Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona
The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him because his hands refuse to work. ~ Proverbs 21:25
Not sure how it got missed!
It’s from my devotional book a friend gave me for Christmas.
Thanks, Kay Lynn!
We returned to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (which is protected by the US Forest Service) again today. This is the place that was soooo busy the other day, and has the shuttle service, and we crossed the river multiple times? Yeah. That place.
Today we arrived to discover a “Closed” sign at the parking lot out by the road! No!! Say it isn’t so!
Fortunately, only the parking lot was closed. Whew!! The sign also said the overflow parking area was open, but apparently it was too far away for people to park, because they were lined up and down the road instead.
Right under the “No Parking” signs.
We didn’t want to take a chance of getting a ticket, so we drove a little ways up the road and parked in the Middle School parking lot. There’s no school anywhere anyway, so we figured it was safe.
We walked the walk up the street and into the Park via an opening in the fence line beside the parking lot, into the Park Visitor Center area, and discovered there was free admission today. It didn’t matter to us either way because we have a National Park Pass for the next year. We also discovered there were about half the port-a-potty stalls than what they had the other day (because the bathrooms in this area were closed). We couldn’t figure out why the place would be open, but the parking lot closed, but you’ll see why at the end of the post.
What’s going on?
Today, we (along with a few others) walked the shuttle road in search of a connecting trail called the Phoneline, that would take us to the Sabino Canyon Trail. And today, we put in almost 13 miles! But it was an absolutely stunning hike! And about as far away from the crowds as you could possibly get. Once we left the road, we only saw about a dozen people all day.
At least for a little while.
How about yours?
Once we arrived at the first cross-over-the-water for the road, we realized we’d have a lot of shoe removal if we remained on the road, so we searched for a way to ‘one-and-done’ it, and make a connection to the Phoneline we needed. We walked a short trail to the river’s edge and Blaine and I began scouting for a way we could cross the rapidly moving river safely.
Still don’t know what causes that . . .
We’d removed our footwear and begun to wade in when . . . .
God sent us an angel!! From out of nowhere, a man sort of appeared (as in, we never saw him coming) in the middle of the water and very specifically told us exactly how and where to get across! And once he’d done that, he warned us that if we returned this way, it was possible the depth of the water could be a foot or more higher than it currently was. And then he was gone. I know you’re probably skeptical, Blaine is too, but I’ve had a run-in with someone I later believed was an angel, and I’ve known several other people who have–without question had such encounters. So. While I don’t think these spiritual encounters happen often, I definitely believe they happen!
And no. I don’t think the ‘glow’ is angelic, it’s just bad lighting. : )
But they weren’t slippery at all, and sat stable under the water.
The water’s actually the result of snow melt!
so we had to take turns getting re-dressed.
And then we were on our way up the Phoneline, where we enjoyed the most extraordinary views! And ‘only’ an 882′ elevation gain.
If you look really close at the opposide side of the truck, you’ll see a white blob. That’s them.
And this is the best picture you’re gonna get because they were too far away for our phones.
There were no signs anywhere – not even by the time we returned at the end of the day.
How are we supposed to get out of the way of a horse?!?!?
Fortuately, we didn’t have to make that decision because there were none.
Thank goodness!
Quite a few people walked or ran across all these bridge overflow areas.
No one wants a head full of tiny spines. Yikes!
It’s that little line along the side of the mountain. : )
Can you believe it?!?
Not bad considering all the stops we make to look around and/or take pictures. : )
We hiked until we discovered a magnificent lunch spot, which was really much safer than the picture would indicate. 😊
Beautiful!
Even if it is only a ‘baby’ at about 70 years old!
It goes much quicker when you’re walking downhill
and don’t have to stop every 5 minutes to take a picture. : )
Amazing!
Look at all the water now!!
On the way, Blaine received a text that our Jeep part had come in and they were racing to get it installed and ready for us to pick up by closing. By the time we returned to the Visitor Center, they still hadn’t texted, so we wandered around some, and ended up taking the Nature Trail (adding to our steps!).
I discovered that you pronounce these ‘CHOY-ah’.
His finger was full of miniscule, fine spines!
Good thing we bought a pair of tweezers to put in the pack a week or so ago!
It’s probably about 30′ tall.
This allows people out, but they can’t come in.
We’re grateful for the health that allows us to do this!
And then, about 4:30pm they told us it was ready, and off we went. Everything’s back in ship-shape! Turned out to be the brake booster causing the problem.
He’s sporting his dad’s medical pack for extended hiking trips they’re sort of in training for.
Looks to me like they’ll be prepared for anything! : )
Blaine received an email today from the Grand Canyon National Park Campground. They’re closing their campground, to all except those who are self-contained. That’s us! Whew! Skated by on that one! (although we’re not scheduled to arrive there until April 20th) Let’s hope our blessings continue!
How is it that our Lord favors us so much? We feel so incredibly blessed!