December 2024 in Arizona: Part 1: travel, hiking and biking

We left our home in Canada before sunrise on December 1st. We enjoyed the beautiful sunrise just south of Eureka, MT about 8 am.

That sunrise started the series of sunrise and sunset photos. Here’s the sunset from our hotel in Pocatello, Idaho. We slept well after our ten hour drive.

Sunrise the next morning.

There was still some nice colour in the sky when we passed into Utah.

This is sunset from our hotel in Page, Arizona. It was about an eight hour drive from Pocatello.

Here’s sunrise south of Page. We had excellent driving weather the whole trip.

It was about a six hour drive to our spot just outside Tucson, AZ. We sat outside before dinner and enjoyed the glowing mountains to our east.

Sunset was not spectacular, but we were glad to be here.

We revisited our favourite trails that we can access right from our place. We’re happy to see new arms growing from the left “gate-post” saguaro. The trail goes right between these two sentinels.

Wendy is on a rather sketchy trail that we discovered last year. Each time we walk it, we improve the trail by moving a rock or two as we go along.

Here’s a panorama view to the east, taken close to the location of the last photo.

On December 16, we chose to climb Wasson Peak, which we can see to the south from our place. We started from the Esperanza Sendero trailhead in Saguaro National Park (West) at about 8:15. It was only 3 degrees C (37 F). Wendy is bundled up in five top layers, three hats, gloves and mitts.

By nine o’clock we were in the sunshine and we could shed a few layers.

This photo shows the ridge and the part of the Hugh Norris trail. Our place is part of the community that you might be able to make out above Wendy’s head in the following photo.

We were at the top around 11 am, and decided to have an early lunch. Two other hikers were there when we arrived, but they left soon after and we had the place to ourselves.

There is no photo from the top, but here is a view of the trail just below the summit. It’s a little rockier than the Hugh Norris trail, but it is still very enjoyable.

We had to work hard to find a wild flower, and only saw this one on the way down, because at first glance, it looked like a dried up bush. Its common name is Apricot Mallow.

We have noticed this specific ocotillo on previous trips and it seems that it is always in bloom. The rest of it looks almost dead, but we know that it will produce green shoots the next time it gets some moisture.

Two weeks later, we did another longer hike. It was warm enough to start off in two layers. We walked right from our gate.

Our objective was Panther Peak, the mountain on the left in the photo below. The trail / route goes through the gully that is visible on the right side.

Doug is navigating over and around the boulders in the gully. There are cairns placed in strategic spots along the way, but it is still easy to get off track.

The trail is more distinct towards the top. The towns of Marana and Oro Valley are in the valley below.

This southwest view from the summit includes our neighbourhood. We could figure out where our fifth-wheel was parked by finding the blue house and following the roads back to our place.

As in previous years, we enjoyed riding the mountain bike trail at the Tortolita Preserve in Marana. It takes us about half an hour to drive to the trailhead. The 15 kilometre ride takes us less than an hour and a half.

This photo was taken on Christmas Day. We’ve replaced our former tradition of going skiing on Christmas with doing a bike ride.

Wendy also got some sewing in for a baby quilt she is making. We haven’t regretted replacing the sofa with this work surface. Our bins that hold all our birding gear have dedicated spots underneath.

We have experienced one of the driest and hottest Decembers on record. So, if the air-conditioning is on in the trailer, Wendy sets up an outdoor station if she wants to do any serious ironing.

We’ll finish this blog with the top sunrise and sunset photos of the month. This was sunrise on December 13.

Sunset on December 17.

We welcomed in the new year at an outdoor neighbourhood get-together. Although we actually had the champagne toast at 10 pm as the ball dropped in Times Square. (The photo below was taken just after 6 pm)

Those people who have followed our blog for several years, will notice that we are returning to our favourite places frequently. We don’t get tired of seeing some of the same sights over again; everything changes, if just a little bit.

Our monthly birding blog (December 2024 – Part 2) will be available soon.