Hiking the Romero Trail. Catalina State Park

On The Romero Canyon Trail

Catalina State Park, Tucson, Az.

Love the walk up that mountain trail.

Passing Saguaro, Ocotillo and Barrel.

Step by step. huff and puff.

Working off the bulging duff.

Scents of Lavender and Sage

Play on this terrestrial stage.

Young runners go charging by,

So young and fit, I could cry.

They run up and down this hill,

Like it’s a joy and a wellness pill.

Everyone is so darn happy!

From youth to mammy and pappy.

There’s a Lizard! A Cactus Wren! A Hummingbird!

To thrill at all this…is that so weird?

Cold water rushing through the Montero Pools.

To stop and rest is breaking no rules.

Amazing Earth. Amazing Life.

Living together, with no strife.

Thank you, oh, thank you…..

It all seems so incredibly right.

                                   Ron Green

                                   Feb. 2016

Catching Up

Rufous-backed Robin seen in Catalina State Park - somewhat out of its usual range.

Roadrunner pecking bugs off the ground.

The Blog – Dora’s Way – had to take a hiatus. This is partly because we have been having so much fun, and exploring new places, so that there were many days when we simply didn’t have the time or inspiration to write the blog. But, I suspect the biggest reason has to do with something else. That being the cost of using gigabytes of data on our phone plan.

As a matter of fact, we went on a “restriction diet” of data usage, which has been immensely helpful. What this consisted of was: no surfing the internet unless and until we had some free WiFi. This worked out really well, given that the Pima County Public Library provided all the free WiFi we could want. So, now it was up to us to plan into our day a trip to the library, giving enough time to write the blog. Well, since the library closed at 7PM, it was a bit of a challenge to get there after having a good hike for the day, plus all the regular daily activities. And then, while at the library, to write the blog before or after having checked Facebook, email, conducted whatever business we had to do, etc.

OK, you get the picture.

Then, suddenly, out of the blue, we decided that living in a cramped “parking lot” that is the overflow lot at Catalina State Park, replete with big rigs running generators from sunrise to sunset, that it was time to do some exploring.

We took a chance, and drove to Roosevelt Lake, east of Phoenix, east of the Superstition Mountains.

Well, it paid off! We have a beautiful campsite, not crowded at all, and we even got a chance to use our kayaks (for the first time on this trip!) today.

We still don’t have free WiFi where we are, so updating Dora’s Way will have to happen when Mari is in Evansville in a couple more days.

Thanks for hanging in there with us for this amazing adventure.

I will be updating our adventures with blogs and photos from the past week. Every day has been a new adventure, and we are happy to share it with you.

--Mari

The Desert Hummingbirds

The Desert Hummingbirds

Leaving nothing unchecked

The trailer

The taillight

The tent

Even me,

While I stand to pee.

The Morning Hike

Dateline: Yuma, Az.
Lake Mittry

The Morning Hike

Choosing the right hike is like a trip to Baskin Robbins.

One has their favorites. And, there are others yet unknown.

But today we are on unfamiliar ground. No favorites and no maps.

So, we set off down the dusty road from our campsite, made more so by passing trucks and campers passing by.

Mountains on our left. Lake Mittry on our right.

Lots of water birds: Mallards, Rails, even a large brown Ibis.

A brief walk along the lakeside brings us to a mountain with multiple paths leading up. “Here we are”, Mari says.  We choose a path and head up the mountain.

A wonderful valley trail through Ocotillo, Palo Verde, Barrel Cacti.

The conglomerate rocks with pink and green stones loosely stuck together.

Must read up on these stones.

Of Arizona, one source says:

“The mountain building episodes that brought mineralization to Arizona occurred mainly during the Precambrian and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras."

"Almost every rock type and geologic age can be found in Arizona,

especially in the Basin and Range Province.”

“Fine”, I scream in frustration. “But what are these  pink and green conglomerates? “  The Magic Eight Ball says I will have to ask again later…

To walk unfamiliar land is to wonder. And so I do.

Going Back to Arizona

We are heading to Tucson for a couple of reasons. 1) Mari has a gig there Saturday! She is singing at Catalina State Park for their First Saturdays Concert, due to a cancellation. 2) We were going to go sooner, but then decided it would be warmer in California, so delayed our exit, but then a sandstorm was predicted for Sunday and Monday, so we decided to leave, but not go all the way to Tucson. Ahhh, the vagaries of the itinerant life!

As we left California, we drove through El Centro, California. Winter warmth is largely about elevation, so one would expect El Centro to be one of the warmest places in the continental US....

We had lunch in Winterhaven, where we were also able to get some locally-grown dates. At the hispanic-style restaurant at a mom-and-pop rest-stop/grocery store, we had Carne asada quesadillas, which came with a deep-fried jalapeno on the side!!!!

But we had to keep moving....

We learned about this new place on ...You Tube! It is called Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. It is a Lake located just north of Yuma, Arizona, and yes, we have seen some of the wildlife  mainly birds. There was a serious lack of birds at Anza-Borrego. It was wonderful to see a road runner on our first day, a variety of water fowl, and birds in the shrubbery all around us - something else that was lacking at Anza-Borrego.

We immediately, and without any trouble, found a nice hike through the surrounding mountains. Here are some photos:

Hubcap decorating ocotillo at high point on hike

View of Mittry Lake from our camp site

Ocotillo decorated with silver ornaments

Ron on the trail.

Tomorrow we will pack up and go to Tucson. The gig is on Saturday afternoon. Not sure yet where we'll stay on Sunday night......

About a hike...

Here are some observations I wrote about our recent hike over a pass called Alcoholic Pass. We posted some photos from that hike a few days ago.

Looking past Ocotillo to the west from Alcoholic Pass you can see the valley floor where the date palms are, although they are not in this picture.

SCAT

The scat on the mountain pass trail

came from a fox or coyote.

It contained seeds of the date tree

From several miles away -

beyond the foot of the mountain.

Another one was all white

as if petrified but

perhaps only dehydrated in the desert air.

Creosote gave up its fragrance

With a moist breath

Dreaming of rainfall in the desert.

Small holes in the sandy wash

hid secret lives

and private ways.

Barrel cactus,

Chollas,

and prickly pears

bore deformities

where someone ate.

Big-horn sheep may safely graze.

The new-leafed ocotillo

stood sentinel

to all the goings-on

of desert creatures.

Keeping their secrets,

maintaining their silence,

bearing witness to none.

---Mari

Rainbow near Borrego Springs, CA