On December 5th we drove south to explore Picacho Peak State Park and climb the 1500 ft to the summit on the Hunter Trail. The 2 mile “Hunter Trail” is named in honor of Captain Sherod Hunter – Confederate States of America who lead Confederate forces against Union forces under the command of Captain William Calloway…
Category: Arizona
Asarco Open Pit Copper Mine
After leaving the Casa Grande Ruins we headed further East into the mountains towards Asarco’s Ray Mine; one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world. We travelled on a gravel backcountry road through some spectacular desert terrain. Along the way we passed the Boulders, a large collection of massive sandstone rocks. This area…
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
On Dec 3rd we left Palm Creek Resort and drove east 19 miles to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument which preserves the remains of the largest known structure of the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, the Great House. It was built in 1350, and stands four stories high and 60 feet long, with a platform…
Scottsdale AZ, Taliesin West
On Dec 2nd, Monday, after a great Thanksgiving weekend with Kevin and Ericka, we drove to Scottsdale to view Taliesin West, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Taliesin means “a shining brow” alluding to the scenic location…
Tombstone, AZ
When we left the Caverns we decided to drive to Tombstone, not far away. Tombstone was founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin who prospected the nearby hills in 1877, and found silver. Throughout the past 140 years it has survived two major fires, the loss of the mining industry, and countless violent encounters at the…
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Today, Nov 21st, we went to explore the Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, AZ. We left early to drive about 50 miles south from Tucson, and arrived at the Caverns to take our first tour. These caves formed over 200,000 yrs ago, were unknown to humankind until 1974 when Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts…
Tucson AZ, Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, located only 30 minutes from downtown Tucson was our next adventure to explore on Wed, Nov 20th. Sabino Canyon is Tucson’s own Grand Canyon at the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. We took the tram, 3.8 miles to Upper Sabino Canyon, and from there we hiked up a switched back…
Tucson AZ, Pima Air and Space Museum
Today, Nov 19th, we took Sherpa (our RV) to get her electrical worked on and we took off to see the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson. It opened in May, 1976 with 48 planes and it is one of the world’s largest non-government funded aerospace museums, now with 300 aircraft spread out over…
Casa Grande AZ, Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort
We arrived here at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande on Saturday, Nov 9th, excited to stay for a week to unwind and relax. Kevin came to join us for one night and he played pickle ball with us and lounged at the pool all afternoon. We drove him back to Phoenix…
Tubac AZ
On Monday, Nov 4th, we drove to Tubac, a famous authentic western town south of Tucson. Tubac was established in 1752 as a Spanish presidio (fort), creating the first European settlement in Arizona. Then in 1821, the Spanish were ousted by the Mexicans and the Apaches began warring with the Mexicans. In 1853, James Gadsden,…