Southern Arizona Continued - 2003 (Re-run)

 Part of Coronada National Forest, Sabino Canyon Recreation Area is one of the most popular outdoor attractions in Tucson.  With miles of trails, it offers the opportunity for multiple visits without repetition.  Some of the trails are paved and served by a tram system.  Passengers can get off and back on at various stops along the way.  On this trip, we rode the tram to the top of Sabino Canyon, then elected to hike down the bottom of the canyon, knowing it would meet up with the paved trail about a mile downstream.  At first there was an actual defined trail and easy walking downhill.  Before long the trail disappeared, leaving us to bushwhack through the cacti and other desert plants.  Then we began to encounter boulders, beautiful big rocks that required some effort to climb and to get off on the other side.  The lovely stream made the effort worthwhile, but it was a relief to reach the tram path and catch a ride the rest of the way.

Of course, the most popular outdoor attraction in Tucson is Saguaro National Park.  The park is special because saguaros grow only in the Sonoran desert that surrounds the city.  The park has two sections, an East and a West, and draws about a million visitors each year.  The giant saguaros grow slowly, but can live as much as 200 years and grow to be some 60 feet tall.  Some plants grow arms starting around age 75, then may produce many of them.  Some saguaros never grow arms, probably due to soil, water or other conditions.  The saguaro bloom is Arizona's state flower.

 

Yuma is a city of about 100,000 people, with another 100,000 living in surrounding neighborhoods.  It has become extremely popular place for people from the North to spend Winters.  Many of these snowbirds travel in RVs, so Yuma has many RV resorts with full amenities.  Of any populated area in the U.S., it probably has the hottest and driest climate.  Located near the confluence of the Colorado and Gila Rivers, it has a large agricultural presence that is now being replaced to an extent by solar farms.  Yuma was infamous as the home of the Arizona Territorial Prison, probably chosen because of its miserably hot Summers.

The borders with California and Mexico are very close.  Considered a gateway to Mexico, many Yuma visitors and residents travel across the border to Algodones  taking advantage of low cost, but high quality, medical and dental services.  Algodones is one of the nicest Mexican border towns I've seen.