Tomorrow Wife and I are embarking upon another “min-trip” to explore some more of this amazing area called the Southwest. We plan to get up to Gallup, New Mexico and then work westwards towards Flagstaff, Arizona. Destinations currently include the Petrified Forest National Park and finding some corner in Winslow, Arizona that Wife wants to visit. I’m sure we’ll find more things to see and do along the way.

Before heading out I wanted to clear the backlog and capture several additional interesting places we’ve visited in the Tucson area. Didn’t have room for them in the last post.

A couple of Saturdays ago we all hopped into the Jeep and headed south to visit Madera Canyon. This is in the Santa Rita mountains and part of Coronado National Forest, about twenty miles from the Mexican border. What makes it interesting is that at elevation there are evergreens and a forested environment, somewhat like those I’m used to back home. On our way up the park road we encountered several deer that took their own time getting out of the road.

Madera Canyon is where the highest peak in the neighborhood lives, Mt. Wrightson, coming in at just under 9400 feet. There are quite a few trails there, and son and I noted one that we’ve put on the to-do list.

We stopped at the Santa Rita Lodge on the way out of the park. Located there is an interesting wildlife enclosure devoted to birds. There were many turkeys in the pen while we were there; they’d been imported from Mexico in an effort to reestablish the species in the park, as they used to be native. It was an interesting and worthwhile stop.

Another great place to visit in Tucson is the Mission Garden. Wife and I stopped there the other day and it was fabulous. One of my favorite places in Tucson, so far.

Mission Garden is not a big place, but does include working agriculture exhibits spanning ancient times right through present day. Spanish, Mexican and even Chinese influences are on display, and the staff we spoke with were all very friendly, knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. I learned a lot in a very short time during that visit. Here are a few photos:

While visiting we were entertained watching one of the staff feed a resident roadrunner bits of a mesquite cookie. She just about had that feathered carnivore eating out of her hand!

The final place I’ll mention in this post is Sentinel Peak. If you look at the preceding photo of the entry to Mission Garden, you’ll note a hill in the background. It has a letter “A” visible near the top. That’s Sentinel Peak. It’s not that tall, but it’s the closest high ground to Tucson’s downtown area. So, of course there’s a city park near the top, and it’s a popular spot. The “A” is reportedly maintained by students at the University; I’m told it’s regularly painted.

After we left Mission Garden we drove up to Sentinel Park, and from there I made the short hike up to the summit. The ground was heavily traveled, and there was much broken glass strewn about.

But the views were good.

That’s it for this one. I’m working up an article about the food scene in Tucson now that we’ve visited many eateries, and I’m sure there’ll be something outlining the highlights of the upcoming trip.