Category: Southwest USA

Sabino Canyon, Tucson Arizona, November 15, 2024

I had the privilege of returning to Sabino Canyon a year to the day after may first visit to this amazing place. Sabino Canyon is on the north edge of the Tucson urban area at the base of Mount Lemmon. It is the most popular hiking spot in the area.

Sabino Canyon is supported by a elaborate visitor center with parking lots, restrooms, concessionaires, and a shuttle service. A paved road that is shared by hikers and the shuttle trams leads from the visitor center in to the canyon. The shuttle could be nice for families with small kids to explore the canyon but it is spendy.

The first half mile of this hike passes through a flat desert with giant saguaros and all the other species of plants found in this habitat.

It seems counter intuitive to speak so highly of a hike that starts as a paved road but it is a wonderful start to this adventure. You will be passed by an electric tram about once an hour. The steady easy grade walking up in to the canyon allows one to really enjoy the scenery and to “warm up” for the more challenging parts that follow.

Soon enough you leave the flats and are in the canyon. The road follows a substantial wash “dry creek bed” and the seasonally wetter environment supports some actual trees. In places you can leave the road and follow the wash up the canyon.

Saguaro cacti line the trails through out the natural area. Saguaros are the largest cactus found in the United Sates and can grow to over forty feet in height and live for over two hundred years.

The roadway crossed the wash numerous times. These narrow concrete bridges were built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, the same year my mother was born.

As you walk up the canyon the rock walls tower above you. The narrow strip of trees along the wash provide some fleeting shade. The bare slopes above have none.

At a little over four miles in the paved road comes to an end. There is one last tram stop that some hikers use as the starting point for their hikes in to the wilderness. A series of switchbacks on a single track trail get you high above the canyon floor and here the real adventure starts.

As you get away from the roadway and above the bottom of the canyon you can clearly see the curvy path of the wash highlighted by the trees along its course with the foliage turning yellow in the late Arizona fall.

At the top of the switchbacks you can continue up Sabino Canyon or take the Phoneline Trail high above the valley back towards the visitor center. I opted to continue deeper in to the canyon at least for a mile or so. Soon I came to this bare rock with a commanding view back down the canyon.

Beyond the end of the pavement, the canyon seems much wilder. There is a new view around every bend.

Higher up the canyon I ran in to some real trees in shadier sections. These were nice places to rest and drink some water. They encourage hikers to make sure they bring a lot of water. I did and still finished all of it before the day was done.

I pushed up over a small saddle as the trail was high above the canyon floor. I couldn’t tell if the rock formations ahead had caves in them or if I was just seeing the effects of the shadows on the rocks.

Beyond the saddle I found myself above a large open basin overlooking the wash. Then I heard the sounds of running water and could just see it below. I guess this far up the stream was still running. I enjoyed the view and called it good. I was in about six miles at this point and had almost that far to go to get back.

I retraced my path back to the top of the switchbacks and then continued on the Phone Line Trail above the canyon. Thimble Mountain overlooks the canyon and is a very distinctive feature as seen from above on the General Hitchcock Highway up Lemmon Peak.

This trail is mostly flat and as I walked down the canyon the canyon drops further and further below me. I took a little time to admire the desert vegetation.

Pretty much everything here has thorns. Do not touch is the watch word in the desert.

Looking back to where I came from I could clearly see the switchbacks that brought my up here.

Looking down the canyon I could see part of Tucson in the distance. The Phoneline Trail is about half way between the bottom and the rim of the canyon.

You might be high above the wash but it’s still a long way to the top and the vegetation does not lend it self to bushwhacking.

In fact it seems almost like the Forest Service installs these devices to keep folks on the trail. That is a lot of prickly pears.

In places the vegetation along the trail looks like it belongs in a botonical garden.

Here is the view looking back up the canyon from the Phoneline Trail towards the end of the road and the switchbacks.

And here is the view looking down towards the mouth of the canyon as I was nearing the end of my hike on the Phoneline Trail. A connector trail brings you back to the tram road again on a series of switchbacks.

As I descended back in to the canyon, I enjoyed the views each unique and beautiful.

One last look from up high revealed this striking cloud formation behind one of the rocky pinnacles.

All too soon I was almost back down to the wash and the tram road.

A walked the last mile or so back to the visitor center on the pavement. It is an easy walk and easy on the knees as well. I was out of water anyway.

Sabino Canyon is definitely the prettiest desert hike I’ve been on. There are lots of big views along the trails.

And small views like this bud on a saguaro that may some day grow in to one of those impressive arms.

I ended up hiking between ten and twelve miles over a seven and a half hour period. The elevation gain over all is pretty moderate for a hike of this length.

I plan on exploring the area more during my stay in the area. There is a second canyon, Bear Canyon right next door in the same natural area that doesn’t have a paved road half way up it. Sounds like a cool place to check out.

The Grand Canyon, Day Four of my Southwest Road Trip.

After spending the day exploring Arches National Park and spending a second night in Moab it was back on the road well before dawn. My next goal was Grand Canyon National Park. On the way I drove through some fascinating scenery, at least it looked like it after the sun finally came up.

On the way the road was long and lonely. Much of the drive was through the Navajo Nation.

Just before I hit the Arizona state line I got my views of Monument Valley including this shot from “Forest Gump Hill”. Fans of that movie will remember the scene.

Time was of the essence so I snapped a couple of quick photos from the turnouts and headed to my real destination.

I rarely take photos of the entrance signs to the various parks I visit. Usually there’s a crowd of tourist posing in front of them so I skip it. Coming in the east entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, I was surprised that the turnout was empty so I said what the hell, why not.

Once I used my America the Beautiful pass to enter the park I stopped at what is called First View. Here at the bottom of the canyon is the mighty Colorado River. In much of the rest of the canyon the river is not visible from the rim.

The collection of tourist facilities at the east end of the park is called Desert View. The National Park Service has constructed some very interesting buildings in the southwest style including this watch tower. As to be expected the place was very busy and it took some creative camera angles to get shots without tourist milling all around. I used the facilities and headed west on Desert View Road to find less crowded views.

The first few turnouts had lots of folks checking the views. It took a little jockeying to get a parking spot in a couple of them. The views were nice though.

Looking across the canyon I believe the formation that looks like a small volcanic cone is Cedar Mountain.

Heading west the canyon gets deeper and the rim becomes less desert like.

To be honest the views all start to look a lot a like after two of three stops. The Grand Canyon is impressive but I was looking for a little more solitude.

At one of the turn outs, I had a nice view towards the south away from the canyon. In the distance are the highest mountains in Arizona near Flagstaff including the tallest peak in the state, Humphrey’s Peak.

At Navajo, Lipan and Moran Points, spur roads lead to parking areas. Away from the main park road, I was able to walk off trail along the rim to a few view points without company and enjoy the views unbothered.

The harsh conditions on the South Rim causes the vegetation to become stunted and twisted. Most of the trees are either pinion pines of junipers.

When I walked away from the turnouts and found my own views the only company I had was of the avian variety.

A couple of scenic turnouts had trailheads for hikes that lead down in to the canyon. I wasn’t interested. Climbing a mountain is one thing. The hardest part comes first and then you have the reward of a commanding view. Going down in to a big hole and then having to climb back out to where you were anyway to enjoy the view seems like a waste of effort and time.

Heading west the park road passes through a very beautiful open pine forest. I came across a herd of elk being harassed by dozens of turons. I refused to take part in the circus. and instead continues to Grandview and Shoshone Points.

It was a nice day to enjoy the views. I was glad I wasn’t the only one doing so.

Nearing the park headquarters I parked at the Pipe Creek Vista and walked on the Rim Trail to the Kaibab Trailhead where another trail leads down in to the canyon. The road to the trailhead is closed to private vehicles and access is either by hiking of the park shuttle buses.

I returned to the Pipe Creek Vista and followed the Rim Trail to Mathers Point. It was the nicest walk I came across in my short visit. It is amazing how few people will walk more than a couple hundred feet from their cars.

Part of the trail passed through an area that experienced a wildfire a couple of decades ago. Forest recover very slowly in this type of environment. The habitat looked very much like scrublands I was familiar with in Central Florida.

At Mather Point which is right next to the visitor center I encountered hoards of tourist again so I turned around and enjoyed the one and a half mile hike back to my car. On the way I noticed this rock feature. Kind of looks like the head of a griffin to me.

The shadows were starting to lengthen and I still had a long drive to Flagstaff.

After taking one last picture from the canyon rim, I drove through Grand Canyon Village before I left the park. I was not impressed. It was over built and crowded.

The Grand Canyon is a very beautiful place and has always been on my bucket list. The views are outstanding and the scenic drive is amazing. However like most national parks there are always crowds. I’m very glad I finally saw the place but truth be told I’d rather find another hidden gem to explore than to return here.

All together I probably walked less than five miles in the park. If I do go back again I would definitely take advantage of the efficient mass transit system in the park in order to have time for a longer one way hike. The Rim Trail between Kaibab and Mather Points was the highlight.

I made the last hour of my drive to Flagstaff in complete darkness including going over an eight thousand foot pass at the base of Humphrey’s Peak with my low fuel light glowing. I was very relieved to get back to civilization. Driving through Flagstaff I was surprised how dark the city was. Outdoor lighting was minimal. I later learned this is because of the close proximity of Lowell Observatory.

Arches National Park, Day three of my Southwest Road Trip

After spending half a day at Canyonlands National Park I continued a few miles down the road and got a room in Moab. The next morning I was up well before dawn. When I arrived at the entrance station to Arches National Park it was still pitch dark and the place was unstaffed.

I drove through the park in almost total darkness. By the time I arrived at the Wilson Ranch Trailhead, it was just starting to get light enough to see. This trailhead is the starting point for the hike to Delicate Arch.

Just past the historic cabin a short spur trail lead to some interesting Native American pictographs. Both of these photos were taking on the way back from Delicate Arch as it was still too dark on the way in.

The trail to Delicate Arch is only about a three mile round trip with just over a five hundred foot elevation gain. Much of the trail is on a bare rock slope.

The last part of this trail is on a cut in solid rock. I only passed a couple of people going in the mile and a half. Some folks got there even earlier than me and made the trip in the dark.

After rounding one last bend there was the arch. A small crowd was already there to watch the colors change in the sunrise. The folks who got there this early were very respectful and quiet. Later in the day that changes.

This is the kind of place one can linger for hours. The views are different from every angle. Folks would occasionally walk to the base to take photos but would walk back up as soon as they were done so others could enjoy the view.

I wonder what happens when an arch sees its shadow. Hopefully not six more weeks of scorching temps.

I had to share one more photo of this most iconic arch before I left. Now it was time to check out some other hikes.

This was the view on the way down looking across a small canyon west of Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch isn’t the only opening along the trail. The scenery was pretty awesome. By the time I was heading down the people I passed who were on their way up were much louder. I was glad I made it to the Delicate Arch first thing. It was only going to get more crowded as the day progressed.

Next I drove to the Delicate Arch View trailhead. It is not possible to hike to the arch from here as a deep canyon blocks the way. However short walks allow less fit people to see the arch from about a mile away.

I walked to the further of the two overlooks and then continued off trail up this bare rock ridge. The views got better and better and I was the only person around.

From this high lonely solid rock ridge, I had unimpeded views of the surrounding park. In the distance again were the La Sal Mountains.

This turned out to be my favorite hike of the day. I believe it was a little over a three mile round trip with well over five hundred feet of elevation gain. At the end I was noticeably higher than the people at the base of Delicate Arch across the deep canyon.

From the ridge I got some nice shots of Delicate Arch with full blue skies behind it, something not possible from the base of the arch. I also used the sparse vegetation to screen out the hordes of people at the base of the arch.

Now it was time to hit the scenic drives and explore the rest of the park. There was all the red rocks and blue skies one could ask for.

Some of the rock formations to me resembled what I pictured the Outback of Australia to look like.

These rocks are massive. Now it was time to go arch hunting.

Sand Dune Arch was a small arch hidden in a deep narrow passage the floor of which was covered by red sand. This one was almost next to a parking lot so there were lots of people including loud youths.

From the same parking lot a half mile trail led to Broken Arch. It was amazing how few people made the effort to walk to this gem.

This one was probably my favorite due to the lack of crowds and the fact that the trail goes through it and continues another mile to a campground.

It was kind of cool looking straight up under this enormous slab of rock. The park does advise visitors not to linger under the arches as you never know when a chunk might break off.

There were a lot of different angles from which to appreciate this rock formation.

Next I drove to Devil’s Garden to check out a few more arches. This trailhead is at the end of one of the park roads and is very busy.

My first stop here was Pine Tree Arch at the end of a short spur trail.

You could walk directly under this one too.

On the way back to the main trail another short spur bought me to a view point for Tunnel Arch. That is one big hole in a wall.

The trail continued to this amazing feature, Landscape Arch. This is the longest arch in the park. Looking at it I couldn’t see how it was supporting itself.

Words and pictures don’t do justice to this incredible graceful sliver of a rock arch.

Within view of Landscape Arch another arch, Navajo Arch was plainly visible.

Next up was a brief stop at Skyline Arch just off the park road.

At Skyline Arch there are beautiful views of red rock spires and the La Sal Mountains.

After checking out the main park road and the spur to Delicate Arch it was time to head up to The Windows. On the way I passed this collection of rocks, The Garden of Eden. This is a popular place for rock climbers.

A large trailhead at the end of the road provided access to Double Arch to the northwest and The Windows to the southeast.

The Windows are a collection of three arches in the same rock wall. This is the North Window Arch.

Here you have a view of both the North Window and the Center Window. The South Window is around a corner and in the longer shadows of the late afternoon was not as photogenic.

Just southwest of The Windows is another amazing arch, Turret Arch. There is a second opening next to the main arch.

You can also walk through Turret Arch and this is the view looking back to The Windows. One obvious man camped out at the bottom of this arch preventing many disappointed people from getting photos of themselves here. It is important to consider other people when visiting a park like this.

In the late afternoon the setting sun really lit up the red rocks and the moon made a cameo.

And here it is looking through the North Window.

After spending an hour or so exploring the Windows and Turret Arch, I crossed the trailhead and headed to Double Arch.

By now the rocks were on fire from the rays of the setting sun.

On the way back to the trailhead from Double Arch I was treated to this shadow of what looked like an elephant.

As I passed Balanced Rock on the way out of the park I got this shot in the failing light. By the time I got back to the park entrance it was completely dark. I ended up spending every bit of the daylight I had available on this early November day exploring this most amazing place.

A short drive later and I was once again in Moab. I had time to walk the main drag and check out a local watering hole before I called it an evening, but the main reason I came to this town was to check out a couple of America’s premire national park’s. I’d love to go back some day but for now it was time to hit the road to the next great place.

Canyonlands National Park, The Island in the Sky. Day Two of my Southwest Road Trip.

On day two of my southwest America tour, I visited Canyonlands National Park. Day one of the trip was all about making time. I left North Idaho two hours before dawn and arrived in Orem Utah after sunset.

The next morning I headed towards Moab. After driving three and a half hours I passed by the turn off for Canyonlands. I planned to spend all of my extra time on my two night stay in Moab exploring Arches National Park. I made a last minute decision to turn around and spend the rest of the day checking out the “Island in the Sky” instead.

The twenty two mile long road leading in to the park was a treat with numerous turnouts and nice views of the red rock buttes and cliffs.

Along the way was this nice view of two mesas towering hundreds of feet above the desert floor.

At the entrance station I used my America the Beautiful pass to cover the admission. Across the roadway from the visitor center the view to the east was amazing.

Island in the Sky is a mesa that towers over a thousand feet above the surrounding terrain. A paved road connects multiple scenic overlooks with trailheads through out the site.

The habitat on the mesa is dominated by pinion pines and juniper trees. It is typical of high elevation deserts in the area.

Soon I came across the trailhead for Mesa Arch. I planned on visiting many arch formations the next day at Arches National Park so this was just a warm up. This was the only place in the park that I would call crowded.

The arch is only about a hundred foot walk over a small ridge from the parking lot.

At the arch, I met a nice couple from Europe. They asked me if everything in America was “big”. I hesitated for a second before I replied “that in the western U.S., yes it is”.

Numerous turnouts provided easy access to unique red sandstone rock formations.

As I drove south I crossed a narrow bridge of high ground called the Neck that connected the north half of the mesa to the southern part. Below were expansive views of the canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers towards the southeast.

At another overlook were views to the west. The Island in the Sky is only one to two miles wide in most places and there are view points are on both sides of the mesa.

Here is a closer view of a most impressive butte.

Another turnout, another view of the canyons.

At the south end of the park road there was a parking area for the Grand View Overlook. I one mile well made trail led to high point over looking the junction canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers.

And here is the view.

Along this trail there were plenty of small views. The sandstone has eroded into fantastic patterns over the centuries.

On the way back to the trailhead the view was of another section of Canyonlands National Park, The Needles. I would have loved to explore this area too, but it didn’t fit into my time budget.

At the visitor center I asked what they would recommend as the best short hike in the park. Murphy Point was the answer. I was down to a couple of hours of daylight and considered skipping it. I’m glad I didn’t.

Unlike most of the other overlooks in the park, Murphy Point was a decent hike from the parking lot. It was about two and a half miles each way. At the other view points I had plenty of company. Here I passed one man while hiking in and met two ladies at the point itself. One of them took about the best photo of me in years. At places like this it is common to ask strangers to trade taking photos of each other. I did return the favor.

I caught the moon on the way in.

I spent the rest of my time savoring the view from the end of the point.

And here’s the view to the northwest.

Walking back to the trailhead I enjoyed the view of what I found out were the LaSal Mountains east of Arches National Park. Pretty impressive mountains for a range I’ve never heard of.

Apparently these mountains were hidden by low clouds on my way in to the park. One my way out they stole the show.

Just before I left Canyonlands I stopped at this view point overlooking Shafer Road. It turns out this dirt road is popular with four wheel drive enthusiast. I like my vehicles too much to subject them to an ordeal like this.

My final view of the park was a good one. This is just across the road from the visitor center.

As I was driving down the road towards Moab the setting sun created this blow torch effect.

The Island in the Sky unit of Canyonlands National Park exceeded my expectations. Adding my short hikes to overlooks with the five mile hike to to and back from Murphy Point I was in for maybe eight miles. Most of the hiking was pretty flat. I imagine I gained less than five hundred feet in total. After setting in the drivers seat for a day and a half that was a welcomed respite. I just wish I had time to explore the Needles District. Maybe next time.