Wednesday, March 14, 2012

ENJOYING THE ACTIVITIES IN TUCSON

Sunday, March 11 – We went to the Tucson Farmer's Market at St. Philip's Plaza today.

vendors

They say there are over 70 booths at this wonderful market. Fresh vegetables, fruits, and delightful baked goods.....yeah, we purchased some cookies and a muffin.

veggies-2

bakery

There is goat cheese and goat milk....we purchased the cheese! Delicious!

cheese

Fresh peppers and roasted peppers....we liked the roasted peppers! So you see, we enjoyed the Farmer's Market and contributed to the local small businessmen of Tucson.

We hurried home to take advantage of the amazing weather for a hike in the mountains. Our destination was Gates Pass, the same place we enjoyed last night's sunset. There are many nice trails leading up into the mountains and out into the desert. Having hiked the desert several times we choose the mountains for today's hike.

NEW-path

Pretty steep climbs.
NEW-PAUL-OON-PATH-2

We sent several hours hiking from the desert valley up the mountain and actually looked down on Gates Pass the passage between Saguaro National Park and downtown Tucson.

Today we learned that Barrel Cactus always lean to the south.
NEW-BARRELL-CACTUS

There were quite a few people out hiking and enjoying the wonderful weather. Fortunately, this is a huge area and we saw very few people on the trails. As the saying goes, after the first half mile of trail, you lose over 50% of other hikers. After the first mile, 75% are gone.

NEW-MY-SIDE

That looked like the case today. Although, on the highest point of our hike on a particular narrow path, we had to scoot over and let a dad and his three kids (I would guess all under 10 years old) pass on their way up the mountain. Guess they start them out young enjoying the outdoors in the Tucson area.

NEW-US

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!