In our last week, we were able to fit in a few more hikes and another bike ride, interrupted in the middle by a little snow.
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| Bob-ott Doe-awk = Frog Mountain in the Tohono O’odham language |
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| Or Babat Duag. Potato, potahtoe. |
The first mile or so was a steady climb amid the saguaros, the emerging wildflowers, the busy bees, and butterflies.
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| Under the azure skies. |
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| Can you spot TBG? |
The trail crossed a waterfall before reaching its terminus, marked by a sign.
It was the obvious place to have a trail snack, contemplate life, and take in the view of the return route.
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| The late afternoon sun lit up the emerging wildflowers. |
The fickle weather returned over the next few days, keeping us indoors.
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| A thousand words, indeed. |
This picture captures so much. The heavy snow on the slide toppers was a concern. The lake forming at the back of the rig was a concern. The snow on the hummingbird feeder was a concern. After the snow had stopped (a whole day later! in Tucson!) TBG braved the rig’s ladder to access the roof and knock the slush off the slides before it had a chance to freeze into big chunks of RV-destroying ice. The lake never reached the ground under the RV, and although the hummingbirds disappeared for two full days, I kept the feeder clear and warm, and they returned with the sun.
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| TBG stays warm working on his leather projects. |
Although the snow was melting in the valley, the higher elevations needed a bit more time to thaw before we could get back up to hike there.
The Loop, a 131-mile trail around Tucson that connects several parks, art installations, and neighborhoods, provided the perfect alternative. I can’t say the section we traveled was the most scenic, but it did have some interesting features along the way.
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| Not a drainpipe! |
Along one section, there were several man-made access points to the underground dwellings for burrowing owls. How cool is that?! Signs even ask passersby to clear the openings if they saw that they’d become blocked by debris. We did not see any owls, sadly, but we did see some black-tailed prairie dogs a few times in burrows of their own.
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| “I’m not an owl, sorry to disappoint you.” |
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| Crusty crested barrel cactus. That’s two! |
We had a day of errands and chores, saving a perfect weather day for our last hike of this stay.
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| TBG chooses the Soldier Trail. |
This trail is sort of an asshole of a trail, very steep and very rocky, 1200′ in less than a mile. We were glad to be out on a beautiful day, but any hotter, and this trail would have been absolutely unbearable.
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| Taking a breather and scanning for pumas. |
The trail dropped down into a valley — and further into a deep canyon where the roar of the water was a rare sound. This has not been a “normal” winter here, and we have been quite spoiled by the transient rivers, waterfalls, and pools the rain and snow have created. The water in the above photo is the trail, and we could have followed it a few more miles up the other side of the canyon where it connected to the campground from which we accessed the Sycamore Reservoir Trail. Knowing it would be a slow trek back down the rocky inclines as it was, we called it good and headed back, making this only about three miles.
With that, we bid the greater Tucson area a fond FAIRwell.
Before we left Arizona altogether, we had one more stop to make to fit in a visit with some more old friends in Sierra Vista. We stayed in Huachuca City, a little ways north of Sierra Vista, and we had a day or so on our own before meeting up with our friends.
Everyone who visits this area will tell you that you must spend at least a day in the town of Bisbee, and everyone who visits Bisbee will use words like off-beat, eccentric, quirky, etc. to describe it. We hadn’t visited on our first time through three years ago, and with the return of more typical southwest weather, this seemed like a good time to do so.
We are not big on towns or cities as destinations unto themselves, so I knew before we went to Bisbee, as fun as everyone promised it was, I would need more of a goal to keep us from wandering aimlessly or — horror of horrors — window shopping. In perusing our friends’ write-ups of Bisbee, I kept seeing mention of The Bisbee 1000, and further investigation cemented that this would be our method of touring the town.
Bisbee is a town built into the surrounding hillsides which requires numerous sets of concrete stairs to connect all of it. A yearly foot-race, called The Bisbee 1000, encompasses 4.5 miles of roadway in addition to 1000 of the town’s stairs (the route coordinated so that each staircase is a climb up, never down.) The route provided the perfect way to see the town and get in a hike at the same time.
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| A very non-scenic starting point. |
I don’t know if it was all the research I did on the town beforehand, my general floopy mood that day, or what, but the charm of Bisbee eluded me for the most part. There were cars everywhere, both constantly moving and perpetually parked. There was a lot of real litter and litter masquerading as art. The whole town was abuzz with huge wasps. There was a burnt-toast smell permeating the downtown area. And, as with any town that depends on tourism to remain afloat, it was filled with expensive, touristy crapola.
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| A rose by any other name would smell like burnt toast. |
BUT there was a lot of interesting and pretty street art to enjoy that wasn’t litter, no one got stung, burnt toast isn’t the worst thing we could’ve been smelling, and we successfully avoided all the tourist traps.
Best of all, we bested the Bisbee 1000 by 441 more up-stairs, 417 additional down-stairs, and at least one extra mile.
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| A refreshing kombucha break mid-route |
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| and a bonus treat at the end for going above and beyond the 1000. |
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| Madrean Alligator Lizard thinks Bisbee’s A-OK! |
Oh, Bisbee, I feel bad that I didn’t love you more. TBG gave it a higher rating than I, citing his appreciation for the way residents used just any old thing to be whatever they needed, like a door made from old bike wheels. If you, my constant readers, would like a less cynical more appreciative view of what kooky Bisbee has to offer, let me suggest my friend, Laurel’s, blog write-ups at Raven and Chickadee (search Bisbee.)
Another destination we weren’t able to visit on our way through here during our first trip was Ramsey Canyon Preserve, a birding mecca, and we were fortunate to be able to visit it with our friends, Mark and Moni.
We walked the lovely 1/2 mile pathway through the main preserve, and as we got to the end of the loop, Moni looked up to her right and asked me why the rocks way up there were such a fluorescent green. I told her I thought it was likely lichen, and I put the binoculars to my eyes to confirm that. Sweet fancy Moses, you’re not going to believe what was up there on those bright green rocks!
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| Coated Monkeys! |
OK, fine, they’re really coatimundi — or just coatis (coat-eez) — close relatives of the raccoon. Call them what you will, you must know by now how thrilling it was for us to finally see them! There were at least thirty of them in their pack or band or troop, and we learned later that they were likely all females and young. The males are mostly solitary and only join the ladies during happy season, which is totally dependent on the maximum availability of food, and that can mean it occurs anywhere between October-March.
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| Heading into the tunnel to the higher rocks. |
If Moni hadn’t asked about those rocks, I never would’ve looked up there nor seen the coatis. Thanks, Moni!
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| If you can zoom in on this pic, you will be able to see at least 17 of them scattered on the rocks. |
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| At Brews Brothers Coffee Roasters. |
After saying our goodbyes for this trip, TBG and I couldn’t resist returning to Ramsey Preserve to try to get some better views of the hummingbirds. And, boy, are we ever glad we did!
It was still a bit early in the year for all of the birds that give Ramsey its reputation as a birding paradise, but the early bird gets the bird, or something like that. We knew that the Magnificent Hummingbird had made its debut for the season, and patience paid off.
We weren’t able to get a closer shot of this dazzling creature, so this one will have to do. If the light isn’t hitting it just right, it appears almost all black, but in the light? Brilliant emerald green and iridescent aubergine.
We were also happy to see the Violet-crowned Hummingbird, the only one that has an all-white gorget and breast with a shiny violet crown and pretty orange bill, males and females alike.
It’s not the flashiest as hummingbirds go, but it is my new favorite just the same. Oh, who am I kidding? Each one is my new favorite as soon as I lay eyes on it. I love them all.
The following day we said Hasta la [Sierra] Vista.
That’s gonna do it for our first winter in The Grand Canyon State, but it will surely not be our last. Thank you for a great time, Arizona!
COMMENTS
Chasing Dirt I hope you can get to and enjoy some new trails when you get back to Tucson! And maybe give Bisbee another shot to try the 1000 or at least get some gelato! ( I recommend the Mexican chocolate, if you do ☺️)
Laurel I’ve had to wait two days for my
internet to be good enough to load your wonderful photos. And now I
don’t know where to start commenting, because there’s so much good stuff
here. Those coatamundis! And that sweet Violet-crowned hummingbird—such
a great photo. So funny, your “not an owl” prairie dog. It took me
several years to finally find and photograph a Burrowing Owl in a
prairie dog town and I was so excited!
You guys had such a crazy winter. You definitely made the most of it, and you even took good care of your little hummingbird buddies. Glad to know that you want to return, because we want to hang out there with you two!
About Bisbee…I’m so sorry that it was a disappointment for you. It’s definitely a quirky place, and a haven for pack rat artists, but we loved it enough to visit more than once. It’s been several years since we were last there, and I wonder if it has changed for the worse? I recall a lot of artists but not much touristy stuff. Love the photo of you next to the rose holding your nose, LOL. Oh, and I’ve been meaning to say, nice goatee on TBG! Glad you at least experienced the Bisbee 1000 and then some!
Chasing Dirt I am so relieved to see you back on the grid — the volatile weather has had me worried for friends and family across the country.
Aren’t those coatis something else? Not what we thought we’d be seeing at Ramsey, but such a great surprise. And the hummingbirds! I suppose I am unoriginal to have them as one my favorite birds, but I just can’t help it. The other favorite is chickens LOL!
Bisbee was not a complete loss by any means. The 1000 was a great challenge (idea courtesy of YOU!) And we loved stopping at the High Desert Market for a refreshment, where we know you have been, and I remarked to TBG that I could see why you liked it there. Good stuff!
TBG says thanks for the whiskers praise! You know where he got the inspiration for it 😉
Anyway, I’m glad you all survived your lengthy hiatus at the fairgrounds and have now flown free!
Chasing Dirt We have not been to Truth or Consequences yet, but now I really want to see it! I so wanted to like “crumbly” Bisbee more, but at least we did have fun tackling all those stairs, and that was a very cool way to see many of the houses that can only be seen from the steps. The burnt toast thing was just darn weird! But the Mexican chocolate gelato from Pussycat — so named because the building used to be a brothel! — was out of this world. (They have a few more locations in the state, Sedona I think is one.)We are also so glad to be on the move again, even though we have so many fond memories of our first winter in Arizona, most especially all the new friends we made ❤
TBG I dig the freeway signs just say T o C, looking forward to seeing it