Arizona Days 1 & 2 – Tucson

Although we flew into Phoenix, our first overnight was in Tucson, where we had planned some birding, outdoor activities, and general sightseeing. We drove from PHX down to Tucson, grabbing Raising Cane’s chicken for a quick dinner on the way. We don’t have those in our part of Florida, and we thought it was good. This was after we tried to go to a BBQ place in Case Grande, but with an hour wait and us still on east coast time, we bailed.

We arrived in Tucson after dark, and checked into our room at Lodge on the Desert. We briefly strolled around the property, but by this time we mostly wanted to crash. Fortunately our room as large and gorgeous, with a pretty sitting area, a fireplace, and a private balcony. Unfortunately, the fireplace wouldn’t stay on. After our third call to the desk and the second attempt to fix it, we gave up. (I would stay here again despite the fireplace; it was very nice!)

Saguaro National Park

The next morning we got up early to drive up into the mountains of Saguaro National Park. A mountainside of saguaro cacti is the iconic southern Arizona landscape. Each cactus is different, with arms that grow at various heights and angles. They’re so prevalent that you really don’t have any trees; the cacti take their place.

While there, we also stopped to see the Signal Hill Petroglyphs, which are ancient rock carvings on the side of a small mountain. They were made by the Hohokam people approximately 550 to 1550 years ago.

Tip: If you have an America the Beautiful pass, it works for all US National Parks. So our time here at Saguaro National Park was entirely free!

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Our next stop was at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This is not cheap but was worth the entrance fees for all we got to see. Although it’s called a museum, it’s more like a cross between a nature preserve and a zoo. There are some captive animals, including two aviaries and an enclosure for bighorn sheep. The Desert Loop Trail has javelinas that I think are captive, and there’s also a stingray touch tank and an aquarium. We definitely did not see every exhibit, but we saw a lot.

And as I was there to see birds, it made me happy to check off two more lifers. If you’re not a birder, it would be helpful for me to explain that you don’t typically count captive birds on your life list, so birds in the two aviaries didn’t make the list. But I did see a wild Phainopepla and Costa’s Hummingbird, as well as other species that I’d seen before

Blanco at La Encantada

After the museum, we want back toward town and had a late lunch at a great Mexican restaurant called Blanco, which was perfect because it was National Margarita Day! Obviously we had to get a marg flight, and each one was better than the one before it. I had a salad and Pete had a combo plate and both were delicious!

Agua Caliente Regional Park

Agua Caliente Regional Park is probably not a place most visitors would choose, but it had been recommended to us for birding, so off we went! It was quite a drive past the mountains north of Tucson to get there. But it’s a really beautiful little park with walking paths, a big lake, and picnic tables.

I forget now what bird we were chasing, but we never found it. I did find a Gilded Flicker, the only one I saw of the trip. It was far away and the photo is terrible, but we had a nice afternoon walking around, regardless!

Madera Canyon

We started out the next day by driving up into Madera Canyon to the Santa Rita Lodge for (you guessed it) some more birding! I would have loved to stay at the lodge, but their only internet is Starlink. Because our business requires us to have regular internet access, we decided we couldn’t do this. Live and learn, because the place is great and apparently Starlink works pretty well. Even Pete said he wished we’d made more of an effort to stay here.

For birders not staying on property, you just drive up, park along the road, and plop your butt down on a bench or chair in front of the 11 (?) bird feeders they have set up for viewing. The birds know they can find easy food here, so they are plentiful. There’s a small gift shop / coffee bar, and they accept monetary donations outside to go toward birdseed. I can’t imagine how much food their birds must eat!

The only restroom is a smelly one short ways back down the road, but it’s not far and not too bad. Across from it, there’s an entrance to a trail that crosses the stream and leads you up the mountain, behind the birdfeeders.

I got two new life birds on the way to the lodge: a Rufous-winged Sparrow and a Green-tailed Towhee. At the lodge itself, I saw 17 species, of which 9 were lifers: Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, and Townsend’s Warbler. On the hiking path across the stream, I got Hutton’s Vireo, Bewick’s Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Hepatic Tanagers (male and female). That’s 15 new species for this day.

After the lodge, we took the opportunity for Pete to fly his new drone. Madera Canyon runs through the Santa Rita mountains, and the scenery is beautiful! Unfortunately, as he was new to the sport, he accidentally turned off the autofocus, so the videos aren’t very good. Another live-and-learn moment.

Mission San Xavier del Bac & Hole in the Rock

We needed to get to Phoenix, but on our way we stopped by the Mission San Xavier del Bac. It’s an old Catholic mission that is still in operation, and a quick sightseeing stop. Once we got into Phoenix, we also stopped at Hole in the Rock. Pete didn’t want to do the climb, but I did. It was a little scary, I’m not going to lie about that! But I got a picture and that makes me happy!

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