Tucson tidbits

Before we get too far away (in space and time), a few more photos from around Tucson this spring.

We spent a weekend up in the Catalina Mountains where it tends to be a lot cooler.  We paused at the overlook partway up - that's John doing the overlooking:

Another excellent rock shape:

Pretty cactus flowers:

We nabbed a campsite at Rose Canyon campground and headed out to explore the trails.  I saw a couple rock climbers on their way out of the area; maybe they had been on this tall chunk of rock:

Another fun stone shape:

I caught a glimpse of Thimble Peak in the direction of town:

It's memorable anytime we find a body of water around here, and Rose Canyon Lake is particularly lovely:

The next morning we got out early and drove the rest of the way up the road.  We had our sights set on an FKT loop that starts near the top and drops down to traverse the Wilderness of Rocks.  I had been there a couple times but it was John's first time seeing it, yay!

The FKT page with a few more photos:

https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/john-beard-marcy-beard-mount-lemmon-loop-cw-2026-04-25

Looks like it was a tad chilly at the start (and this was at the end of April):

We headed down a trail I hadn't experienced before, always fun to see something new:

Baboquivari Peak on the far (rather hazy) horizon and what might be Cathedral Peak nearer to us on the left:

So many giant hunks of stone to stare at:

And smaller chunks too, what a fun area:

Pointing to one of my favorite balanced rocks, up on the ridge:

John's view of the trail:

I've been to this intersection a few times - thank you AZT!

Partway up the back half of the loop, after John suggested a possible finishing time and I said "I don't know about that but I'm willing to try!"

Our tokens, as in I was the token female and John was the token male for the mixed gender category of this FKT (a callback to adventure races that required teams to be co-ed):

The other "big event" of the weekend was an evening at the Lemmon Observatory.  We've done several astronomy programs, and this one turned out to be one of the best.  Our guides kept us moving around, showing us different things, and telling interesting stories.  Plus there was a small heated room to escape to whenever we got chilly, very nice.

A look at one of the telescopes while it was still light out.  Over its shoulder we could see the Mount Graham observatory (although I didn't get a picture) and it's fun to think about two observatories looking at each other through their telescopes...  Kitt Peak can probably join in the fun as well.

We got to see the sun up close with this one (don't try this without special instruments, of course):

Our guides pointed out the spot that is the exact top of Mount Lemmon, so we finally made it to the summit!  The whole evening was worth it just for this...

The weather wasn't completely perfect, with clouds blowing across the sky, so sometimes we had to wait for openings to view celestial objects further away (like the moon):

We saw plenty of other things (nebulae, stars) but the moon was the best for digi-scope photography.  The crowd was small enough that everyone could take time to get photos using their phones at the telescope view piece, super cool:

Back on earth, just a few pictures from Tucson Mountain Park treks.  This one has the Catalina Mountains and a bit of Tucson in the background:

Cat Mountain and a valley with a bunch of fun trails to explore:

And a view of Twin Peaks from the top of Wasson:

And finally, I don't think this is anywhere near Tucson except that the image came up on my laptop and I can't help but share my inexplicable adoration for the capybara (maybe someday I'll get to see one in person):

Things in AZ lately

We've been enjoying spring in and around Tucson, and here are a few photos to share with y'all.

Cushing Bridge has a neat art installation where shadows align with pictures in the pavement on certain days of the year.  It's a good running destination when that happens.  One week in February the stated day happened to be overcast, but happily there was a second shadow happening a couple days later.  One of them would be slightly off alignment, but they aren't perfectly aligned anyway, no big deal.

A celebration of the fiesta parade and rodeo:

That shadow isn't immediately obvious, but you can see the horseshoes and what might be a spur? in the metalwork overhead:

A much better example - the first ever plane flight in Tucson, piloted by Charles Hamilton in 1910:

And the propeller shadow creator:

Wildflowers at an orienteering meet near Phoenix:

Spring in the desert is delightful:

The phone attempted to document the lunar eclipse in early March:

Hello javelina!  I'm much more likely to see a roadrunner around here, but this creature was easier to take a decent picture of:

John's sister Jerri Lind and brother-in-law Loren came to visit for several days and we had fun showing them around.  I think they got a kick out of hanging out with saguaros:

A view toward downtown on a trail I hadn't been on before (rather surprisingly - there's still more to see!):

Loren was especially interested in the desert plants and flowers, and I'm in the background using the Merlin app to ID birdsongs around us:

The center of the art:

We happened to have tickets to a documentary at the community college, and our guests were game to come along.  It turned out to be a delight to watch, and even better that the film's subjects (2 guys who walked across Arizona in 1982) were in the audience to speak to us afterward.

Hopefully this will be available to watch online soon:

https://aztrail.org/events/trailblazers-film-premiere/ 

Mimicking a saguaro in the image outside the theater (100% less spiny):

Another common creature I see while running - a small ground squirrel:

We drove up to Canyon Lake near Phoenix for a 12-hour race (John did the adventure race version and I stayed on foot all day for the rogaine).  

Photo credit to Gary for all the "action shots" - thank you Gary for documenting it!

Prepping gear in the morning:

Guess what day it was!

Heading off to roam around in the rocky hills near the lake:

John borrowed a kayak and started the day with a paddle:

Approaching the aid station near the other end of the course - thank you for being there with drinks and snacks, Gary!

Starting a loop in the maze-like area (thank you Ron for finding places like this with such interesting topography):

John climbed up to the higher reaches of the course and snapped some pictures so I could see what I missed:

Pretty clouds and big landscape:

And a whole bunch of teddy bear cholla that should never be messed with (and be careful where you step):

Teddy bears guarding one of the controls:

Blooming cacti!

It was a challenging and fun day.  My favorite part was probably checking out the Tortilla Flats tourist shop (and bathroom with running water), not a typical adventure race oasis but I could get used to that.

Results - well done, John!

https://gphxo.org/Results/2026/20260314_CanyonLake_Results.htm

Urban woodpecker and ants:

Interesting ironwork - and old truck:

The rest of this post is mostly about the Lost One Standing event that we put on in early April.  I enjoyed the one we did in Colorado so much that I was inspired to create a version of it here.

For the details, here's a link to the webpage:

https://www.tucsonorienteeringclub.org/event-details/lost-one-standing-in-the-santa-ritas

Some pictures I took during scouting missions, including scenic Mount Wrightson always on the horizon:

At 5000 ft. elevation there are way fewer cacti, but still some small ones that might hide near your feet:

I learned how to identify and map a "passable cliff":

Pointy agave (much easier to avoid than the pointy catclaw):

Checking out some old mines in the area:

One of the prettier creeks:

After winter snow/rain there was enough water flowing that I had to get my feet wet to explore the terrain.  Happily this subsided before race day:

When I found this geological oddity of a rock wall, I knew I had to include it in one of the courses.  John later found this little guy growing on top of the wall too!

Blooming cholla:

We hung most of the controls the weekend beforehand (then I worried about the high winds the next few days; happily they all stayed in place).  A control next to a small cliff, with a reflector for visibility at night:

Another interesting find - an old pipe that was part of mining operations:

A forest of flowering ocotillos:

A control in a reentrant:

Selfie control?

The event went great!  Everyone was game to learn the format, we heard about various strategies being tested, and there were fast and also persistent people who finished as many courses as they could.  It was super fun to watch!  Kudos to all the participants and huge thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.

Results and write-up (with additional photos from various runners):

https://www.tucsonorienteeringclub.org/results/b-260404

Just a few final photos to finish it out, including flowers on a saguaro:

And another visit to the Cushing Bridge to bookend this post - mariachi dancers and instruments:

This shadow idea is most excellent:

Thanks for reading!