On the Beaten, Bumpy Path

Each spring during the University of Arizona's spring break, the campus is taken over by the incredible and ever-growing Tucson Festival of Books.  Anything and everything book-related is represented, including an impressive array (see the list) of authors giving talks and signing their books.

One of the panels I attended featured three Arizona travel writers, including one of my favorites, Roger Naylor.  He just makes you want to get outside, lace up your boots and hit the trails.  One of the questions posed to the panel was about the most unique place they had come across in their Arizona travels.  The other two authors gave thoughtful responses of places they had found that had almost spiritual qualities.  Then it was Roger's turn.  And he proceeded to wax poetic about .  .  .  the Desert Bar!

I almost laughed out loud, as not a week before, while camping along the Colorado River, we had made our annual pilgrimage to this odd and crazy place.  Literally out in the middle of nowhere, after miles on a bone-jarring, teeth-rattling, rocky road, you are greeted with an almost surreal sight.  Hundreds of parked cars (where did they all come from??) and a collection of structures that can only be described as bizarre.  In the parking lot you encounter the facade of a church, with nothing behind it.

Crossing a covered bridge into an open-air bar, tables are packed with happy people, a band playing the sounds of the 60's and 70's, colorful umbrellas keeping the desert sun at bay, and the bartenders hard at work trying to keep up with the crowd.  Burgers and hot dogs are on the grill, but don't ask for cheese!  There's an inside saloon too, and a popular shop for the shirts and hats, and many levels of seating areas.  Downstairs a new kitchen has added many food items to the menu.

Everything is run on solar power, and, how's this for a business model - they're only open on the weekends, 11am to dark, for a few months a year.

Officially the Nellie E Saloon, the Desert Bar is located in the Buckskin Mountains, just north of Parker, Arizona.  The name comes from the original mining claim on which the bar now stands.  Everywhere you look is some little quirky, kitschy, interesting relic - an old, rusty fire truck, old glass refrigerator doors for windows in the saloon, open-air restrooms that give a view across the desert.  Between the people-watching, the music, and looking at the details of construction, you'll stay totally entertained.

If you want a truly unique Arizona experience, make your way out to the Desert Bar.

Beavertail on the Colorado

Opuntia basilaris

The rocky, almost barren desert of the lower Colorado River valley comes alive in March after winter rains and warm temperatures.  Yellow creosote bush blooms, brittlebush and yellow cups, and purple phacelia shout that spring has arrived.  But, nothing prepared me for the explosion of color that was the blooming of the beavertail prickly pear cactus.  Our annual trip to the river was just a week later this year than usual, and what a difference it made.  Normally I'm happy to see ten or so of these bright pink beauties.  Imagine my surprise and joy to be met with hundreds of the humble little cactus sporting big, bold flowers, everywhere the eye could see.

The flat, jointed pads of the beavertail give rise to its name.  A low-growing prickly pear with gray-green stems and no large spines, the pads are covered with tiny brown bristles called glochids.  These are far more irritating and bothersome to the human body than the big spines.  Note to admirers of the flowers, don't get too close to the plant!

Growing on the rockiest slopes, these plants seem to need little in the way of soil or water.  The flowers range in color from bold magenta to delicate pink, and I understand, there are even yellow and white varieties.  In this section of the Sonoran Desert along the Colorado River, I saw none of the yellow or white.

The flowers are followed by fruits, magenta to pale green, maturing to dry brown-gray, barrel shaped and usually spineless. Cactus bees are the pollinators.

A drive along Cienega Springs Road, and later a hike up Buckskin Trail literally took my breath away with the stunning glory of these flowers. The Death Valley superbloom had nothing on this display!

Verde Valley Visit

I love to go exploring, whether it be across the world, or just across the state.  There's always something new to see. And so it was with this short trip to central Arizona's Verde Valley, where the upper Sonoran Desert meets the lush riparian oasis of the Verde River.  The Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood was to be our home for a few days, and what a lovely one it was.  The park encompasses a section of the river as well as the desert above.  Our campsite sat on a hillside overlooking the valley and the town.

With water and electricity at the sites, a nearby town and excellent cell service, it's not exactly wilderness.  But the sites are huge and well-separated and there are many excellent trails leading right from the campground.  At close to 3500' in elevation, the desert vegetation is somewhat different than around Tucson, almost 1000' lower.  The saguaros have disappeared as have the barrel cacti, but I did see chollas, some prickly pear and hedgehogs.  The vegetation is dominated by crucifixion thorn (Castela emoryi), catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii), mesquite and juniper, as well as grasses, yucca, ephedra, ratany and more.  With the cooler temperatures, there were still some wildflowers blooming.

Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii)

Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)

Scarlet Gaura (Gaura coccinea)

Ratany (Krameria sp.)

Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata)

Southwestern Ringstem (Anulocaulis leiosolenus)

Southwestern Ringstem (Anulocaulis leiosolenus)

Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodum leucanthum)

New Mexico Feathergrass (Hesperostipa newomexicana)

Red Three-awn Grass (Aristida purpurea)

Wrap-around views from the trails made every hike a treat for the eyes, and the camera.  Below us, the green ribbon of the Verde River's lush riparian corridor, across the valley, the scars of copper mining and the towns it created, all around in the near distance the quiet of the desert.  On a hilltop just a few miles away, the ancient ruins of a native pueblo, now preserved by the National Park Service as Tuzigoot National Monument.

Our travels included a visit to Tuzigoot to learn how the ancient peoples lived in this valley for centuries; to Jerome, perched perilously on the mountainside, old buildings that once served a big mining community now repurposed for galleries, shops, restaurants and inns; Old Town Cottonwood where we discovered an amazing array of quality restaurants; and to Sedona, land of the red rocks and vortices that has been overrun with people.  From Jerome, we spotted the huge plumes of smoke that could only mean wildfire.  We were to learn the fire was burning in beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, which runs between Sedona and Flagstaff.  It burns to this day.

The former mining town of Jerome

The Verde Valley

Tuzigoot

Cholla at Tuzigoot

From the roof of Tuzigoot

Jerome

On the road to Sedona, smoke rising from the Slide Fire

Red rocks and Cholla flowers

A cascade of primroses, Sedona

Carole and Jay, Sedona

My fabulous dinner at the Schoolhouse restaurant in Old Cottonwood

In between, we hiked along the river and to a peaceful marsh, across the desert and back again.  New birds, new flowers, new sights and sounds. Along the Verde River is a cottonwood-willow riparian habitat rich in biodiversity.  I was entertained with the antics of nervous little Lucy's warblers, bright yellow Wilson's warblers, flocks of stunning Western tanagers and so many summering phainopeplas.

The Verde River

Tavasci Marsh

Desert Globemallow

Sacred Datura

A very large and well-camouflaged gopher snake.

Evening Primrose

Baby Black-throated Sparrow crying for its mother who was just across the trail.

On the morning of our departure, smoke from the Slide Fire filled the valley, obscuring the nearby mountains and smelling of burning timber.

On a lighter note, I leave you with the parking cop at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park.

And, now for the bird list.

Bullock's Oriole
Wilson's Warbler
Phainopeopla
Common Raven
Northern Mockingbird
Black-throated Sparrow
House Finch
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Gambel's Quail
Greater Roadrunner
Red-Winged Blackbird
Yellow Warbler
Verdin
Abert's Towhee
Ash-Throated Flycatcher
Western Tanager
Lucy's Warbler
UI Blackbird
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Lesser Nighthawk
Mourning Dove
White-Winged Dove
Say's Phoebe
Rock Wren
House Wren
Turkey Vulture
Cormorant
Lesser Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Bewick's Wren
Mallard
Red-Tailed Hawk
Green Heron
Bell's Vireo
Western Wood Pewee
Great-tailed Grackle
Costa's Hummingbird
MacGillivray's Warbler

Happy Travels to You!

Catching Up

Yes, I have been neglecting this poor blog.  So, here in a couple of blog nutshells are the last four months!

Road Trip!  I love tripping around the country by car, stopping wherever feels good, revisiting favorite places and discovering new ones, taking in the sights, sounds, people, and wonderful food.  Generally, we take our travel trailer on the road, but this time we opted for the car as we wanted to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short time.  

First stop - the Grand Canyon.

It was lovely to stay at the Maswik Lodge on the South Rim in September.  The crowds have thinned somewhat, and the lodge is just a short walk to the rim.  Though the lodge is like a Motel 6 at Ritz prices, there's no denying that the LOCATION is what matters.  I got great views of the California Condors along the Rim Trail toward Yavapai Point.  We took the shuttle out to Hermit's Rest at the west end of the Park, and walked the Rim Trail back to the Village.  Unfortunately a lightning storm moved in and cut the hike short at Maricopa Point when the rangers closed the trail.  At the Bright Angel trailhead, I was impressed to see the recent renovation project by the Grand Canyon Association.  I'm happy to belong to this organization.

Any stay at the Canyon is always too short, but it was time to move on.  After a leisurely drive along the East Rim, stopping to enjoy the sun rising on the Canyon with our coffee, we drove north to the Highway 89A cutoff, the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River, the magnificent Vermilion Cliffs and then lunch in the campground at Jacob's Lake.

The next day we pushed on to Boise, Idaho, where we spent a relaxing and enjoyable 3 days with Jay's brother and his family, eating fresh vegetables and fruit from their amazing garden, and cheering on the Boise State Broncos at a football game.

I'll post this half of the trip now, so it doesn't get unbearably long, and so I don't keep putting it off!  Thanks to my friends and followers for hanging with me!  Next, it's off to the coast.