Corona de Tucson
March 30, 2022
The photo below highlights a row of green tree tops. Those are cottonwood trees growing in Davidson Canyon along Cienega Creek. We are headed that way.
Looking left (in the photo below) at the start of our hike, we could see a train trestle in the distance. Once in the canyon, the trestle was our destination.
Davidson Canyon is a beautiful canyon that flows from the Santa Rita Mountains under I-10 and connects to the Cienega Creek. Cienega Creek is a perennial stream with riparian vegetation that creates crucial habitat for wildlife as well as amazing recreation for people. I was surprised to learn...
Also, it is worth mentioning that the section of trail we were on today is part of the Arizona Scenic Trail. Arizona Scenic Trail is designated a National Scenic Trail. It begins at the border with Mexico and traverses 800 miles north to Utah. The idea for the trail originated in 1985 and the trail was completed in 2011.
The best part was spending the morning with our friend Randy. The next best part is that the trailhead is only 13 miles from our home. It could not have been a more gorgeous day...warm sunshine, light breeze, deep blue skies, lots of green and lots of shade. And we were lucky enough to have had a rainy Tuesday (yesterday) and water flowing in the creek today.
We made several creek crossings...
and squeezed by boulders.
We stopped often...
admired the beauty...
and remembered to look up.
There are three train trestles that go over the canyon. At one point they all three criss-cross. This was our turning around spot.
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| I couldn't capture the third trestle (it is on the left) in my photo. |
The concrete trestle named Cienega Bridge was built in 1921 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. It is referred to as a a three-hinged, open-spandrel concrete arch bridge and gives passage to the Southern Pacific Railroad.
We stopped on the way home to see the bridge from the road. There is a small parking lot with the historic marker.
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| Dr. Huang clips stitches from Dover's eyelid. Dover is such a sweet girl! And Dr. Huang is awesome! |
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| No sunlight for the desert Rose on Tuesday. |
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| Clouds and the Santa Rita Mountains as we had home from the vet. |
What a fantastic hike! Love your photos! Emmi wouldn't sit still to have stitches removed--good dog Dover! And Dr. Huang is one of the vets we haven't seen--yet!
ReplyDeleteDover says, “thank you Janna”. All the vets at Animal Care Center are awesome and we are so lucky to have them so close. Davidson Canyon was a new to us place to explore…I’m sure we will be returning!
DeleteI agree with J&M above that certainly does look like a fantastic hike!, especially with water in the creek and those scarce wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteThe water was especially nice Jeff. We had a nice rain yesterday. It’s also an added bonus that the trailhead is so close to home!
DeleteYour picture of the water crossing made me laugh as I remembered our ill fated crossing in Catalina SP a few years ago! My garbage bag idea was a real bust wasn't it!
ReplyDeleteI remember that water crossing Sue. I also remember laughing all the way across the wash. It would not have been near as much fun if the garbage bags had worked! Such nice memories!
DeleteI love new discoveries. I've never heard of this canyon. Hopefully, we can explore it next year. Beautiful greenery and I always enjoy finding water. Glad all is well medically.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that any hike in the desert with water is a real treat! Did you say next year? Yippee!
DeleteWhat a pretty hike along the water - such a treat in our desert! Always good to get high marks from the doctor too :-) Hopefully the rain will continue to increase and perk up all the wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jodee. No more rainy days to report, but the temps have been amazing! Fingers crossed the cacti will be full of beautiful blossoms in a few weeks.
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