A GORGEOUS HIKE…SWEETWATER PRESERVE

Saturday, January 10 - We've been anxious for the weather to warm-up and the wind to slow down so we could go on a hike. Finally, Mother Nature cooperated, and we had an opportunity to head to the hills. We headed to Sweetwater Preserve on the Northwest side of Tucson.

The Sweetwater Preserve is a 703.26 acre preserve located in the eastern foothills of the Tucson Mountains. It is a beautiful area and some amazing trails allowing one to hike among the towering Saguaros. We even found three more crested Saguaros.....cool! Hiking among the Saguaros is so weird. It's like we are on another planet. It simple brings a smile to our faces!

Paul looks like a midget compared to these Saguaros.

We hiked the trails that make up the outer perimeter of the preserve. The trail is not rated, but we would guess it to be easy to moderate. The change in altitude is only about 450'. One of the bothersome, if not difficult, aspects of the trail is the "marble" condition of the gravel on much of the trail bed. A little rough on the feet!

The trails are fairly well marked with signs at intersecting trails. The maps on the signs are a little confusing giving us a chance to test "who knows best" where we should go between the two of us. Marsha was usually right which is amazing because she has absolutely NO sense of direction. There are also arrows pointing out the trails which we actually found the most helpful.

There are many different cacti families represented on this Preserve.  

There are some really odd looking cacti along the hike.

Little babies are all over the place.

The last mile of the hike gave us a great view of Tucson.

By the end of our hike we had traveled a little over 5 miles and where happy with the workout we had received.

If you want to hike among the Saguaros, this is the trail for you. We truly enjoyed our day and look forward to our next hike here in the Tucson area.

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

MESQUITE SAWMILL AND TUBAC

Friday, January 10 – After we left the Tumacacori National Historical Park, we then traveled a little over a mile north on the I-19 access road to the Tumacacori Mesquite Sawmill.

Paul, being a woodworker and wood carver, enjoys finding local woods for projects he may do in his spare time. He's in search of some native wood pieces to build a rustic dining room table and thought they might have some interesting pieces.

The rough sawed Mesquite was beautiful but sadly very expensive. Then, of course, there is the problem of hauling it all over the country before he can put it to use. Darn! They have some outstanding pieces in their shop. We wanted to buy this piece for our new son-in-law, Dave. We love you but not that much. LOL

$1,650.00

So we left empty handed and headed to our final destination for the day.

The artsy city of Tubac, Arizona, was our final stop.

Surrounded by dramatic high desert vistas, the village of Tubac features over 100 eclectic shops and world class galleries situated along meandering streets and hidden courtyards.

One could spend an entire day wandering amongst this wealth of painting, sculpture, ceramics, regional fashion, leather and jewelry. There is a significant Native American influence and Mexican craftsmanship present in the items on display and for sale.

There are numerous locally owned restaurants and bars offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner so you won't go away hungry if your looking for something to eat.

K. Newby Gallery has a wonderful sculpture garden.

Marsha got to hang out with her favorite President of all time.

This isn’t really our cup of tea, but we enjoyed strolling along the streets, stopping in numerous shops. We mostly were window-shopping, but Marsha was able to find a couple gifts which she always seems to be looking to buy.

On our drive back to the 5er, a miracle occurred. We saw our first crested saguaro. We have been looking since 2009. Paul saw it from a distance. He pulled over and Marsha jumped out. Yipee! It is a miracle!

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

TUMACACORI NATIONAL MONUMENT

Friday, January 9 - We headed out this morning to visit Tumacacori National Monument. The Park lies 45 miles south of Tucson and 19 miles north of Nogales. The Park consists of the remains of the Mission church San Jose' deTumacacori and associated cemetery, mortuary chapel, lime kiln, and the convento. Father Kino lead the missionary for the O’odham tribe. There are guided tours, but not at the time we visited the Mission. We did the self-guided tour.

What the altar might have looked like.

Today.

There are hints of the original colors of the altar.

What the original church interior might have looked like.

Today.

Look how thick the walls are.

Garden.

Mortuary chapel in the cemetery.

Melhok Ki. A dwelling for the O’odham people.

The mission is being studied and preserved, but there are no plans for restoration.

It is a very interesting tour, and one is free to explore the entire property. There is a rather nice museum that answers many of the questions that may arise during your visit.

While visiting the Museum, Marsha was so excited to see that the original statues were able to be saved. These statues are between 4’5’-5’ tall.

There was a Hispanic lady preparing tortillas over an mesquite wood-fired oven, which we both found very tasty.

We really found the next bit of information interesting.

We really enjoyed our visit. The tour takes a little over an hour. We world recommend it to anyone in the area.

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