Hidden Canyon Trail, Tucson, AZ…

Before leaving the Tucson Area we wanted to do one more hike through the beautiful Sonoran desert. I feel there is really no better way to practice social distancing than to go hiking. Being outside is good for the soul, the sunshine provides much needed vitamin D and the beauty of nature in the spring is very comforting.

I scoured the web and found a great little hike near the Marriot Resort in SW Tucson. The trail is called the Hidden Canyon Trail and if combined with other trails makes a nice loop with a gentle climb of not too much elevation. We drove over to the trailhead and couldn’t believe the density of Saguaro Cacti is this area… Stunning!

When we parked we were a bit worried about using this hike with regard to social distancing as the parking lot was packed. We elected to go ahead and don our boots and packs feeling we could find a way to distance ourselves with our pace. It is amazing how the mind filled with all the Covid-19 stuff quiets when you are in the midst of such beauty. Now mind you we did this hike on March 14th but I was at that time becoming very concerned about the potential pandemic.

The trail was fairly narrow making it so that when we saw others coming our way we simply got off the trail at least 6 feet away to let them pass. While doing this we scoured the ground to find blooming spring beauties and hidden cacti. This hike ended up being a bit less than 3 miles and there was no charge for entry or for parking making it a great little hike.

That evening we decided that it might be best if we accelerate our travels to Texas as there were several states beginng to impose travel restrictions or lock downs. As a result we thought it best to get to our 13 days stay at Canyon Lake in Texas sooner than later knowing full well we may get booted out of there should they have to close.  It looks life for now we are relying on plans B, C and D dependent upon the course of Covid-19…

NOTE: We are currently in sheltering in place at Canyon Lake, Texas…

Hiking Sonora National Monument, Tucson, AZ

Our time had come to make tracks toward Texas but we had one more short stop of four days we wanted to do before beating feet. We made a short 3 hour drive to the southwest and pulled into Voyager RV Resort just SW of Tucson, AZ where we figured we could plan a few hikes here before things got worse with the Coronavirus.

We set up and enjoyed a short walk around the park. The amenities at Voyager are almost as nice as those we had at Mesa Regal RV Resort in Mesa AZ. We checked out the facilities, the pool, the hot tub, the sports courts and knew we would enjoy our stay.

The next day we drove over to the Saguaro National Monument where I had found a nice little loop hike to enjoy the Mojave Desert one more time. The hike was a bit more than 3 miles taking us on a nice loop filled with Saguaro, Cholla and other bountiful desert species.

Flowers were a little behind those in Mesa AZ as we are higher in Tucson but there were still plenty of buds. There were also some glowers blooming which did add some color to the palate of greens and browns found in the desert at this time of year.

After the hike we went to a local burger bar called Zinburger which boasts a great 50% off tall crafts making them only $3.50 each. We were now more aware of the Coronavirus and had decided that this would likely be our last cold beer out for a good while. We also made sure to sit well away from others at a small table for two rather than sit at the bar as we normally prefer. The cold Dragoon IPA helped us forget for a moment about all the worries the world has been enduring…

NOTE: We are currently in sheltering in place at Canyon Lake, Texas until the end of the month and then we move over to College Station, TX to hunker down for an extended stay….