Southern Arizona - New Years 2019

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Part Four of Our Winter Break Trip

Cold

"I didn't come this far to have it this damn cold!"

I had set the gentleman off by simply offering a well intentioned, "Good morning."

"Where you from?" I asked, trying to make amends.

"Montana," was his quick reply as he took off on a run to his WalMart.

The morning temperature was 29°, probably a bit unexpected for snowbirds wintering in Gila Bend, Arizona. The posted signs put up by the staff at this newish KOA campground read, "Hard freeze warning." I watched the gentleman's life saving dash to safety and then turned and entered the restroom the man had just exited. The warmth almost knocked me over. "By god," I said out loud. "This bathroom is heated. What luxury!"

This stay in an RV campground was prompted by the Lady's desire to do laundry after a week on the road. I offered, since we'd be looking for a Friday night campsite anyway, why don't we look for a developed campsite with laundry, showers, and such. We could kill three or four birds with one stone. The place was wonderfully quiet overnight, a benefit of freezing temperatures and the boxes plugged into shore power, no need for the noise of generators.

We wanted to reach my cousin's new place in Green Valley, Arizona - south of Tucson - by early afternoon. That gave us enough time for a leisurely drive south to Ajo and then east past Kitt Peak, a route that assured us little traffic.

The Big Guy and his wife's place is comfortable and nice. It has an additional casita for guests like us. They had things to take care of on Sunday and suggested that we explore Madera Canyon.

This is a very popular recreation area, especially on a weekend. There was added incentives for the locals to get out this Sunday - snow play. Yes, a few inches of snow in the mountains near Tucson. The last mile up the canyon was packed snow and ice. After I began the climb in our truck, it occurred to me that the locals - most likely - have little experience with winter conditions. This could get exciting.

The parking area was packed and loud with people of all sorts. Looking at the road and trails we realized we had an ace in the hole to leave people behind - our usual cold weather gear and microspikes.

We started up the trail and entered the Mount Wrightson Wilderness.

We were amazed at the higher elevation of the life zones here in the southern latitudes of Arizona. We hiked up in the oak woodland zone as high as 7000 feet. The ponderosa pines began at 7000 feet. Here at home ponderosas end around 6000 feet and the Jefferies and Lodgepoles take over. So much for judging our elevation near the border with Mexico.

We hiked as far as Josephine Saddle. Here there was a memorial to an unfortunate tragedy with unprepared young boy scouts.

There is a book available detailing the sad story - Death Clouds on Old Baldy: Tucson's Lost Tragedy

The hike up to Mount Wrightson looked like a nice little ascent but we did not have the time this day.

Views were hard to come by through the canopy of oaks but we did get glimpses of the summit ridge and wondered how often there was rime ice in the ponderosas. I do not believe the temperature ever got above the mid thirties on our walk.

On our return we stopped at one of the trailheads for the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail.

A cold hard wind blew New Years Eve. Clouds raced across the sky. Even with the rough weather, we made the decision to visit Patagonia, Arizona.

It is a colorful small town along with nearby natural areas.

We made a quick tour of the small town as the Big Guy worked on recalling where he had bought the best cookies on a prior visit. The third stop was the charm - The Gathering Grounds.

It was off to wander the natural areas. It was awful conditions with the cold wind for birding but it was good to walk and explore. Julie really wanted to see javelinas.The Big Guy remarked we might have better luck on the golf course near their place.

Most of our walk was in the bosque de mesquite.

No luck for the Lady with seeing javelinas.

The first day of 2019 came with a couple inches of snow south of Tucson.

It was even colder than the previous day but we still wanted to explore. The Big Guy suggested Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge near Arivaca.

We spent a few cold hours in the Arivaca Cienegas wetlands area.

A white tailed deer stayed still in the mesquite as we passed.

A raven and a Northern Harrier shared the top of an old cottonwood.

We enjoyed our cold wander through this area.

We enjoyed a wonderful New Year's holiday with our cousins Keith & Kathleen. It was great to remember and retell old family stories and catch up. We thank them for their love and gracious hospitality.

We awoke on the second day of 2019 to a few new inches of snow. Hard freeze warnings and snow advisories were across the area. We were prepared with t-shirts and shorts for our visit to Southern Arizona in winter. They remained at the bottom of our duffels.

We said our goodbyes and loaded up into the truck to begin our journey home. Where would we end up after this day's drive?

Our adventure continues, please click here for - Part Five