Tuscon Sabino Canyon

Saturday, January 28, after getting our assigned site, we headed out to pick up Kent and Betty to go to the Sabino Canyon Recreation area. 



Once again, we find ourselves amazed at what we find.  This canyon in the Catalina Mountains just North of Tucson is a spectacularly beautiful mountain desert.  Not at all what I expected.

These cacti can do some damage.

We took a tram about 5 miles up in the canyon, and then hiked on a beautiful 1 1/2 mile trail on the side of the mountain.  It was probably one of the more beautiful hikes I've taken.  The scenery certainly exceeded expectations.



Saguaro Cactus have a relatively long life span. They take up to 75 years to develop a side arm. The arms themselves are grown to increase the plant's reproductive capacity . The growth rate of saguaros is strongly dependent on precipitation; saguaros in drier western Arizona grow only half as fast as those in and around Tuscon. Some specimens may live for more than 150 years;  the largest known saguaro is the Champion Saguaro. It grows in Maricopa County, Az and is 45 feet tall with a girth 10 ft. These cacti can grow anywhere from 15 to 50 feet. They grow slowly from seed, and not at all from cuttings. Whenever it rains, saguaros soak up the rainwater. The cactus will visibly expand, holding in the rainwater. It conserves the water and slowly consumes it.

  

A rose among the thorns

The trails we traveled

After our hike, we came back to the base and moved the motorhome out of overflow parking.  Our site is only a couple hundred feed from the "boneyard" where retired aircraft are stored.  Interestingly, the closest airplanes are B-52's like I once flew.

Saturday evening we went out with Kent and Betty to a great steak restaurant.  They fly back to cold, beautiful Estes Park tomorrow.  We've really enjoyed getting with them and are going to miss the companionship.