We left Tucson and drove south towards Madera Canyon. We stayed at an RV Park in Green Valley . In the morning, we spotted a few desert birds as we packed up.
Curved-bill Thrasher
Brewer's Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
We traveled into the Coronado National Forest and Madera Canyon. The landscape changed from desert saguaro cacti to grassland with brush.
As the altitude climbed toward 5,000 feet, we entered a pleasant forest of oak trees. We drove to the trail head and started up the mountain hiking path.
Madera Canyon is world famous for birding and it is truly a beautiful location. However, this early in the season the spring migrants had not yet arrived.
Along the mountain hiking trail we saw:
Mexican Jays (147)
Bridled Titmouse (148)
Red-naped Woodpecker (149)
Acorn Woodpecker
Emma's note: Doesn't he look like a movie star from the silent screen era?
Emma's note: Doesn't he look like a movie star from the silent screen era?
Arizona Woodpecker (150)
Madera Canyon has a pristine and picturesque dry campground and we parked there for the day while continuing to explore the park. We walked down to the world famous Santa Rita Lodge. It is an excellent birding location as they have an area set aside for birds with several feeders. We saw the Grey-headed (151) and Pink-sided (152) subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco and many Chipping Sparrows (153).
Other birds by the Santa Rita Lodge included:
*Tip from Emma: if you're ever having a bad day, and feeling unattractive, post a picture of a wild turkey on your mirror. You will suddenly feel beautiful.
February 10
We hiked up to the mountainside to Bog Springs and got a beautiful view of the Coronado Forest and Sonora Desert.
We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch (155) and another Arizona Woodpecker before heading back to Tucson.
White-breasted Nuthatch (156)
February 11
North of Tucson we visited the Bio-Dome. This facility was an entirely enclosed and self-contained biosphere. At the beginning of this century, eight scientists spent two years in this sealed ecosystem. This facility is now operated by the University of Arizona as an enclosed and self-contained research facility.
The initial human study provided many sustainability lessons as well as greater insight into the nature of human interactions in enclosed space. I suppose Emma and I are holding our own experiment in semi-enclosed living over an extended duration. We are both surprised at how easy and enjoyable it's been, which is good, as this is the first of many summer winters to come.
The initial human study provided many sustainability lessons as well as greater insight into the nature of human interactions in enclosed space. I suppose Emma and I are holding our own experiment in semi-enclosed living over an extended duration. We are both surprised at how easy and enjoyable it's been, which is good, as this is the first of many summer winters to come.
Biosphere
The ocean section of the Biosphere
We were particularly impressed with the large flexible dome that expanded and collapsed as the primary biodome heated and cooled with the changing external temperature. This flexible football sized mini dome acted as a lung to store and release the main biodome air that expanded during the hot desert days. This enabled the biodome air system to remain fully enclosed and sealed.
February 12, 13, and 14
We visited Emma's relatives who were vacationing over the winter near Phoenix. With Wayne, Val, Evelyn and Andy, we hiked up Silly Mountain which provided a great view of Superstition Mountain.
Looking up at Silly Mountain
View of Superstition Mountain from Silly Mountain
Val, Wayne, Emma, Evelyn and Andy
Jim and Emma
We also saw a Rock Wren.
Rock Wren (157)
In the afternoon, we went on a road trip with Evelyn and Andy up Highway 88 to Tortilla Flat and Apache Canyon Lake. The views up this winding canyon trail were spectacular.
I asked Andy if he could switch feet and shift his position to provide a better lead-in to this shot. This may not have been my best move as Andy was quite close to the canyon drop-off. The rocks under Andy's feet shifted as he moved. I had a flash of trying to explain to the police that I only said "Could you change feet and lean back". Luckily, Andy adjusted to the loose rocks and stayed in the picture.
We drove back to Tortilla Flat for supper and a walk around the town.
We stayed one night at Wayne and Val's condo. Val is an amazing cook and we had a couple of fantastic dinners. It was a nice break from our routine of RV living. Emma loved her midnight swim in the full-size outdoor pool. I watched from the hot tub with Wayne and Val.
When we returned to the condo we were locked out. Being the last person to leave the house I locked the door as I always do. This came as news to Wayne and Val who never lock their house and all the keys were inside. Naturally, Emma and I offered to let Wayne and Val sleep in our camper till we solved the problem. I can not recall the last time I locked my hosts out of their house and I was really impressed with how understanding they were.
Emma and I reflected for several days after leaving Gold Canyon on how wonderful it was to spend time with Val, Wayne, Evelyn and Andy. We left our time with them feeling lucky to have such great extended family.
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When we returned to the condo we were locked out. Being the last person to leave the house I locked the door as I always do. This came as news to Wayne and Val who never lock their house and all the keys were inside. Naturally, Emma and I offered to let Wayne and Val sleep in our camper till we solved the problem. I can not recall the last time I locked my hosts out of their house and I was really impressed with how understanding they were.
Emma and I reflected for several days after leaving Gold Canyon on how wonderful it was to spend time with Val, Wayne, Evelyn and Andy. We left our time with them feeling lucky to have such great extended family.
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