Welcome to Travelling Vagabonds

March 23 – March 25, 2023

Las Vegas

We had to drive through Las Vegas on our way to Death Valley so decided to spend a couple of hours walking down the Strip !

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We then drove as far as Death Valley Junction and camped on BLM land, half an hour outside the Park so we could get to one of the First come/First served campgrounds in Death Valley NP the next morning and secure a spot before 9 am .

We had very strong wind during the night and intermittent rain but the forecast for the next few days is for sunny weather.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is situated on the eastern border of south-central California, in the northern Mojave Desert, and borders the Great Basin Desert. The area of Death Valley National Park covers 5,270 square miles ( 13 650 square km !!)

The name is said to come from a group of gold rush travellers who got lost for weeks in the valley in 1849 after thinking it was a short cut. They survived, killing some of their oxen and using the wood from their wagons to cook. After abandoning their wagons, they eventually were able to hike out of the valley. Just after leaving the valley, one of the women in the group turned and said, “Goodbye Death Valley,” giving the valley its name. ( although only one member of the party is known to have died).

Hottest (The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134°F (57°C) on July 10, 1913.), Driest and Lowest National Park … In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley.

We watched an informative short film at Furnace Creek Visitor Centre and then headed for Badwater Basin and its Salt Flats.

On the way to Badwater we stopped for a short hike at Golden Canyon. The name refers to the incredible yellow coloration of the canyon walls. The trail ends at Red Cathedral, the vertically fluted walls of a natural amphitheater in contrasting dark red.

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The elevation to the north end of the Park sits at about 3,000 feet and slopes steadily downward, putting the valley floor below sea level for 70 miles. Ultimately, the terrain bottoms out just beyond Artist’s Drive at Badwater Basin—the lowest, hottest and driest point in the Western Hemisphere—sitting at a whopping 282 feet ( 86m) below sea level.

Natural Bridge and Devil’s Golf Course

Another short hike leads you to Natural Bridge: as its name suggest, this stone bridge spans a canyon and was carved over thousands of years by rain and flashfloods.

The Devils Golf Course is made up of large salt formations that jut out of the barren landscape for as far as the eye can see. You can walk around the salt slabs but you have to be careful as they are jagged, sharp and stick straight up, making it difficult to go any distance.

The Devils Golf Course gets its name from a guidebook back in the ’30s that stated: “Only the devil could play golf on such a surface.”

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BADWATER – Lowest point in North America, these salt flats here cover nearly 200 square miles (518 square km), and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax. 

A sign high on the mountain nearby gives you an idea of how far below Sea Level the basin stands :282 feet ( 86m)

Note sea level marker, circled in red.

Badwater Basin was once the site of the large ancient inland Lake Manly which evaporated tens of thousands of years before the arrival of the 1849er( Gold rush Pioneers) for whom it was named. The lake had no outlet, leading to the accumulation of sediment and salt over time. When the lake eventually evaporated, concentrated salt deposits were left behind. Today, fascinating geometric salt polygons form on the flats as groundwater rises up through these deposits and evaporates.  

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Artist’s Palette drive and hike

it was near late afternoon and the best time to go on Artist’s Drive , a nine-mile, one-way road that leads through some of Death Valley’s most vibrantly hued sedimentary and volcanic formations. The highlight is Artist’s Palette, where the rock is improbably colored with gorgeous yellows, pinks, and greens. You can stop and walk through the rock formations to get a closer look!

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On our second day in Death Valley, we drove to one of the closest towns , Beatty, which is 65 km from the Furnace Visitor Centre and in the State of Nevada. Not much there apart from a couple of RV parks, casinos and hotels. We managed to fill up on petrol at a more reasonable price than inside the Park $4.06 per gallon instead of $6 per gallon!!

The price of petrol in California is one of the highest in the US, mainly because the State imposes heavy taxes to encourage people to turn to electric cars. California Law states that all NEW cars sold in 2035 and beyond have to be zero-emission vehicles. (national average price is $ 3.601 per gallon and $4.88 in California !!)

We wanted to go back into the park on a dirt road going through Titus Canyon but the road was closed for repairs… We had no choice but to take the main road, Highway 190, going east to west to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells.

The 100-foot-high Sand Dunes have earned fame when, rippled Mesquite Flat provided the location for Tatooine in Star Wars: A New Hope. Other locations in the Park have also been used for scenes in the Star Wars movies.

You are free to wander and climb the highest dune, which we did. It is a good distance from the car park area but worth the effort ! It was windy on that day though and (although not visible with bare eyes) some of our pictures appear blurry because of sand particles in the air!!

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In the evening we drove through Twenty Mule Team Canyon and Zabriskie Point.

Twenty Mule Team Canyon

A roller-coaster drive, hidden just off the main highway, a 2.5 mile (4 km) dirt road winds between, around, and over yellow hills.(Scenes from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi were filmed there)

The name comes from Teams of mules which were used to move millions of pounds of Borax(mineral) from remote mines in inaccessible Death Valley to the railroad at Mojave.

Zabriskie Point

We were hoping to catch a nice sunset but dark clouds were blocking the sun so we missed out on the show of colours. This overlook offers spectacular views on to undulating landscape of gullies and mud hills at the edge of the Black Mountains and you can even see the Badland Salt Flats in the distance.

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March 20th – March 22, 2023

Left camp and took the direction of Lake Havasu and joined Route 66 at Topock.

This is the only portion of the old original Route 66 that goes through mountains (Black Mountains range). It was the original Old Trails Highway that paralleled the Beale military road from 1857, and became Route 66 in 1926. 

U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 or “The Mother Road” was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926. The highway quickly became a popular route because of the active promotion of the U.S 66 Highway Association, which advertised it as “the shortest, best and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles.

Although it is no longer possible to drive US 66 uninterrupted all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, much of the original route and alternate alignments are still drivable with careful planning. 

We stopped at Oatman ( elevation 2,700 feet), old mining town, retaining its charm despite the obvious touristy shops. In 1930, it was estimated that 36 million dollars worth of gold had been mined around Oatman. The town boasted two banks, seven hotels, twenty saloons and ten stores. There were over 10,000 people living in Oatman area.

Oatman’s famous “Wild” Burros (donkeys)that wander the streets are the descendants of burros brought here by the miners, and when no longer needed were turned loose.

We drove on and found a nice camping spot, surrounded by flowers.

Next morning we stopped at Cool Springs Station, the site of an original coach road stop and the last place where you could get water before crossing the Mohave desert on the way to California.

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We drove on to Kingman and on to the famous Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam  was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It is a  concrete arch-gravity dam ( a dam that resists the thrust of water by its weight using the force of  gravity) in the  Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. The dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.

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We spent the night at a campsite on Lake Mead and drove on to the Valley of Fire State Park the next day. The park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago and which appear as though it is on fire, especially at sunset. It covers an area of 185 square km and the main attractions can be done in one day.

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March 15th – March 19th, 2023

Left Anza-Borrego State Park and drove up the Coachella Valley to Indio.

Coachella Valley is home to some of the country’s best music and arts festivals, attracting people from all over the world. thanks to its mix of world-renowned musicians, up-and-coming artists, and fashion.

It is also known for its date palm plantations and we passed large plantations, where you can taste and buy dates. Harvest typically occurs from late August through October. A single tree can produce 200 to 300 pounds of fruit per year, and it can be harvested many times throughout a season, as the dates do not ripen all at once.

We stocked up on food and fuel before heading for Joshua Tree National Park.

Joshua Tree National Park is a vast protected area characterized by rugged rock formations and stark desert landscapes. Named for the region’s twisted, bristled Joshua trees, the park straddles two distinct desert ecosystems: the cactus-dotted Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert, which is higher and cooler.

We were too late in the day to find a spot in the First come – First served ( FCFS) campground so we did a hike to the Lost Oasis.( 7.5 miles).  the trail is on rolling hills through the desert before climbing down into the Lost Palms Canyon to reach the oasis. You are then rewarded with a unique desert oasis full of fan palms and a high number of desert plants along the way. 

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The lake you see in the background near the end of the short video is Salton Sea.

Salton Sea

One of the world’s largest inland seas and lowest spots on earth at -227feet below sea level, Salton Sea was re-created in 1905 when high spring flooding on the Colorado River crashed the canal gates leading into the developing Imperial Valley.  For the next 18 months the entire volume of the Colorado River rushed downward into the Salton Trough (San Andreas Fault).  By the time engineers were finally able to stop the breaching water in 1907, the Salton Sea had been born at 45 miles long and 20 miles wide – equaling about 130 miles of shoreline.

Last night we slept just outside the Park on BLM land ( with many other campers as facilities in the park are fully booked!), between US 10 and the park southern limit on below map.In the morning, we left as soon as we woke up and made a beeline to the FCFS campground and managed to get a spot. The ranger came along just before 9 am and we booked for 4 nights!! ($15 per night), not a bad deal, each site has its own picnic table and fire pit/bbq and a couple of vault toilets serve the 15 sites. ( you have to bring your water as it is scarce in this region and is only available at visitor centres in the park).

Our campground is very close to Arch Rock so spent an hour or so exploring the rock formations nearby. We also did Split Rock and Wall Street Mill trails and drove Geology Tour Road.

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JOSHUA TREE – the plant

This plant (Yucca brevifolia ) belongs to the yucca species family and its tree-like in habit, is reflected in its common name. By the mid-19th century, Mormon immigrants had made their way across the Colorado River. Legend has it that these pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward.

The average lifespan of a Joshua tree is estimated at 150 years, but older trees exceeding 300 years old have been recorded. Younger plants lack the distinctive branching of older specimens. It is a fast growing succulent that can grow around 12 inches (30 cm) a year.

The fruit of the Joshua Tree is green and brown, and is 2.5 to 2 inches long. Soon after the Joshua Tree Tree’s fruit matures in late spring, it will fry and fall off the branches. When the fruit falls it lets off many flat seed. 

Joshua tree is a Mojave Desert endemic. Its distribution follows the Mojave Desert boundary in southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, western Arizona, southeastern California ( and northern Baja California – Mexico).

We were in early spring and some of the trees had big buds starting to open.

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Some of the highlights of the next couple of days were, a ranger guide tour at Cap Rock ( explaining the origin of the park), Skull Rock, Lost Horse Mine Trail (7.3 miles) and a visit to Joshua Tree and Twenty Nine Palms towns on the northern side of the park.

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March 11th – March 14th, 2023

We left camp after breakfast, destination AGUA CALIENTE County Park, on the way to Anza Borego State Park, California.

We followed the Mexican border for a while up to the town of Ocotillo where we veered north on S2 road to Agua Caliente where we found a good spot at the campground, right next to a mimosa tree in full bloom and its distinctive fragrance in the air.

There we did a short nature trail hike in Moon Light Canyon, where plants were labelled and quite a few in bloom. Always a surprise to find life in the desert!

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Next day, we took a drive through Anza-Borego State Park and were told that more flowers were in bloom in Coyote Canyon. On the way we passed some metal structures of dinosaurs, mythical animals and people, their rusty appearance blending into the desert landscape.

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On our last day in the park, we explored Blair Valley.

Our first stop was Marshall South Home Site. Marshall South, an author fulfilled his dream of living in the desert by building a small homestead on top of Ghost Mountain (980m). With his wife and three children, he sought “silence and peace”. His experiment in the 1930s and 40s did not last as after battling with the harsh conditions, the family moved away. He was a pioneer of what we would call today, living off-grid but pushing it to the extreme!

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Next stop was the Morteros trail: the morteros are holes left in the stone where the native Americans prepared food or medicines by grinding seeds/ plants they collected from the desert. The repetitive motion of rock against rock creating a bowl like “mortero” . It was their natural kitchens.

Our final stop was the Pictograph trail and Smugglers Overlook. The trail meanders amongst large boulders. On one of them, you can see pictographs in reddish/ochre colour (the artist mixed hematite or red iron oxyde and the oil of roasted wild cucumber kernels to obtain that colour) or black. The colour is important, in the artists’ culture red is often a “female colour” while black is “male”. Hard to know what these symbols mean today but some of the pictographs appear to be related to a vision or spirit helper.

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February 24th – March 11th, 2023 – Highlights

Settled in at the lake. Nice little community of travellers. Most are what are called “snowbirds” i.e pensioners who migrate south in winter to find more clement weather and avoid severe winters up north! (today was 19 C ). Some people stay for weeks (though only a maximum of 14 days are allowed according to sign post), others use this spot as a stopover on their way back from Baja California ( Mexico) where they spent the winter. Quite a few people are here for fishing too and as we were walking by the lake one evening, one fisherman gave us a big trout he had just caught. He said his freezer at home was already full !!

The lake is about 18km from town and we are surrounded by huge fields of lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower, all made possible thanks to irrigation canals.(Colorado river is nearby)

We were surprised as we are in the desert but apparently Yuma has some good soil and is known as America’s winter lettuce capital. It produces over 90% of the lettuce, as well as citrus, and many cruciferous vegetables ( cabbage family) for the United States every winter.

Lunch in town – Lutes Casino

On Monday, we met Juanita ( Emily gave us her contact details) in the historic Downtown. We walked Main Street up and down, but most shops and restaurants are closed on Mondays so not very lively, apart from groups of pensioners like us coming for lunch at Lutes Casino!

Lutes Casino is a bit of an institution in Yuma. The building, constructed in 1901 as a dry-good store and hotel, became a casino and pool hall in 1920. It changed hand a number of times before the Lutes family took it over in the 50’s. Today it is a family restaurant, with a huge bar area, pool tables and a corner for live music. The décor is early eclectic, what might be called interesting junk. And it is everywhere. The 12-foot-high walls are plasters with posters, paintings, murals and memorabilia of every description. 

We had a nice lunch and chat with Juanita and agreed to meet again before we move on.

Squaw Lake – Yuma Proving Grounds

Betsy, our neighbour, told us of a place where you can have a shower for $1. It is far : 30 km but it is a day out ! The road goes through Yuma Proving Grounds, a U.S Army environmentally specific test center and one of the largest military installations in the world (1,300 square miles).There are some tanks, rocket launchers and other military vehicles on display outside the Visitor Centre. You can walk around the display but you need a background check before you can visit the Proving Grounds.

When you go north east on US 95, you see a white aerostat balloon over the mountains. This state-of-the-art eye focuses on one thing: low-flying airplanes. It is  part of a six-aerostat team forming a radar fence along the southern United States, it’s watching for drugs being flown across the international border.

Squaw Lake is further up the road, on the Colorado River with a series of lakes and reservoirs. The Colorado river is the border with California.There are plenty of RV’s camping on BLM land, in the middle of the desert. Pretty bleak and must be unbearable in summer when the temperature is in in the 40’s C, even with the proximity of water. There is practically no shade.

On the way back we took a different road, crossing into California. There, we passed large dates plantations. Date palms were planted in the Coachella Valley of California , which is approximately two hours east of Los Angeles in the early 1890s. (We are not in the Valley but plantations thrive here too) And now, plantings cover over 6,500 plus acres. These acres produce over 40 million pounds of our four primary varieties, which are the Deglet-Noor, the Medjool, the Barhi and the Zahidi.

Car problems

We started having problems to start the car. The engine would turn over but not start. Sometimes it worked first time, but eventually, we had to take it to a garage to get it looked at and once we got there and had to stop the engine, it did not start again… at all !!!

The garage where we stopped could not help but they agreed to tow us to another place, specialising in import vehicles, only 2 blocks away. it was 3 o’clock by then and they could not look at it until the morning. The car is our home and we could not use it so we were stuck !!!

Luckily, Juanita came to the rescue and agreed to have us stay overnight at her place, which , as it turned out was only 15 mn walk away. There, we had a pleasant evening and Juanita cooked some delicious enchiladas for us. Thanks Juanita, you were our saviour !!

The next morning the garage called to say the issue was the fuel pump, they could get the part and get the car fixed the same day. Not so bad but it came at a cost $$$$.

We had planned to leave Yuma but decided to stay a few more days to ensure the car was Ok and it is just as well, as we started to have more problems when starting the engine, on and off. We took it back to the garage. This time it was an electrical issue and they had to change another part…. Lets hope it is the last of our problems.

After over 2 weeks at Fortuna Lake it was time to move on and hit the road again….

February 21 – February 23, 2023

Last night we camped at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, huge campground (mainly RV’s) but the tent area was quiet with view of the desert.

We left in the morning for Sedona, but first stopped at Red Rock State Park. A short trail following Oak Creek River leads you to a view point of” Cathedral Rock”, a sandstone rock formation.

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SEDONA

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Sedona’s main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and biking trails.

The town has become a mecca for people believing in the area’s vortexes, said to be the world’s greatest hot spots for psychic energy.

 A vortex is believed to be a special spot on the earth where energy is either entering into the earth or projecting out of the earth’s plane. Vortexes are found at sacred sites throughout the world – the Great Pyramid in Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru, Bali, Stonehenge, Uluru/Ayers Rock in Australia, etc. It is believed that the vortex energy moves in a spiral, moving up or down. The Native Americans believe that spiritual transformation can occur more quickly and easily in Sedona because the veils to other dimensions are thinner here.

We then took the Red Rock Scenic byway (road 179), stopping at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built in the rock then further down at a view point for Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, two famous attractions.

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There is a severe weather warning for the area, signs were up in town and strong winds and heavy rains are forecast for this evening and tomorrow. The sky was already turning dark and we found a place to camp on BLM land ( public land where you are allowed to wild camp).

We had a bad night with 75 miles per hour winds rocking the car and shaking the tent but no damage. Still windy this morning and a lot cooler. We looked at the forecast for the region and it is not good. Our initial plan was to go up to the Grand Canyon but heavy snow has blocked some of the roads further north so we are going SOUTH in search of warmer weather !!! Yuma it is, as it is the only place showing decent weather for the next week or so.

We headed for Jerome, an old historic mining town. Founded in 1876 when copper was discovered. It was once the fourth largest town in Arizona with a population of 15,000 in the 1920’s. Booming years ended after World War II and Jerome became a ghost town with a remaining population of less than 100. Its revival started in the late 1960’s and the town is now a thriving tourist and artist hub.

It is located near the top of Cleopatra Hill and snow was on the streets in town. (elevation 1,500 m)

The scenic road to Prescott went through a couple of passes in higher elevation, plenty of snow by the side of the road and snow flurries coming down but the road was clear. Prescott, 1600m is nestled in the Ponderosa Pines of Prescott National Forest and offers breathtaking landscapes complete with granite mountains, lakes, streams, and rolling meadows. We stopped in town for a break but were still battered by cold winds so we moved on.

We arrived in Yuma by late afternoon and found a nice spot near a small lake on BLM land.

February 19 – February 20, 2023

We left Tucson after breakfast and headed north on US 177, nice scenery but this area is rich in minerals and the land has been disfigured by massive mines where the mountain is artificially terraced like a pyramid.

We stopped in Globe to get some groceries. The town is very close to a large Apache Reservation and quite a few Native Americans were in town doing their shopping too.

We were now on Route 88, known as the Apache Trail. It gets its name from the Apache Indians, who originally used the trail to navigate through the Superstition Mountains and the Tonto National Forest. It then became a stagecoach route in the early 1900s and was used to ferry materials and workforce to the construction of the Roosevelt Dam.

We made a small detour to Tonto National Monument. The Monument features two ancient Native American cliff dwellings dating back 700 years. The Lower Cliff Dwelling is open for viewing year-round and is accessible via a steep, 0.5-mile walk . The Upper Cliff Dwelling is accessible only by guided tour from November through April on the weekends.

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We drove on to Roosevelt Lake where we camped on the shore for the night. The weather was warm-ish and hummingbirds were flying around us.

Roosevelt Lake

Theodore Roosevelt Lake was formed by the construction of a masonry dam on the Salt River in 1911, making it the oldest artificial reservoir in Arizona. At the time, Roosevelt Dam was the world’s tallest masonry dam at about 280 feet high and Roosevelt Lake was the largest man made lake in the world. In 1996, modification of the dam increased its height to 357 feet and expanded the lake’s water storage capacity by 20%. The lake had a multi-purpose of flood control, generation of electricity and harnessing the water for irrigation.

 Lake Roosevelt a favorite water recreation destination. The lake features several marinas and fee-based camping sites, and contains a wildlife refuge area.

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The next day, we resumed our journey north, going through Payson and stopping at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.

The weather was not so warm today with a cold wind. We took the small trail leading to the bridge, a natural arch, that is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.  The bridge stands 183 feet high over a 400-foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point.

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February 1 – February 18, 2023

BUFFELGRASS SLAYERS

One Saturday morning, we joined a group of volunteers to pull out buffellgrass in Catalina State Park ( north Tucson). We met at 8 am with around 40 other volunteers, grabbed a long handled garden pick ( mattock), some gloves and had a quick presentation on buffelgrass to help us identify the right plant to pull out !

Click on the link below to see our group photo!

https://apis.mail.aol.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-4If_odE3qL9nl1Fc-L9LBYuPaZrHPYh7qkDEbEXw87esgaPaDu6xYLd3rT0l_T2VGH4nkLovJSeSm65J69qU1w/messages/@.id==AGLdDXptHLsLY-LUgwzFiNVfiMs/content/parts/@.id==1.2/thumbnail?appid=aolwebmail&downloadWhenThumbnailFails=true&pid=1.2

We then had a short 30mn hike to the site assigned for clearing.

Buffelgrass is the archenemy of the Sonoran Desert– the invasive grass most likely to cause significant damage to the native ecosystem. Buffelgrass is native to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This grass was intentionally brought to arid portions of the U.S. beginning in the 1930s and was planted for cattle forage and erosion control because of its drought tolerance and high seed production. Today it  is officially listed and regulated as a noxious weed.

Buffelgrass is a perennial grass that grows in dense, messy-looking clumps. It is highly invasive and is a severe threat to native plants for nutrients, water, and sunshine. Open spaces between native vegetation fill with buffelgrass, occupying areas where wildflowers typically bloom. Dense buffelgrass patches alter the habitat for desert animals and inhibit the growth of native plant forage. In addition, buffelgrass creates heavy, continuous fuel for wildfires which presents a very real threat to habitat, homes, and safety. Typical desert vegetation is sparse, so a fire would not spread and would quickly extinguish itself because of the lack of fuel. Desert fires can be caused by lightning strikes during Arizona summer monsoon season. ( late June to September)

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There was also a raffle and my name came first out of the hat: first prize: a baby saguaro cactus !! Such a shame that I cannot take it home with me!!

Other highlights: MORE HIKES

The house is close to Saguaro National Park East and we made full use of its facilities. We went on most of the trails and enjoyed the desert landscape.

Night Hike

We also went on “the night comes alive” hike, led by a park ranger. We were the only ones who turned up at 6 pm for the hike so had a private guided tour of the desert as night falls. We learned some interesting facts about this special time, the crepuscule, when the sun has just set and you are in partial darkness. The ranger gave us two colour cards and asked us to state the colour we saw as an experiment to show how visual perception changes with diminished light. He explained that some of the desert animals have enhanced night vision to help them find food once the heat of the day has come down.

The ranger had a few gadgets: an ultrasound meter which could pick up bats before we could actually see them flying over and an infrared camera which was showing clearly saguaros in red . This is one particularity of the cactus which allows it to retain the heat of the day and protects it in the cold of night.

The hike lasted a couple of hours and we walked back to the car through the desert illuminated by a full moon: a very special time !

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FAREWELL PARTIES

We had not one but two farewell parties!

We had a pizza night with some of the neighbours and another one at Virginia’s house in town, organised by Moira and Emily/Virginia respectively. We had a great time each night.

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It was time for us to leave Tucson. We were sad to leave as we really enjoyed our time there. We made new friends and discovered the beauty of the Sonoran desert.

A big thank you to all for making us feel so welcome.

Irene, Moira, we will keep fond memories of our evening chats with a cuppa!

February 1 – February 18, 2023

MOUNT LEMMON

Mount Lemmon (named after Sara Plumber Lemmon one of the first westerners to ascend the mountain in 1881), with a summit elevation of 2,792 m, is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is is one of the Sky Islands in Coronado National Forest, located north of Tucson and you can see its snowcap from all over the city. There is a ski resort at the top: the southernmost ski destination in the continental United States.

The drive to the top takes about 1 hour. Sky Islands offer drastically different environments as the elevation changes rapidly. Driving up the Mt. Lemmon Highway is the biological equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a stretch of only 26 miles! The roads offers fantastic views and we stopped at numerous viewpoints to admire the scenery. About two thirds up the drive, snow appeared by the side of the road and soon we were surrounded by a snowy alpine scenery. We even had a picnic in the snow!

There are numerous trails for hiking, biking and rock climbing. In summer people retreat to Mount Lemmon to escape the heat where it is an average of 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than metropolitan Tucson.

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SABINO CANYON

Sabino Canyon is a significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains north-east of Tucson. It is a popular recreation area providing a place to walk, hike or ride the shuttle which takes you all the way into the canyon.

We decided to walk rather than taking the shuttle. It is a 12 miles round trip. The trail (called Phoneline) follows the contours of the canyon and offers great views.

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DE GRAZIA GALLERY IN THE SUN

The DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun celebrates both the life of Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia (1909-1982) – (click to learn more about the artist)- and his  art. DeGrazia and his work are characterized by their rebellious approach and passionate depiction of Southwestern life. The artist bought an acre of land in north east Tucson to build his first adobe studio in 1944.

In 1952, DeGrazia built the Mission in the Sun as the first building constructed on the property in memory of Padre Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit priest ( see entry under previous post, San Xavier Del Bac) and dedicated the mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Following his own building plans, DeGrazia and his friends carefully handcrafted the adobe constructed building. 

De Grazia was very close to the Yaqui native american tribe and many of his paintings depict everyday life as well as important Yaqui celebrations such as the Deer Dance or Yaqui Easter celebrations.

Click on the below link to see details of the permanent exhibitions

https://degrazia.org/exhibitions/permanent-collection/

We went with Emily (friend met at Virginia’s), who knew and met De Grazia and gave us a private tour of the Gallery.

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January 25 – January 31, 2023

TOMBSTONE and BISBEE

Went of a day out to these two towns.

Tombstone

Founded in 1879, the historic centre is like stepping back into the Wild West. Tombstone, otherwise known as the “Town too Tough to Die” is the home of the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral and there are daily re-enactment of the 1881 cowboy gunfight. Outlaws are among the local townsfolk buried at the 1878 Boothill Cemetery.

Allen Street is your typical western style street with boardwalks on each side of the dusty street where you can get a ride on a stage coach and see cow boys in full attire !

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Bisbee

In 1877, the first mining claim was staked in what would later become the City of Bisbee. when Jack Dunn found signs of mineralization indicating the presence of lead, copper and possibly silver.  The filing of this claim, and a multitude of others sent prospectors and speculators scurrying to the Mule Mountains in hopes of striking it rich and Bisbee soon became known as the “Queen of the Copper Camps.”

Bisbee proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world. During almost a century of mining, 8 billion pounds of copper, 102 million ounces of silver and 2.8 million ounces of gold along with millions of pounds of zinc, lead and manganese were produced. By 1974 ore reserves had been depleted and all mining operations ceased in 1975.

An influx of creative free spirits soon settled in historic Bisbee to pursue their artistic endeavors and replaced the mining community. Today, the town offers visitors a rich mix of art, music, history, architecture and outdoor activities.

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Gem Show

Every winter Tucson holds a Gem, Mineral and Fossil show in late January. More than 65,000 people from around the globe descend upon Tucson, to buy, sell, trade, and bear witness to rare and enchanting gems, minerals, and fossils at over 48 gem show locations across the city. ( some are for wholesale only).We went to 3 different locations and admired all kind of stones in the rough, polished or already set in rings, bracelets and other items of jewelry. Some large pieces are also used in furniture or decorative objects. You could spend days going round all the exhibits!

San Xavier Del Bac Mission – Tucson

“A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. 

Kino, an explorer and missionary, took part in numerous expeditions through the American Southwest and is widely considered an apostle to the native population of Arizona, and defender of their rights. ( click on this link to learn more: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/fr-kino.html

The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It is a place where visitors can truly step back in time and enter an authentic 18th Century space.”( Mission’s website)

Irene invited Moira and myself to join her and attend mass at the Mission in South West Tucson. The Mission in on  San Xavier Indian Reservation and is the easternmost boundary of the Tohono O’odham Nation.(native americans).

There we also met with Irene’s friend John, who is a rock artist. He recreates on rocks the petroglyphs seen on ancient sites (by using the same techniques i.e by pecking at the stone with a tool to create the desired motif). He also goes around school demonstrating his art and educating children on the significance and importance of the petroglyphs so as to prevent degradation and grafitti which unfortunately do happen even in National Parks.

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