Day 3 – May 21, 2024 – Tucson, AZ
Today was a hiking day and didn’t get as early of a start as we would have liked, but still managed to get almost 5 miles in. The sun here is brutal and with no/low humidity, you really need to make sure you have lots of water or you will dehydrate quickly. We had six bottles of water, plus two other water bottles full and four packs of Liquid IV and we drank all but two bottles. They say to drink every 15 minutes and if you wait until you feel thirsty, you are starting to dehydrate.
We went to Saguaro National Park – West and talked with one of the guides about which trail(s) to do. We chose to do the Sendero Esperanza to Wasson Peak trail, which is about 8 miles round trip, but cut it short due to the time and the heat. We climbed up 938 feet and saw some spectacular views at the top. Luckily, we saw no snakes, but did see lots of iguanas/lizards, woodpeckers (flying), and round-tailed ground squirrels. With it being so warm, most things were hiding in the shade. Though we only hiked for about 2 ½ hours, it was long enough!
After we got back to the car, we headed to the visitor’s center for a potty break and then decided to find food. There is a local brewery in Tucson, Barrio’s Brewing, so we headed there for a well-deserved beer and a bite to eat.
We headed back to the Airbnb and took a shower, relaxed for a few, and then made dinner, which was chicken, rice, and green beans. John has been using the grill here and it’s been nice! John scheduled an owl sighting trip at Catalina State Park. We arrived at 7:30 p.m. and had a group of about 20 people. We spent almost 2 hours walking around, listening, and hoping to see some owls. We never did, but did sight the Lesser night hawk, heard mourning doves, quail, and a couple of the owl species, though never seen. We did get some great pictures of the moon and the sun setting.
Tomorrow’s plan is to hit the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia, we might be going to the Ramsey Canyon Preserve, noted for butterflies and hummingbirds, then to Tombstone to see the OK Corral and maybe a beer at the Crystal Saloon and then check out the Tombstone Brewery. Next, we plan to see the Sonoita/Elgin wine region. A full day tomorrow!
Nite all!
