Monthly Review February

 

Monthly Review February

Places visited:

• Big Bend National Park Lajitas, Texas
• Highlight, gorgeous mountains of great variety, the weather was wonderful.
• Lowlight, it is excessively big so lots of driving, fortunately the views are all good
• Maverick RV Park was 5 star, loved being amid the colorful mountains with all the amenities.
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park Dell City, TX
• Highlight, the weather was the star, clouds rolling in and an icy mist covering the plants, it became a mystical place in these conditions
• Lowlight, the view was limited due to weather conditions
• It is hard to rate the park based on the little bit I saw, but the experience was cool and convinced me to move south ahead of schedule before the winter storm front got to us.
•  Tucson Mountain Park Pima County, AZ
• Highlight, trails start at campground and meander around the desert surrounded by mountains, we named some of the saguaro cactus based on their shapes.
• Lowlight, it’s the desert so the terrain can get rocky and trip you up
• I took a nine-mile hike with my neighbor Wendy and her dog Archie when neither of our husbands wanted to hike, it was great for all of us.
• Mission San Xavier Del Bac Pima County, AZ
• Highlight, beautiful church inside and out, and we were able to get ashes on Ash Wednesday which was good.
• Lowlight, they are currently working on the church so we could only take a couple of steps in and view it from there.
• I am glad I went, it’s architecturally beautiful and inside so much decoration it was amazing and on top of all that its
•  Saguaro National Park (west side) Tucson, AZ
• Highlight, we were able to do 3 hikes here and the scenic loop all were good
• Lowlight, the scenic road is a little bumpy
• Or lunch stop was a fun step into a Flintstones like picnic shelter with great views.
• Pima Air and Space Museum Tucson, AZ
• Highlight, planes, planes and more planes, Jim loved all of them.
• Lowlight, you can’t go into any of the planes.  
• If you like looking at planes then this is the place for you.
• Tumacocori Mission Santa Cruz County, AZ
• Highlight, beautiful day with views of the Santa Rita Mountains, used an audio tour from my NPS app  
• Lowlight, it was pretty nice, can’t think of any negatives
• The Visitor Center and the audio tour made this a great place to visit.
• Tubac Art Colony Tubac, AZ
• Highlight, a lot of art galleries and shops in this town as well as restaurants all walkable.
• Lowlight, parking was tight in town but we found a spot.  
• If you are looking for artwork this is the place to go.
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Tucson, AZ
• Highlight, we were able to see so many plants and animals here in a beautiful setting
• Lowlight, like all zoos some animals hid from view.
• The museum has a beautiful feel with manicured plants and well cared for animals.
• Saguaro Mountain National Park (east side) Pima County, AZ
• Highlight, nice hike in the desert with mountain views.  The loop drive is great.
• Lowlight, you can see surrounding housing communities from the park
• East and West side are both nice, I preferred the West as it is more remote.
• Petrified Forest National Park Arizona
• Highlight, the petrified wood, I could not stop marveling at it even as we saw it over and over.  The views of the badlands and mesas were wonderful.
• Lowlight, Newspaper Rock is covered with petroglyphs, but you have to look at them from a perch above the rock which limits your view.
• This park exceeded my expectations, it has a 26-mile-long road that connects the north and south entrances with trails and overlooks along the way.  Both ends of the park are well worth seeing.
• Winslow, AZ
• Highlight, lunch at La Posada Hotel a historic Harvey House done by Mary Jane Colter
• Lowlight, not much to this town took photos as Standin on a Corner
• It is a Route 66 stop and only needs an hour to see
• Homolovi State Park Winslow, AZ
• Highlight, great spacious campsite for $20 a night with water and electric
• Lowlight, ruins were not well explained and not greatly excavated
• Worth the stop for the camping and proximity to Petrified National Park

My overall favorite place of all the places in February was Big Bend National Park.  The park is huge, we divided it into 3 parts each was worth the visit. Jim’s overall favorite place was the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Our favorite trail was the Lost Mine trail in Chisos Basin of Big Bend National Park.  Beautiful weather, a hike up the mountain with views all around.  If you stay in Big Bend stay in the center of the park- Chisos Basin. 

Our favorite day in February was exploring Chisos Basin, in the midst of this desert there were mountains and some green.

My favorite pictures: (1) I was told that Arizona sunsets are the best, but I had my doubts.  I had looked out my window a half hour early and it was okay, then I peeked again, and it looked like the sky was on fire.  Red Sky Night . . .

(2) This flowering cactus was at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  It is beautiful and even has some bees busy pollinating it.