'landscape overload.'  After Petrified Wood, my itinerary took me directly north to Capitol Reef National Park and along the way I was continually gobsmacked by stunning scenery. This is a serious condition and it ultimately leads to 'landscape amnesia,'  another serious condition. Resting the mind and sleeping are the only cures. Did I mention sleeping?  On the way to Capitol Reef I camped at Goosenecks State Park. Goosenecks has a vantage point where it is possible to view four hairpin turns of a river which has carved its way into deep canyons. Heck if I can remember the name of the river but it was big!  That is the amnesia part.  In addition to killing Brad at Goosenecks, I had an interesting encounter with two grad students traveling from Missoula, MT to Austin, TX.  They built a wood fire and invited me to share dinner. They had two pots and the fixings for a lentil stew and toasted cheese sandwiches.  They also had a trenching tool and a machete but no other cooking utensils. They stirred the pot with a log and shared the pot to eat. I brought over some forks and a bowl for myself. The dinner was grand and we had a great time relating our travel experiences. I tried to talk them into taking a detour north to drive the Moki Dugway but they were intent on making Monument Valley that evening.  I warned them that it was on tribal land with restricted entrance but they HAD to get on their way.  Down went the top of their 1980 Miata rag top, on went their packs to the trunk and off they went into the mist.  I never got the chance to tell them I caught Brad that night!

I had rained on and off the day before but it was more prevalent the next day.  I had been waiting the whole trip to drive the Moki Dugway.  I had seen the words “Moki Dugway “ on a AAA Utah state map and was intrigued.  After Googling and YouTubeing I discovered it was a gravel road descending a truly steep 1200 Ft escarpment.  It had the most amazing views.  But I was in for a real surprise, not that it mattered which way I drove it, but I had pictured my self descending the road not ascending. As I drove across the plain I did not realize at first I would be climbing the escarpment but it became pretty obvious. There was road work going on and signs warning of a single lane.  I thought it was basically a single lane anyway but along the way, I met up with a huge, long road grader and I had to pass on the outside. Then I got into a pile of his road detritus and nearly got stuck. It was fun but the scenery was muted and the far off red-rock monuments were mere shadows in the grey.

Farther on, the road took me to the Three Bridges National Monument.  Here were three amazing natural bridges worn into the very resistant Navajo sandstone. It was raining and snowing and I was able to see a rare sight of several waterfalls cascading over the rims of the canyon and falling through several mini waterfalls into the river below.  I was hearing reports of 90 degree days at home and here I was in the snow.  Travel along the plateaus in remote areas is always through open range for cattle.  I was the lucky person to have numerous encounters with the huge beasts that day. Beef cattle are not your usual 'Mollie the Milk Cow.'  Some of these great black beasts were the size of buffalo.  The tops of the mesa and plateaus had stunted trees and I wondered how a  cowboy could ever find his individual cattle in a small forest.  After a long day I pulled into Capitol Reef and stayed in the small town of Torrey.  Here is where amnesia set in and sleep was necessary. It got down close to freezing and the wind was ferocious.  The whole next day it roared outside but I just slept and slept and was 'snug as a bug in a rug' or (a Brad in a Prius).  

I don’t know how anyone lives in a town such as Torrey.  There are snowcapped peaks on the horizon in several directions. There are classic style ranch houses out on the mesas.  Cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo are grazing over low hills. There are sheer wall escarpments in Winfield Sandstone and rounded escarpments of Navajo Sandstone. There are irrigated fields of alfalfa covering the valleys. This is just my view from my campsite.  I wonder if you get daily 'landscape amnesia?'  How can it be beat?

Everywhere I have traveled out west the spring rains have brought a super-bloom of wildflowers.  I am astounded by how many flowers make a home in the low and high altitude deserts.  I have been trying to photograph them all!  In Texas I was so enamored of the yellow evening primrose and then remembered the “Yellow Rose of Texas” was about that very flower.  

I have been running two cameras. I have not downloaded any pictures from my Canon at all and only take a few pictures with my phone.  So I apologize about my pictures. I don’t have many to publish now with the blog entries but hope to post some of my better pictures to the end of the blog when I return home.

At Capitol Reef I drove the scenic drive but really got excited by driving two segments of dirt roads which headed into deep canyons. My poor car, my poor car.  I pretend it  is a 4 wheel drive high body F-10 or something!  On a stretch of road just outside the visitors center I saw a sign “slow, marmots crossing.”  And sure enough I saw two marmots cross the road.  While sitting in my car one night at the campground some other campers invited me to supper and to play cards afterward.  They were a group from Salt Lake and were visiting with their families for the holiday weekend. I am lucky I even know what day of the week it is, let alone a holiday! They introduced me to “Kamp Kones” (my spelling).  Take a large waffle cone and fill it with fruit, chocolate, marshmallows, candy, whatever, wrap in foil and roast over the fire.  One of the men had built a device to hold two kones for roasting. Oh what a gooey, sugary treat.  It rivals the famous s’mores!  Then the cardgame.  It starts slowly but once it gets going it is devilish.  “Cover Your Assets” is a great game for a group of people. Available at Amazon or where all fine card games are sold!

On my way to Canyonlands, just to the northeast of Capitol Reef, is a side road to Goblin Valley State Park.  The goblins are really hoo doos formed in the same strata as the hoo doos at Bryce Canyon. The hoo doos at Goblin are shorter and all looked like phallic symbols to me. It was Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend so the crowds were out in force.  It was an appalling sight to see the crowds scampering up, down and around the hoo doos. The soil off-trail was a kind of clay that absorbs water and swells up. Then it drys and cracks and foot falls compress it back to dusty red sand.  I talked to a ranger about the impact of the tourists.  Her response was “the people expect to climb all over the hoo doos in the park.”  I was surprised because the potential for erosion is immense. She did say, however, that the park continually monitors the impact and may have to restrict access in the future.

There is an unspoken challenge ‘goin on in them thar hills.’  The opportunities to go off roading are everywhere.  I have seen two off road buggies mounted crosswise on the back of a single pick up truck which is also towing a 5th wheel/toy hauler. There must be rallies for this.  I think the main goal is to come back with the dirtiest vehicle possible.  I have seen Jeeps with the only thing not covered with red, sticky mud is the section cleaned by the windshield washers.  People get out of their vehicles with huge smiles on their faces.  There are massive drive through car washes where it takes hours to spray off the dried-on mud.  Oh such fun!  But I envy them in a way because they get to use all of the old dirt roads established in the parks before they were made parks.  I met a young woman yesterday in my campground in Green River, Utah.  I was spending the day ‘resting my eyes’ and she passed by numerous times.  We got to chatting and she invited me over to share her groups campfire.  Heather was part of a group of women and their young children who had spent the weekend off roading.  Each had her own RV/toy hauler and loaded pickups.  We had a great time sharing stories around the campfire and of course Heather had primed them to hear a story about Brad Pitt!

I know this posting is very long. Just stop reading and come back to it when you get a chance. I will attempt to find Wi-fi in Green River so I can post it.  I want to develop a Go Pro for my car.  I will mount the camera on the outside of the car, or maybe have it built in my next car.  I will wear a sensor on my head that aims the Go-Pro where my head turns. All I have to do is press a simple button to take a picture. There are so many Kodak moments I have missed because I am traveling and can’t stop to capture the moment!

I was headed to the campground office to see if they could point me to a free wi-fi location in Green River.  I got talking to a couple in the next campsite who informed me I could use my personal hotspot on my phone.  While resting over the last day or two I had run down the power on every device I have.  They pointed out that I had power at my site!!!  Luckily I have a 10 Ft cord to charge my phone and an extension cord.  There is a thunder storm going on right now but I am snugly ensconced in my tentlet with the cords snaking into the tent.  Bravo.

The latest news headlines: Brad Pitt hitches ride with itinerant retiree

On my last post to this blog I forgot the most important news.  Brad Pitt has joined me on my trip. I first noticed Brad had joined me one night while I was camping in Big Bend National Park. You see I was sleeping and he ran over my head. Yes, he ran over my head.  I thought maybe I had imagined it but Brad ran over my head again the next night and I could hear scrabbling directly below me in the car. When I got up the next day, I found a roll of toilet paper had been chewed. I didn’t chew it so it must have been Brad.

I left Big Bend and proceeded up to Fort Davis and then Guadalupe Mountain National Park. I left the doors of my car open during several nights but Brad persisted on accompanying me. Well, I have to admit it wasn’t the real Brad Pitt but I named my guest Brad Pitt because he stared in “Thelma and Louise” as the sexy hitch hiker and I definitely had a hitch hiker.  My guest was traveling with me but didn’t have the good graces to chip in gas money or offer to help drive.

At Guadalupe, I found out Brad was still with me because I found a granola bar had been nibbled. I also found a water jug had leaked and things were sopping wet. So I emptied my car.  Wet things were hung over the picnic table and rocks. It looked like a camp of a bag lady. The water did not seem to have gotten into the second level of my trunk so I didn’t empty that level. Big mistake as we shall see.  I talked to a Park Ranger and he showed some concern for my car wiring and suggested setting a trap and to use sticky peanut butter as the lure. So that afternoon I drove 110 miles roundtrip to the city of Carlsbad in order to find a trap.  I set two traps and left the car door open again that night. The traps were not touched. Was Brad still with me?

After two night in Guadalupe I drove to Tucson to an Air BnB. I parked my car in the garage as instructed because the garage keypad was my access to my area.  The hostess had left me a message about how we could communicate if I needed anything. I was instructed to write a note and pass it under the door dividing our sections of the house. I fessed up in a note that Brad was probably in my car. She passed a note asking me to park outside, so I moved my car out of the garage.

I took my car to the Toyota dealer to get my oil changed and discussed my mouse situation. But before I went I had to empty my car of all of my stuff. I emptied it all into the garage but again did not bother removing the second layer stuff.  The dealership checked everywhere in the car and finally removed the second layer storage container and lo and behold, down with the spare tire and next to the 12 volt battery was a toilet paper nest that Brad had made.  He must have been all cozy down there.  The problem was that Brad was not in his nest or anywhere else in the car for that matter.  They had to check all the wiring to make sure it hadn’t been chewed.  When I got to the Air BnB, I removed everything and I mean everything from the car. I took out the stuff in the second layer, I took out the maps, I took out my tissue box, everything this time. And then I continued to park the car outside the garage. But the next day the hostess told me she had found a mouse in her garage. Was it Brad, had he been in my stuff hiding?  Why had I not checked the second layer or third layer of my trunk?  For some reason I got it into my head that Brad was nesting somewhere under the front seat or up in the heating duct which comes out under the front seat.

So either Brad decided to decamp at Guadalupe or he might have stayed hiding for 10 days in Tucson. I packed the car again two days ago and left this morning for Tubac.  I have no way of knowing yet whether Brad has indeed left me, but all I  can say is, if he has left me, then he was a lousy companion and I got no thanks from him for carting him all around this country.

I have not discussed what kind of creature Brad was or is because I don’t want to think about what was running over my head. I like to think it was one of many species of small desert mice but then again there is a small something called a desert rat. I won’t think about it now.

Pictures

The deep scary entrance to Carlsbad Caverns

Formations inside the caverns

At a gas station I found this rack.

The palo verde tree in bloom

A view from Saguaro National Park East

Colorful cactus

The blooms of the fireworks cactus only last a day or two. I was fortunate to see them.

A view of the valley on the way to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Tucson in the valley

Another view of the valley and some weather off in the distance.

View to the head of the Sabino Canyon.
There is a bus that makes 9 stops on the way up the 3.7 miles in the Canyon. It is easy to ride up and  walk down. The Road follows the Sabino Creek which had wonderfully clear water. I wish I had worn something other than jeans. I would have jumped in the beautifully clear, deep pools.

Thoughts

Some thoughts along the road:

     I never understood why Larry McMurty named his novel Lonesome Dove.  Now I know why because the bird I have seen most often since arriving in Texas and Arizona is the dove, second only to the vulture!

     While crossing certain parts of the desert there are signs warning about dust storms. In the past I have referred to them as dust devils. They look like mini tornadoes and come and go without any warning. But these road signs are talking about real dust storms. There are signs lined up like Burma Shave signs saying:  Pull off the roadway, Turn off the engine, Leave your lights on and Take your foot off the brake. I wonder if we should breathe?

     Apparently I slid from the Chihuahuan Desert into the Sonoran Desert. They sure look the same!

     I stopped in Fort Davis for two nights before I headed up to the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns. Some of the buildings from the old Fort Davis have been restored. The original fort was built to help secure the San Antonio-El Paso Road.  Another important facet of the history of the fort is the fact the Buffalo Soldiers were garrisoned at the fort for a number of years. No one knows why the Indians named the black troops the Buffalo Soldiers but the Park Ranger posited two possibilities. The first was the soldiers hair looked like the hair on the ruff around a buffalos head. The second was the Indians thought the black soldiers fought more bravely than white soldiers and thus called them Buffalo Soldiers as a sign of respect.

     The CCC played a large role in the West, particularly in the parks.  At Fort Davis the CCC built many facilities which still stand today and are still used. One is the Fort Davis Lodge.  It is a lovely old lodging facility built in the adobe style. Each room has its own patio and casement windows and all have views down the valley.  There were pictures and artifacts from the CCC days.  There was a picture displayed that really rankled. The picture is one of those old time wide angle shots that has the whole white crew of the CCC corpsmen arrayed over a 2 Ft area and then there is a six foot space and the black cooks are shown as a group. Heaven forbid they be touching!

     Guadalupe is first noticed by the formation referred to as El Capitan. It is a great feature but overshadows the real summit of the park which, at over 8300 feet, is the highest point in Texas. There are some great hiking trails, one of which traverses the ridge line of the mountains. The Mountains are really an old reef which has been uplifted. That same reef also formed Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad isn’t the biggest or longest cave in the world but it ranks right up there as the best because of the fantastic features inside. Carlsbad is open to the public but another cave, Lechuguilla is supposed to be more fantastic and larger. It is still being mapped.

     Tucson has been such a delight. I don’t like cities but Tucson with 860,000 inhabitants still seems like a big town. Tucson is also the home of the two sections of Saguaro National Park. There is no g sound in Saguaro. It is pronounced So wah ro. Most main streets have two or three lanes as well as a separate bike lane and a turn lane. The valley is basically flat and everything extends horizontally. The homes are single story adobe style tucked into the landscape. They are colored in desert hues from a dark charcoal, buffs, tans, ochre and reddish colors. Most homes are close together and each has a wall surrounding it.  The desert tree, the palo verde is blooming a golden color and the countryside is glowing. The Saguaro come in every shape imaginable and they are starting to bloom now. There are other cactus showing off their colors also. The Saguaro are all over the city. I wonder how they have been built into the landscape. Do they build houses and patios around an existing saguaro? I googled landscape firms in the city and discovered the saguaro are sold by the foot. A nice one with an arm or two will go for $2-3000.  The tall saguaro are over 150 years old. Some have holes in them pecked by woodpeckers for food and a nest. Then the cavity becomes a home for other desert creatures. The holes do not seem to hurt the cactus.

     A real gem in the area is the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. It is part botanical garden and zoo. Anyone who thinks the desert is lifeless needs to visit this Museum.  There are some amazing specimen of cactus, as well as native mammals, most of whom are rescue animals, wildflowers and birds. I loved seeing a bobcat and was amazed at how large the putty tat was.

     Everywhere you look there are amazing vistas. Tucson is a huge area residing mostly in a flat valley between three sets of mountains, the Tucson, Santa Catalina and Rincon. The mountains seem to have popped out of the landscape. But close up to the mountains are what I have come to call the ‘dippity do’ roads. They are such fun to drive. They are roads that negotiate rolling hills which have dips in them. There are always signs warning of the upcoming dip and always an admonishment not to enter the dip if there is water in it. So driving the roads is similar to riding a roller coaster where you get to the top and you can’t see over the top, so you take it on faith the road continues on the other side. These are strictly no passing roads and usually no left turns. The dips are so deep the car is not visible to other cars. I was talking to a Park Ranger about the roads and he said he used to have a VW bug. He would actually take air when driving over the roads.  Tucson has views 360 degrees and the sunsets are very dramatic. There is a peak in the middle of the city called Sentinel Peak. I was up there the other night at sunset. I didn’t know where to look as the sunset playing off the clouds was wonderful and in the east the sky was dark with lightning and rain falling but evaporating before it hit the ground. The sky lit up as pink when the lightning struck.

     The saguaro cactus grows best when it takes root under a tree, either palo verde or mesquite.  The trees provide protection from winter cold and shade from the desert heat. Both the palo verde and mesquite have very deep roots while the saguaro extends its roots only 4-6 inches below ground. The roots extend out as far as the cactus is tall.  The cactus are starting to bloom their white flowers now. Under the flowers the red fruit develops. The local Indians are dependent on the cactus. They use the ribs as harvesting tools.  After the cactus dies its woody ribs can also be used to build walls, roofs, fences and furniture.

     When visiting the Tucson Mountains where Saguaro National Park West is located, the drive takes a wonderful road up and over the mountain. From view points along the way it is possible to see large square areas that seem to be ponds or agriculture. They are very prominent in the valley landscape. I asked a park ranger what they were and they indeed are ponds. They are about 8 feet deep and fed with water from Lake Havasu in northern Arizona. The water comes down to this valley and is pumped into the squares so that the water can be absorbed into the underlying aquifer. The Tucson aquifer was petering out from overuse but is being recharged this way. The percolation of the water into the underlying strata is necessary in order to be cleansed.  It is a clever method but there must be a significant lose of water to evaporation.

     Tucson has been having a cold spell this week. It has only been in the 80’s when it should be close to 100 degrees. It knew I was coming and took pity on me heat wise.  I am very enamored by Tucson and would definitely consider moving to the area. There are the mountains with numerous ways to get out into nature.  The city is laid back and there is a thriving art scene.  I can picture having a small place tucked into a hillside with shade provided by large overhangs, a private garden behind a wall and numerous trees and cactus planted to provide shade.  It would be preferable to be located on a dipping do road.  There are 55+ communities in the area and they seem to be priced similar to ours.  I don’t know what the taxes are but the HOA seem similar also.

     For the last few days I have been staying at an Air Bnb. I will also be in an AirBnb in Tubac, Flagstaff and Durango making the last part of the trip easier.  It has been a great experience.  The place I am staying has a wide overhang looking North and there is a swing chair hanging from the overhang. I love sitting out there in the late afternoon. 

Big Bend - a land of contrasts

Big Bend - a land of contrasts

(in no particular order)

Relentless - see Sun, Harsh, Inhospitable

Photographer’s - Nightmare - because there are few places to pull over to take ‘that shot’ and ‘that shot’ and all ‘those shots’

Photographer’s - Delight - where there is a pullover, there is usually a fantastic photo op

Color - wildflowers, birds, cactus

Beautiful - see Ugly

Sky - blackest of black with the brightest of bright stars

       - the moon can be so bright it wakes you up

       - no lights in my campground except very weak and pointed to the ground  as in a “Night Sky City.”  Sodona and Flagstaff are Night Sky Cities and limit outdoor lighting and intensity of lights

       - this Park was known for its blue skies but now air pollution is coming in from outside the area to make it hazy

Vistas - scenic is not a big enough word

Life - plants and animals have adapted to a dry climate - for instance the thorns on cactus are really leaves

       - the javelina can eat cactus, thorns and all

Heat - 114 degrees yesterday at the Rio Grande Campground

         - May and June are ‘get out of town’ months

         - visitor centers at the two Rio Grande locations close during the summer

Altitude - Chisos campground at over 5000 feet is in the 60’s at night

             - water takes longer to boil particularly for my morning coffee

Respite - see Shade, any slice of shade

Osprey - the brand of my day pack with integrated water bladder can hold many liters of water - it is recommended to take a gallon of water per person  per a day of hiking

Trooper - my Prius

Desert - Chihuahuan

Wind - from a little to mostly constant to unsettling - because my tent is pitched on hard top I can not use stakes and must use rocks instead - but rocks can move so I have been forced to take the tent and tarp down twice - one night the tarp was flapping so I used small, but strong magnets to   hold it down in numerous places - the wind picked up and I started to hear the magnets popping off and landing back on the car

Sun - see Relentless

Mountains - the only national park encompassing a complete mountain range

Shade - see Respite

Loneliness - living on a ranch or working in a remote national park

Ugly - see Beautiful

Clean - not a place the masses visit - not trashed

Volcanic - no volcanoes or lava flows - molten rock from the earths core pushed its way into the spaces between the layers of underlying rocks and hardened - those underlying rocks were laid down when Texas was under shallow seas - erosion exposed the volcanic rock

I.C.E. - way too many patrols and stops located in this inhospitable land

Flood - the roads have the same flood signs and gauges as the Texas Hill Country

Unorganized - the landscape is a higgly piggly array of landscape features which seem to pop up helter skelter! - a butte here, a pillar there, a hill, a mountain, a fault, an escarpment, a flat land, spires, eroding tuff, a wash etc. - all in one place or spread out

Water - it is everything and nothing

My plans have changed. Heat and I do not get along well together.  Despite weeks of research and planning, I underestimated the heat I will encounter at lower elevations when I head farther west.  I also failed to take into consideration the remoteness of Guadalupe Mountains and what effect it will have on resupply and the need for ice.  As a  result I will spend less time at Guadalupe and head to Tucson to an Airbnb. Yes, Tucson will be hot, but I won’t be camping in it.

Today I went 66 miles roundtrip to take a 5 minute shower and do a load of laundry.  

Yesterday while hiking out to my favorite vista, The Windows, I found a running stream. The stream started up very close to where it forms a waterfall out of the Chisos Basin. I sat for a rest at the Windows and splashed water all over myself. I might as well have gone in for a soak I got myself so wet. On my hike out, my clothes started to stiffen up. I wondered what was in the water to create such a remarkable situation.  I stopped by today to ask a Ranger. Well, you would have thought I had stolen the Crown Jewels.  The Ranger informed me that the water was not for my use and I should not have indulged!