good-times-rollin: Cienega Bridge

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Davidson Canyon

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.

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.

It is spring (yippee!) and no spring post would be complete without wildflowers. We saw a few today...

It was such a nice morning that I couldn't wait to share.

Back at the oasis, Joe and I passed our check-ups with the GP with flying colors. Dover got her stitches out. And Tuesday was a glorious rainy day...I do love and appreciate rainy days in the desert.