Not so fast, said Mother Nature

Two weeks at the beautiful Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, just outside of Tucson,  we were ready! The tandem was ready! Two weeks to explore Oro Valley and Tucson on the 100+ miles of shared bike/pedestrian paths.

Hold on, said Mother Nature, I have other plans. In the dessert where it rarely rains, it rained for four days. Other days it was cool and windy (20+ mph windy!) We were able to ride about 70 miles total, just enough to know we have to come back; the trails are awesome.

So out came the hiking boots.

The gentle Canyon Loop trail took us through some magnificent saguaros.

The Romero Pool hike was a bit of a challenge,

we made it up the trail, over a lot of rocks, to the top of the ridge

took a photo and hiked back down for a total of about 5 miles.

Stopping by Montrose Pool on the way.

If there is a wine festival, we will find it. It just so happened we found the Off the Vine festival and got to sample some of Arizona’s wines.

The wines were very good but lack the boldness we prefer. However we did fall for a wonderful chocolate orange port. If our porch friends are lucky there will be some to share when we get home (but don’t count on it.)

Oro Valley has a really nice farmer’s market;

after sampling our way through we came home with an assortment of dried food snacks, a red lentil soup mix, a jar of marinara sauce and a couple of pastries.

Making the most of a cool and cloudy day, we went to a nearby theater and saw The Darkest Hour which we recommend for fellow history buffs.

Of course we couldn’t be in Oro Valley and not see ABN’s cousin, Lin and her husband Fred. We joined them at Café Cosa Poca for a very nice dinner.

We love Catalina State Park but the rules are only 14 days and then you have to move on; so we are saying good-bye for now

and moving north to Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix, hopefully to warmer weather and some cycling. Actually we can’t complain about the weather as our hometown is experiencing flooding, so we will put on a jacket and be content. 

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