Catalina State Park

Day 36 to 43, Monday to Monday, February 27 to March 6, Catalina State Park, Oro Valley, AZ

We drove to beautiful Catalina, settled into our campsite, and then headed down to Green Valley to visit old friends of Jim’s, Greg and Kathy Stotz.  They fixed a great dinner for us, and we had a nice visit!  There is so much interesting a beautiful art work in their home.

Jim got a great picture of a coyote trotting through the campground!  Of course, we hear them at night!

Another desert sunset!

Wednesday we went for a bike ride, out of the park, and south on the Tucson paved bike paths.  We stopped at a deli and had a delicious lunch.  We have a nice campsite, and our bird feeders are very popular with the goldfinches and house finches.  As Jim was hanging up the bird feeder, the birdies were waiting eagerly.  A lot of the folks who come to these state parks in the winter are interested in wildlife, especially birds, so many campsites have bird feeders and hummingbird feeders.  The Catalina Mountains in the background are always beautiful.

  

Bike Trail near Oro Valley

Fishhook Barrel Cactus Fruit

Bike Trail with the Catalina Mountains in the Background

Entrance to the park, two Compass Barrel Cactus pointing to the southwest!

Thursday we rode out of the park and farther north, on the bike paths and across Tangerine to lots of nice neighborhoods.  We stopped for a picnic lunch at a little park and saw a vermillion flycatcher!  First time!  (Later in the week we did see more of them!)

Can you see the Vermillion Flycatcher?

How about now?

Friday morning was a bird walk that was great.  We saw Vermillion Flycatchers again, Verdins, Blue-Gray Flycatchers, White-Crowned Sparrows, Gila Woodpeckers, and a Great Horned Owl perched in a tree – also a Great Horned Owl sitting on her nest right by the group camping area!  Lots of ground squirrels in these campgrounds for the owls to eat!  Jim’s heel is still bothering him a lot, making it difficult to walk very far, so he rode his bike around the campground and on some of the trails.

Bird Watchers on the Bird Walk, lots of people to catch sight of birdies!

Great Horned Owl in a tree

See him now?

Catalina Mountains from our campsite

Saturday morning there was a Nature Fair at the trailhead, and we rode up there, saw various critters exhibited, including non-venomous snakes they let the kids hold.  On the way back we rode by the overflow campground so I could show Jim the Great Horned Owl on her nest!  Saturday afternoon there was a 4 pm concert at the trailhead, nice music and a nice view!  We rode our bikes up to avoid the parking crowds, although it would have worked fine to drive up.

Brave girlie holding a snake at the Nature Fair

Nice music at the trailhead

Sunday Linda went for a hike on an official but unsigned trail near the campground at Catalina, heading up towards the Romero Ruins, then heading to the right, up the hill along a canyon, to an area with pretty pools.  The trail back down was a little rough at the top.  On the way back down I saw a wild fox ahead on the trail!  He rushed over to smell some coyote scat on the trail, not noticing me, tossed it in the air playfully and followed it up the hill, then came back to the trail and finally noticed me.  He trotted off unhurriedly, not minding that his picture had been taken several times!  How special to see a wild desert fox!

The trail faded into a wash as I headed back down, so I followed the horse manure, knowing that the stables were above the campground on a side road.  So I did make my way back, although I did not know where I was going, really.  A little tired at the end.  We went to the grocery store to get goodies for dinner.

Fruiting Buckhorn Cholla

Globe Mallow

At the pool at the top of the trail

Desert Poppy

Slender phlox

Winter stream in the desert

Desert Marigold

Fox playing with coyote scat, tossing it around

Fox finally noticing me!

Sunday night it was fun to have Greg and Kathy for dinner at the motor home.  We fixed salmon, broccoli, rice, cantaloupe and strawberries, and for dessert, mango sorbet.

Gilbert Ray County Park, Tucson, Arizona

Day 32-36, Thursday to Monday, February 23-27, Gilbert Ray County Park, Tucson, AZ

We arrived at Gilbert Ray about 11:30, were able to get a nice campsite in the desert.  There is a bike loop we can do, down McCain, then back up to Kinney to the campground, about 10 miles, with a couple of long, steady hills.  There are lots of bikers around Tucson, skinny tire guys in their fancy outfits pedaling along the roads, and cars are more polite here than they are in other places!  As usual, we heard lots of coyotes at night, just as we had at Cave Creek, McDowell, and Lost Dutchman.

Gilbert Ray sunset with Ocotillo

On Friday we drove down to the University of Arizona to the Space and Geology Museum, which is part of my OMSI membership.  We learned about Osiris Rex, which left September 2016 to go to the Bennu asteroid and bring a sample back.  This asteroid has a high probability of impacting the earth late in the 22^nd century, as it is on an orbit around the sun. Osiris Rex will return to the earth with the sample in September, 2023, if all goes well.   The University of Arizona has been very involved with the US space program.  The mineral and gem displays were amazing, lots of private collections which have been donated or loaned to the University.

Wulfenite

Wulfenite

Agate

On Saturday we went to the Pima Air and Space Museum, went on a bus tour all around the outside area as well as walking through big hangars with lots of planes from all eras.  There was a replica of the Wright Brothers plane, and there were many military planes from many wars.  One plane, which was used in Afghanistan, was a pink color.  Hiking Brown Mountain by Gilbert Ray, I found pink rocks that were the same color!  Our tour guide said it was not pink, it was camouflage!  Guess he was right!

Afghanistan Rocks, on Brown Mountain

We saw a B24.  That was the plane Jim’s father was shot down in when Jim was only 6 months old, in September, 1943.  It is difficult to think these planes are wonderful when they represent so much death and destruction.  There was a map of Germany at the Museum with a red mark for every spot our bombs hit in World War II.  So many, in that beautiful country – unfortunately governed by Hitler at the time.

B-17 Bomber

B-24 Bomber

Sunday Linda went on the Brown Mountain hike, ended very tired and footsore.  You climb up a ridge, then down, then to a higher ridge, then down, then to the highest ridge!  The walk back is through a canyon.  I saw lots of wildflowers.  Jim went on a long mountain bike ride, down through the desert, came to a road, and rode all the way back up the mountain!

View of the campground and Tucson Mountain.  Our campsite is directly below the needle in the distance.

View of the third peak from the first one, with the ridge in between.

Mariposa Lily

Tidy Tips

Fairy Duster

  

Trail up to the third and final peak on this ridge!

Mexican Poppy

Chewed cactus, by a desert tortoise or a javelina.  Pretty large bite!

Desert Hyacinth

Evening at the campsite

Monday we had a leisurely morning, then packed up and headed to Catalina State Park.

Apache Junction, Arizona, Lost Dutchman State Park

Day 27-31, Sunday to Thursday, February 19-23, Lost Dutchman State Park, Apache Junction, AZ

We drove east through Apache Junction and out the Apache Trail to this beautiful state park at the foot of the Superstition Mountains.  One problem being here is taking way too many pictures of the mountain, which you see from nearly all the campsites and trails! 

Superstition Mountains from Lost Dutchman

Mountains with saguaro, chain-fruit cholla, and palo verde!

On Monday, Jim rode the mountain bike trail around the campground, while Linda did a hiking loop.  In the afternoon, Jim spent some time studying for the Standard Radio License exam he was scheduled to take at 5 pm in Mesa.  Linda worked on blog pictures and documents – always behind on this project!  We drove down to Mesa, Jim successfully completed his exam, and we had a nice dinner at Appleby’s on the way home.  Jim has been enjoying looking at what ham radio operators around the world say and what they post on their websites.

Trail up Siphon Draw on a cloudy morning

View from upper trail, campground down on the right

View across to Green Peak

Blooming chuparosa in a wash along the trail.

Blooming Brittlebush looking back down the trail to the west.  Can see RV's in campground.

Jim's hard-earned license

 Tuesday was kayaking day at beautiful Canyon Lake.  No eagle pictures this time, but we did get turtle pictures!

Buckhorn cholla and view of lake from the road

Kayaks ready to launch

Heading up a creek to the north

Still waters as the canyon narrows

Ring-necked duck, a handsome fellow!

Heading up the Salt River arm

Stalagmites beginning to form in a cave that got eroded away!

Canyon Lake Dam

Big cliff as we head back across the lake to our launch site, a long paddle!

Wednesday Linda hiked up the Green Peak loop, just a lower shoulder of Superstition mountain!  Jim biked again – his painful heel still keeps him from walking very far.  Wednesday afternoon was laundry day at the Superstition Laundromat in nearby Apache Junction, always a non-thrilling but necessary event!  At 5 pm we enjoyed a concert at the Lost Dutchman ampitheatre by Marty Davis, a Western singer.  He sang bass with the Diamonds back in the 60’s, (Little Darlin'), has been in the music world his whole life.  He is a great guy, and we enjoyed the music and the sunset on the Superstitions.

Green Peak from the top of the trail

Looking back up at Green Peak from the trail down

Sunset on the mountains

We have taken so many Arizona sunset pictures!

Marty Davis, with a magic light on his guitar

 Thursday we got up, hustled to ready the motorhome for travel, and headed to Gilbert Ray County park on the west side of Tucson.  No reservations there, so we wanted to be sure to get a spot!