Baja Arizona

I live in the SW region of the US, affectionately referred to as Baja Arizona. The climate, geology, culture, and way of life in the Sonoran desert are very different from the corporate, conservative vibe of Phoenix and the tourist, outdoors cool of Flagstaff. I love this list of reasons to live here. And this one. It’s all about the weather and accessibility of the desert, mountain, and river wonderlands, as well as, our bookstores, festivals, and food. Especially, the food.

Hiking is my favorite activity and I discovered that here in Baja AZ (that is a long story; I was a reluctant participant in the early days). We live on the West side of the city next to Saguaro National Park. Its borders are surrounded by land preserves filled with hiking trails. So, a 10 minute drive North from the house takes us to trailheads leading into the park and a 10 minute drive South from the house takes us to trailheads in the mountains South of the park. Although, we have had an unusually cool and wet winter in 2019, we have had some lovely hikes.

A new urban trailhead opened near our house last month, Painted Hills trail. It is a two mile trek (1 mile each way). From the top of the hill (looking to the East) you get a great view of the city in the distance and how it is surrounded by mountains.

View from Painted Hills trail

Hiking at Painted Hills led us to try the trails in nearby Greasewood Park, where we stumbled onto this site in the river bed (dry at the moment). 

Hoodoo in Greasewood Park

We have not walked up Tumamoc Hill this winter. The weather and work on the road going up the hill has kept us away, but it seems only right to mention it. It is one of our favorite hikes and it is just down the street from Painted Hills. This photo is taken from halfway up the hill looking West towards the Tucson Mountains.

View from Tumamoc Hill

A lot of things, trails, and parks in the city are named Sweetwater; so it can be confusing. That aside, our favorite spot is the Sweetwater Preserve on Tortolita Rd. We go every week and never get tired of it. This season it is carpeted by wildflowers. We have not seen anything like it in the last 5 years.

Wildflowers at Sweetwater Preserve

Although it has gotten to be very popular with mountain bikers, they share the trails politely.

Redington Pass in the distance

Looking back towards the city from the Sweetwater Preserve trails, you see Redington Pass between the Catalina mountains on the left (North of the city) and the Rincon mountains on the right (East of the city). These mountain ranges are part of the Coronado National Forest. The photo above is the header for Pail Tales. Depending on the device you are using to view the site, it may be obscured by text. Here you can see how beautiful it is.

View of Mt Lemmon

Looking to the Northeast from the trail you see Pusch Ridge and Mt Lemmon, a 40 minute drive across the city from us.

Back home in my backyard… The cool wet weather has created some dramatic sunsets this winter. It is a peaceful way to recover from a hike.

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