Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Beautiful Western Tucson

Our home base for a month, Desert Trails RV Park, sits on the South edge of Tucson Mountain Park (TMP). We've got trails into the desert right from the RV park and are just a few minutes drive to many more miles of trails in TMP and Saguaro National Park (SNP) West.

Our remaining few days with Mike and Keyna were spent enjoying some of our favorite nearby trails. They headed on to their next destination this morning after one last tasty dinner last night. It may be many months before our paths cross again, but it's been lots of fun catching up while we could.

Trail maps for hikes close to Desert Trails RV park:
Tucson Mountain Park Trail Map
Saguaro National Park West Map

One gorgeously cloudy day we hiked Hidden Canyon and Yetman trails to Bowen House, returning by Bowen trail. This four mile lollipop loop had one easy hill, pretty canyon views and the picturesque stone ruins of Bowen House.

Fantastic cloud formations graced our hike to Bowen House Ruin.





Another day we hiked my favorite loop in SNP West: the Hugh Norris - Dobe Wash Loop. Here is my detailed write up on it from last year. And below are a few pics from our recent hike...

Puffy clouds and big boulders make for a pleasing lunch stop.





Near the end of the loop you drop into Bajada Wash.

There are some neat boulder strewn sections in Bajada Wash.

One of my favorite things is to have good trails accessible directly from the RV park. Here's a few images from walks with no driving necessary...


 
Pretty in pink.

This crazy many-armed saguaro is a fun find a couple miles from the RV park.

This crest has continued to grow into a hand!

We've had some incredible sunsets lately, one evening in particular lit up the clouds in an explosion of color:




Though we're having lots of fun, life's little realities have intruded here and there. Our electric fireplace fan stopped working and fortunately it's still under warranty. We received a free replacement and successfully made the switch one afternoon. Hans also broke an old crown and is in the process of having it replaced. Why that couldn't have happened when we were in Yuma having dental done, we just don't know!

We also celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary this week as well as eight years since our fateful meeting through Match dot com. Life is most excellent!

6 comments:

  1. Match.com, how interesting! Congratulations! Lovely photos of one of our favorite areas.

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  2. Gorgeous photos of your hikes and the surrounding area. I lived in Tucson for a year in 1983 and never felt interested in returning. I think I would like it much more at this stage of my life and staying in a campground.

    Happy anniversary!

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    1. Thanks Pam!

      The desert around here is just gorgeous, and it's so much easier to appreciate it when you are retired!

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  3. Love all the photos of the saguaro:) That many armed one is so cool. I must find it next winter. Neat new saguaro that I don't remember finding!? Where did you find it?

    Beautiful sunsets! We haven't seen one yet since arriving at the beach on Sat. We have been fogged in every night starting before sunset:(

    You two make such a neat couple:)

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    1. The baseball glove saguaro is located on the trails from our RV park.

      Thanks Pam!

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