Catalina State Park, near Tucson, Arizona

We made this park our base for five days, taking side trips around the area, but also hiking a couple times in the park. The park is at the base of the Catalina Mountains. While camping here, it snowed twice up on the peaks.  We hear it is a rare event to have snowy mountains, for a woman who has lived here all her life was all excited by the sight.


Snow on the Catalinas.

 One morning we hiked the Canyon Loop Trail.  In one of the canyons there was water.  Water in the desert is thrilling!

Water in Sutherland Canyon

Along a south facing ridge grew the tallest Saguaros we've seen.


The tall saguaros.



A brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher welcomed us at our campsite.
Helen

Still more pictures

If you'd like to see more pictures than are included in our posts, we've added picasa web albums that you can look though.  Here's the site for the Tucson walking tour.  After viewing that album, you can go to the home tab at the top and find other albums.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105661449876807677021/TucsonWalkingTour#

Biosphere 2

Biosphere 1 is earth.  Biosphere 2 was built in the eighties and early nineties for research.  Maybe some of you remember the experiment of folks living inside the self contained space for two years. 

The facility is now used by the University of Arizona for a variety of research topics and as a conference center. 

Biosphere 2

The interior had three climate areas. 


Ocean (and wetlands)



Desert




Rain Forest



The infrastructure to maintain the biosphere is tremendous. 



The lung, that stores and releases air as the pressure varies with temperature.



The lung.



Housing in the conference center.



The two year live-in experiment was supposed to gain knowledge applicable to a possible space mission.  Lots of information was gathered, but no self sufficient space dwellings with plants and animals has yet resulted!  Helen

Tucson Historical Walking Tour

There is a walking tour of downtown Tucson's major historical places.  We walked most of the route, but were deterred by cold and wind. 



From the area around the visitor center.


















The route then took us to the Pima County Courthouse.



Pima County Courthouse.





Patio in the Artisans block.




Merchandise in one shop in the Artisans' block.



 Fox theater entrance, Art Deco






















Barrio Viejo



St. Augustine Cathedral.

Helen

Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show

What a variety of minerals and fossils!

We visited another gem show venue this afternoon, the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show at the Hotel Tucson City Center Inn/Suites.  The rooms on first and second floors each had a vendor, plus the ballroom, lobby, etc.  There were also tents set up outside the hotel. So much to see!
Helen

Morning & Evening at Catalina State Park, AZ Feb. 9, 2013

I did not do any enhancing of the photos.  Snow in the morning,  and sunset fire on the evening clouds.  Helen

Catalina State Park

We took two short hikes in the park today.  The first was the birding trail, though we found more birds along Sutherland Wash (with running water) that we crossed before the actual trail began. 


Western Bluebird

There was a large flock of Western Bluebirds feeding in the trees with berries along the wash.  

When we got to our campsite, Bruce set out a hummingbird feeder, a feeder with seed and another with suet.  Within minutes the bird activity started.  House finches kept up a constant chorus, Gila Woodpeckers tried to intimidate each other, and a few other species sampled the goodies, Anna's Hummingbird, Verdin, and a Lesser Goldfinch. 


A Vermillion Flycatcher also visited our campsite, though not the feeders.

 

Female Gila Woodpecker



Later in the day we did another short hike, The Romero Ruins trail.

This whole trip we've been looking for the most arms we could find on a Saguaro Cactus. Yesterday I thought we found the winner, twenty some arms, but this afternoon along the Romero Ruins trail there was this one, by one count-42 arms, next count 38; too confusing, but still the winner to date. 
Helen