December 24, 2020 Tucson, Arizona

 Only 57 today and cloudy. Very windy at the bus, but not so much elsewhere.

We hiked in Sabino Canyon. Sabino Creek originates near Mt Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains and winds it way through miles of canyons before reaching the desert east of Tucson. You cannot drive you car up here. You either pay $12 each for a narrated one hour tour on an electric crawler bus or walk up. We walked. It was lovely. Lots of saguaros. The trail runs beside the road for awhile.

We took a side trip on the Esperero  trail up above the road. This is looking down into the Sabino Canyon. The creek gives life to the riparian area and desert flora within the canyon. It has water most of the year so it is very lush. Orange sycamore leaves, hazardous bridge for bikes and the canyon is a corridor in the Coronado Wilderness. 

The way back down was through a very thick saguaro forest.  Desert flora may include mesquite, palo verde, brittlebursh, saguaro and other cactuses. 

Down in Sabino Canyon with fall colors. Riparian areas support  cottonwood, willow, sycamore and ash trees. 

The trail ends and you walk on the road. The bridges were built by the WPA on 1936. It was similar to the CCC, but worked in more urban areas. The stone work was very good. John photographing some fall color over the WPA stonework.

John stopped and stood under the sign that says no stopping, no standing. He is such a rebel. Fall color and saguaros on the canyon walls. 

More fall colors. The sun was trying to came out. Silhouetted saguaro cactus on the skyline. 

Desert flora and fall colors.

The sun did come out briefly, the colors were lovely.

Saguaro and the Santa Catalina mountains.  Crooked branches, a WPA plaque on one of the bridges, a saguaro skeleton, a tiny bird that held still long enough for me to get a photo and a mountain lion warning. There are also quail, collared lizards, gopher snakes, bobcats, coyotes, cactus wrens, roadrunners and rattlesnakes. 

Cool clouds near sunset.