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We live in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains. While walking their dogs or hiking nearby, many of our neighbors have seen, if not the actual big cat, then its impressive paw prints in the sand or mud. And while most of us have hiked Sabino Canyon, a relative few claim to have actually seen [...]
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Slides courtesy Mary Scott, avid Bird Enthusiast. … Continue reading
No? Neither had I. So when I asked Mike Foster from the Carr House in the Huachuca Mountains, and he quickly answered that it was a Prickly Poppy, I had to look it up. I consulted several Desert plant books and could not find it mentioned. Is it a plant-non-gratis? Beautiful as it is from the highway, unlike it’s cousin, (it is actually a poppy), it is thorny, albiet “prickly”. The Prickly Poppy, Argemone Mexicana, is native to Mexico and the southwest USA. It is a member of the Papaveraceae family. This year, 2013, the highways seem to be unusually gifted with them. It may have medicinal uses as well. … Continue reading
On a recent late Sunday morning, I was cruising south from Saguaro National Park East on Old Spanish Trail heading more or less toward Colossal Cave when I suddenly came upon The Settlement Smokehouse. Turning abruptly into the parking lot, this establishment seemed somehow familiar. Didn’t this use to be … let me think … [...]
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A Spanish woman living with her family in a fort on the northern frontier of New Spain tells of her terrifying experience during the Second Battle of Tucson. On May 1, 1782, hundreds of Apaches attack the lightly-guarded Presidio San Agustin de Tucson. The civilians and soldiers of the Tucson Presidio are nearly wiped out. Today, you can visit the partially restored Presidio near the Tucson Museum of Art in Downtown Tucson. … Continue reading
A couple of years ago, our dear Tucson friends, Dan & Wanda, moved to Austin, TX. On a rare visit back to the Old Pueblo, they stayed with Ms. Karen & me for several days recently. We had a lovely time together, as always. That was expected. What wasn’t expected was their “must go to” [...]
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Those of you who have read some of my brief histories on Southern Arizona Guide know that I sometimes refer to Tucson before the coming of the railroad in 1880 as “a dusty little Mexican village”. Even though Tucson legally became an American town with the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, most of the 600 residents [...]
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