Agua Caliente

January 20, 2023

It’s cold again this morning. Get used to that intro, because we’ll be seeing it again for most of our remaining days in Tucson. Today’s not too bad - a few degrees above freezing when the sun breaks the horizon and starts warming things up - but there’s some wind too; and with the wind chill factored in it doesn’t look attractive to hop on the bike until eleven at the earliest.

With the shortened riding window, we decide to split up today so Rachael can maintain her own pace and get her 42+ in before temperatures drop again. She plans on another stab at reaching the lake at the end of the loop along the Santa Cruz. Her previous two were both foreshortened by flooded underpasses. The waters have receded enough though that it should be possible today.

For myself, I browse to see if there are any nearby birding hotspots I’ve never been to before and come up with Agua Caliente Regional Park, northeast of the city near up against the base of Mount Lemmon. I map it out and it looks right-sized for the day and conditions - roughly 35 miles, with minimal elevation gain. It looks like parts of it could be busy - especially along Tanque Verde Road, which I’ve never biked along before.

It’s past eleven when I leave the house. I’m surprised to see a new For Sale sign up out front that must have gone in overnight or this morning. Our host Rachel reached out yesterday to ask if they could schedule a few more showings, if she sweetened the pot and threw in a second 20% discount on the month’s bill. Deal!

On the market! Better hurry - this one won’t last long.

My route takes me on a partly new route out northeast. Through the campus and east along the 3rd street Bike Boulevard and north on Treat is familiar and as delightful as ever; but riding east out Elm which quickly rebrands as Pima Street is a good ride too: quiet, smooth, and with a good bike lane the whole way. It’s a good ride all the way to Pima’s end where it crosses Pantano Wash and the Loop. I’m sure I’ll incorporate it into a new variant of our Loop rides, and return with Rachael.

It’s nice to see Curving Arcades (Homage to Bernini) again, the abstract work at the eastern edge of the U of A campus. Created by Athena Tacha of Oberlin College in 1981. Born in Larissa, Greece, Tacha is best known for her works of environmental public sculpture. I’ll have to look for other of her works that we might encounter.

Palms reach for the heavens in Himmel Park.

Eastbound on Pima Street, a route I haven’t tried before. Quite nice, one I’ll have to repeat someday.

For Ron. Nice guitar! About a block after taking this shot, a driver coming my direction rolled down her window to proudly shout out “My daughter painted that”!

Crossing Pantano Wash I look up to check out the weather report. Fair, breezy.

Beyond Pima though it’s a different story. For the next seven miles I’m heading east on Tanque Verde Road, another new experience for me and one that gets a mixed verdict. On the one hand, there’s a good six foot shoulder the whole way and the views of Mount Lemmon are stunning - by my mind, this is the best perspective on the mountain from below. On the other hand, it’s a four lane highway. It’s not bad on the way out, when eastbound traffic is still fairly light and nicely batched up by traffic lights. On the way back though the traffic is fast-moving and nonstop, until it nears town and the stoplights slow the endless queue to a crawl. Not bad, but not really pleasant either. It would take a pretty big draw to make me want to repeat this ride.

The Heirloom Farmer’s Market, Mo Udall Park. I’m lucky to see it - it’s a Friday morning event, and the stands are just shutting down when I arrive.

David Romero from Sahuarita runs the Incredible Snacks stand, in Mo Udall Park. I’ll include a snack report later to let you know what Rachael and I think of the beetroot chips and chili mango slices I biked off with.

They’re shutting down for the day, or else I might have biked off with a dozen oranges in my pannier.

The view from the southeast is my favorite angle on Mount Lemmon. I’ve caught a good day for it.

Eastbound on Tanque Verde Road. If you keep going it eventually turns to gravel, curves around the eastern end of Mount Lemmon, and ends up at Reddington. This photo is misleading though - the shoulder’s fine, but the fast-moving traffic is often heavy - it was nonstop on my return to town.

This is the closest look I’ve gotten yet of the north slope of Mica Mountain. I recognize the terrain though - I’m only a few miles straight north of the national park boundary.

Northbound toward the eastern end of the Catalina Range on Soldier Trail.

Agua Caliente, once I get there, is an attractive oasis in the desert - an old ranch with a pond surrounded by palm trees. And there are birds here for sure. I won’t see anything new today, but there are bluebirds, canyon wrens, redheads, ring-billed ducks, and a merganser among others. I’m pretty sure there were other new species around, and I think I saw a ruby-crowned kinglet disappearing into the safety of a palm tree; and if I’d taken more time and had the patience to just sit and watch for a half hour more maybe I’d get a good look at something new. It’s starting to get late in the day though, so after finishing my trail mix snack I start out for home. It wouldn’t be good to be out too late in the day when the temperature starts dropping, and you always want to leave time for something to go wrong.

Agua Caliente Regional Park. An appealing little place, but enough out of the way that I’m not sure I’ll be back. Maybe if I’d seen a new bird species.

We’ve seen this one before, but in this Year of the Bird it seems like there should be a bird photo in every post.

I’m five miles from home westbound on Pima Street again and making good time when I see I’m on track to converge with Rachael heading south on Mountain if I maintain a good pace. Almost as soon as I notice this though, I flatten. Good thing I saved some spare time! I text her to call me so we can discuss the situation, and then have at repairing the flat. It goes well - changing tires for the larger wheeled Rodriguez is a much easier task than on the Bike Fridays - and fifteen minutes later I’m back on the road again.

So - after a flat-free year we’re just three weeks into this one and have two flats already! I’m glad for it though, as I realize reflecting on the situation biking home. It’s a lucky break having it happen here and now, rather than some place like Death Valley, as we’re booked ourselves for on the drive home (we decided to splurge on this after getting our rebate for our lodging here). The Rodriguez flattened on a thorn, and looking at the tires I realize it’s time to get new ones for this bike too. I’ll do that and replace Rachael’s other tire before leaving town next week.

Looks like it’s going to be one of those years.

Heart

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Ride stats today: 38 miles, 1,100’; for the tour:1,127 miles, 39,700’

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 1,127 miles (1,814 km)

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Jack BuggBorrego badlands,El Centro then mostly next to or on the Interstate to Gila Bend then south to Ajo and Why. I've since learned there is daily bus service from Gila Bend ( starting in Phoenix) to Tucson and I would probably use that for some portion next time. I would like to go back for Organ Pipe NM.
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1 year ago