On Saturday, the four of us had a big breakfast prepared by yours truly and then drove to West Saguaro National Park. Julia picked out a trail that was Allie/Corey friendly. Neither are big hikers. Allie is known to whine a little if the trail is too far or too steep. This one was perfect. I think they both had a good time and enjoyed walking in an environment very different from San Francisco, where they live.
The trail was called Scenic, Passey, Packrat Trail Loop-a little under two miles with 282 feet in elevation gain. Fall hasn't quite arrived in Tucson yet, although high temperatures have fallen into the mid 80's.
Julia has fully transitioned from tree hugger to cactus hugger. This armless specimen is just a baby.
We survived the short hike for the final group photo.
Next we were off to the nearby Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This guy was there to greet us on the road before the turn-off.
Julia and I bought annual passes, which included two free passes to get Allie and Corey in. The cost was a little cheaper than buying single day passes for all of us. There are many exhibits outdoors and indoors. Volunteers give presentations on areas of interest. One was the importance of water in the desert. I particularly liked this poem, which resonated with my first monsoon season in Tucson.
Many of the animals and reptiles here can be found in the wild behind our house. The javelinas behind the fence looked much more docile than the ones we see in the preserve. There were way more types of rattlesnakes in Arizona and Sonora than I knew existed. The most amazing thing to me was how well they blend into the desert environment, making them very difficult to see unless they warn you with a rattle.
After several hours at the museum, it was mid-afternoon, and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We drove to BK Carne Asada and Hot Dogs so that the kids could sample each.
Julia wanted to try the local raspados con crema, a Mexican treat with shaved ice, fruit and ice cream. I tried the coconut, and it was quite good.
With that, it was back home for a card game and beverages. I won the card game, which capped off a pretty good day. I let Corey win on the next day (maybe). Part 3 will be coming soon.
4 comments:
Great Post!
Great to see Allie smiling! And Corey too!
What are Allie's "wings?"
That coyote expected you to have brought lunch.
In all my decades of hiking -- mostly bushwacking -- I encountered no more than 6 or 7 rattlers. Each was surprisingly considerate and gave me plenty of warning. Each time I felt embarrassed for disturbing it.) I still paid close attention to where I stepped.
They look like wings, but she is at the bat exhibit, which explains how bats have adapted to the desert environment with big ears. Those are bat ears.
Agree about the coyote. It seemed to be looking for a handout. I hope people aren't feeding it.
I haven't seen any rattlers on the trails. We have seen two so far in Tucson this summer. One was at a private residence up in the foothills. The other was at Tohono Chul Gardens. Neither rattled but each was moving away from us. I'm not worried at all about the ones that I see; it's the one that I don't see that keep my eyes moving and very alert. Someone was telling me that the anti-venom treatment is extremely expensive. Right now, I have a huge deductible until Medicare starts in a few months. That's giving me extra motivation to pay close attention to where I step.
I had to go back to my old mapping system to check, but hey! I've been on that trail before. Somehow I had it in my head that National Park trails and dogs don't go together. Glad I was wrong.
More recently I was on the King Canyon trail right there near the museum. Another easy loop with minimal elevation change and petroglyphs if you know where to look.
You had it right. Callie was not with us for that hike. She does get quite a few long walks and hikes in, but Saguaro and Sabino are. not dog-friendly. I've also noticed that any of the hiking areas with big horn sheep are not dog-friendly. Pretty cool that I hiked in your footsteps.
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