Picacho Peak State Park
Travel Blog 378: Road Runners, Rats, and Another Refuger
From Picacho Peak State Park, we drove 76 miles mainly south, past Tucson, south of Green River, just a little north of Tubac, close to the town of Amado. Huge park converted from a Greyhound race track. Full amenities: pool, spa, pickleball, horseshoes, bar and grill, dog wash, dog parks, banquet hall. Lots and lots of people coming back every year to spend the winter season, much like Florida. Snowbird season is January through March, so by early April when we arrived many folks had left for the North country.
Uninvited Guest
A chewed Dot’s Pretzel bag was the first clue…a pack rat had come to visit. Jan made a trip to Ace Hardware, and within a couple of days we caught this guy in a live trap. Jack and Toby thought he was very entertaining.
We drove down a country road and let this cute guy loose.
The cactus at the park were showing off.
Many days we saw a good-looking roadrunner strutting through the park—he especially liked to check out the laundry.
This hooded oriole stayed in the park a few days and I felt lucky to get his photo.
The gila woodpeckers were around most of the time, as well as house finches and house sparrows.
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
South and west of us we took Arivaca Road to Sasabe. We stopped at the Visitor Center and then took the short drive up. Glad we went but probably won’t go back.
Memorable Easter
Before dawn, Jan and I gazed up in the eastern sky to see the planet alignment of Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. Quite impressive. If you missed it, the next one will occur in 1,500 years.
Around sunrise we headed east on Mt. Hopkins Road to view the gorgeous Ocotilla.
We then continued on Mt. Hopkins Road traveling up and around the 11-mile trek to Whipple Observatory. Just gorgeous scenery, but a jaunt where your fingers are crossed hopping you don’t meet an oncoming vehicle on a curve. Views to die for, as they say.
During our stay we met with our old RV friends Olga and Dan, who bought a home in the Tucson area. Great to catch up and learn they are doing well. Since the restaurant where we met was nearby, we took a tour of the beautiful San Xavier del Back Mission about 10 miles south of Tucson.
Canoa Ranch
Just a few miles away from our RV park was Canoa Ranch, a great place to walk the dogs and view the birds. Here are some of the birds we saw on our visits: Albert’s towee, Brewer’s sparrow, female redhead, male redhead, kildeer, lark sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and a Parry’s penstemon.
During our stay we visited the fun town of Tubac.
Also, just off the Anza Trail at the edge of Tubac, we came across a woman identified as the Magnificent Donkey Feeder. I guess it takes all kinds!
Also during our stay, we toured Patagonia State Park and made the trip down to Nogales, Mexico, for a dentist appointment. This whole area south of Tucson is a great place to visit.
Another Varmint
To add to our excitement, we captured and released one more pack rat—the things we don’t do to entertain our dogs!
See you next time!
Uninvited Guest
A chewed Dot’s Pretzel bag was the first clue…a pack rat had come to visit. Jan made a trip to Ace Hardware, and within a couple of days we caught this guy in a live trap. Jack and Toby thought he was very entertaining.
We drove down a country road and let this cute guy loose.
The cactus at the park were showing off.
Many days we saw a good-looking roadrunner strutting through the park—he especially liked to check out the laundry.
This hooded oriole stayed in the park a few days and I felt lucky to get his photo.
The gila woodpeckers were around most of the time, as well as house finches and house sparrows.
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
South and west of us we took Arivaca Road to Sasabe. We stopped at the Visitor Center and then took the short drive up. Glad we went but probably won’t go back.
Memorable Easter
Before dawn, Jan and I gazed up in the eastern sky to see the planet alignment of Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. Quite impressive. If you missed it, the next one will occur in 1,500 years.
Around sunrise we headed east on Mt. Hopkins Road to view the gorgeous Ocotilla.
We then continued on Mt. Hopkins Road traveling up and around the 11-mile trek to Whipple Observatory. Just gorgeous scenery, but a jaunt where your fingers are crossed hopping you don’t meet an oncoming vehicle on a curve. Views to die for, as they say.
During our stay we met with our old RV friends Olga and Dan, who bought a home in the Tucson area. Great to catch up and learn they are doing well. Since the restaurant where we met was nearby, we took a tour of the beautiful San Xavier del Back Mission about 10 miles south of Tucson.
Canoa Ranch
Just a few miles away from our RV park was Canoa Ranch, a great place to walk the dogs and view the birds. Here are some of the birds we saw on our visits: Albert’s towee, Brewer’s sparrow, female redhead, male redhead, kildeer, lark sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and a Parry’s penstemon.
During our stay we visited the fun town of Tubac.
Also, just off the Anza Trail at the edge of Tubac, we came across a woman identified as the Magnificent Donkey Feeder. I guess it takes all kinds!
Also during our stay, we toured Patagonia State Park and made the trip down to Nogales, Mexico, for a dentist appointment. This whole area south of Tucson is a great place to visit.
Another Varmint
To add to our excitement, we captured and released one more pack rat—the things we don’t do to entertain our dogs!
See you next time!