All Entries Tagged With: "Tucson"
Roaming the Rincons: Turkey Creek to Deer Creek
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Rincon’s lately wandering around the foothills and valleys of the Rincon Mountain Wilderness. The Wilderness surrounds Sahuaro on three sides. The terrain ranges from rolling scrub desert to shear walled riparian canyons, and despite its proximity to Tucson access to much of the Wilderness is limited. If you don’t want to compete with the crowds on Mount Lemmon, the Ricons are a great alternative.
Tucson’s Map and Flag Center
I love maps. In a distinctly fanatical way. Always have, always will. I love road maps, trail maps, new maps, and old maps. Antique hand drawn maps make me feel all warm and fuzzy. It started when I was a kid and the Air Force only reinforced my obsession by making me a helicopter pilot. [...]
Springtime in the High Desert
Yes, I completely dropped off the face of the blogasphere for six months. Work, family, chores, and all of life’s other little pleasures swamped me. Every week without a post makes it just that much harder to go back and next thing you know you’re wondering why your readership is still growing when you haven’t [...]
Best Tucson Whiskey Stores
A large part of enjoying whiskey is actually finding it. Now I love a good whiskey hunt as much as the next guy, but some of you actually have to work for a living and can’t spend time running all over town looking for the perfect dram. So I thought I’d share the best establishments I’ve found for buying whiskey in Tucson. If all you are looking for is a Glenlivet or Johnny Walker, then any supermarket or corner beverage store will fill the bill, but if you’re looking for something new then check out these stores.
Tucson 2nd Annual Whisky Weekend
Hey all you Tucson Whisky Maniacs, the 2nd Annual Whisky Weekend is being held at the Hotel Congress on December 17-19th. Click Here for Info. No I’m not sponsoring it and I’m not making any money off of it. I’m just excited. If you’re going leave a comment and I’ll look for you. Maybe set [...]
Tanque Verde Wash
One of the great things about Tucson is that there are some fantastic places to walk. During the summer, the washes (dried stream beds for those of you from wet places) are pretty unbearable but now that the weather has cooled they are a great place to put in some miles. They are easy walks [...]
Store Review: Total Wine & More, Tucson, AZ
A little slice of whisky heaven! I am a happy, happy man! The liquor stores I have been frequenting in Tucson have a limited whisky selection and what they have is a bit overpriced. The Beverage House on Broadway has maybe 25 Scotch single malt expressions and just a handful of Irish whiskies–just the common [...]
A Dog’s Life
I’ve been a bit busy lately, so here is a short video of Saja showing what is really important in life.
Reddington Pass by the Numbers (Miles 5-7): Shooting Ranges
Heading east on Reddington Road, you hit a series of tight switchbacks just past the Upper Tanque Verde Falls trail head. There are no significant trails on this section of the road. To the south the terrain drops off steeply as you climb to the first pass, while to the north a gentle valley flows [...]
Tanque Verde Falls Water Level
We’ve had a couple of good, strong rains over the past week in northeast Tucson and I’ve seen an increase in search hits for water levels in Reddington, so I thought I’d give a quick update on conditions in the Tanque Verde valley.
Reddington Pass by the Numbers (Miles 0-5): Tanque Verde Falls
Reddington Pass is one of Tucson’s most accessible recreation areas and provides for a wide range of activities from hiking to shooting to four-wheeling. Most of the pass falls within Coronado National Forest’s jurisdiction but there is also a fair amount of private land. As always respect the rights of the private land owners, leave [...]
A Night on Mt. Lemmon; or, Is Davis Spring Trail Just a Myth?
The worst thing about hiking in the desert is that water weighs 8.3 pound per gallon. Somehow I managed to take a 60 pound pack on a one night trip. To make matters worse, Saja and I ended up going cross country in some rugged terrain when the Davis Spring Trail vanished. It was time for the old map and compass…
Taking Your Dog Hiking
OK, so you think it would be a good idea to take your dog hiking on Tucson’s trails, so you just take him with you next time. No big deal. Right? Maybe not a good idea. Here are three big things that you have to consider before you take your dog hiking: Conditioning Suitability (Breed, Temperament, [...]
Molino Canyon Day Hike
Molino Canyon is one of my favorite Tucson escapes when time is limited. The trailhead is just past the fee station on Catalina Highway, about 5 miles up the mountain. You can’t miss the parking lot. Once you arrive, you have three trails to choose from. The first is off to the west and [...]
Packing for a Desert Day Hike
So what do you carry for a day on the trail? I’m a bit of a boy scout so I tend to overpack and prepare for the worst. My basic philosophy is to assume that every day hike will turn into an overnight. Here is my basic kit (you can get most of this stuff [...]
Espiritu Canyon Trail
I’ve been looking for a dog friendly, backpacking trail into the Rincons, which is a bit of a challenge since dogs aren’t permitted in Saguaro National Monument. Tanque Verde Valley has some good camping areas but it gets too much traffic. After checking out the Rincon Mountains map I picked up from the Visitor Center [...]
Reddington Trail Run
Most of my running is done on the 49er’s golf course and washes. These are peaceful runs with plenty of trees and soft grass (Saja’s Note: and plenty of cool things to smell!), but they aren’t especially challenging unless you are into sprinting. Every runner needs a change of pace once in a while, and [...]
Butterfly Trail
I must confess that I don’t hike Mt Lemmon very much, which is criminal when you get right down to it since I only live a couple miles away, but as the summer heat hits Tucson the cool forest heights are pretty darn appealing. So last Sunday, I threw Saja and the kids in the [...]
