Our Last Day in Tucson

Our trip to Tucson has been very busy and a lot of fun. So we thought that today we would take it a bit easier. We slept until 7:00am and then slowly got ready, had a little breakfast and even read a little before heading out. I had a goal when I decided to attend the event here in Tucson. And that goal was to complete Azroadie's Geology 101 Series. As of last night when I logged my finds in I just needed two of the nine to be done. So this morning my priorities were these two boxes. So our first destination was the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area to find Geology 101: Sabino Fault. We turned into the parking area to go through the pay booth and the place was packed - it took us a little time to get through the line and find a parking place. We then stopped in to the visitors center and got a map and a little advice on getting around. You can't drive through the area to the trailheads. You either walk down the road or take a shuttle to any of the trailheads. The trail we needed wasn't all that far up the road so we opted to just walk. So we made our way down Sabino Canyon Road and eventually came to the trailhead for the Bluff Trail. (The walk from the visitors center up the road to the trailhead was actually longer that the actual Bluff Trail.) Once at the trail we followed the clues and easily found the box. We sat and stamped while enjoying the morning. We got the box back into place and then continued along the trail to find a hiding spot for a box that I had brought to plant. After checking out a few spots we found one that we really liked and got the box hidden and the clues written. So if you are in the area go and find Greetings from Arizona on the Bluff Trail. I also had clues for about five or six other boxes but they all were on long hikes (and neither Thomas nor I had the energy for that) except for one. And that one just happened to be at the end of the Bluff Trail on the Sabino Canyon Trail #30. We attempted finding this one but came up empty handed. At this point we decided to head back to the car and head to the next box. We did enjoy our time at the canyon and I hope we can go back and spend more time - and hopefully we will have more energy to explore more areas of the place.

Now we headed for Sentinel Peak (or "A" Mountain) to find the last box I needed to complete Azroadie's Geology 1o1 Series - Geology 101: Basalt. We parked, we walked, we followed the clues . . . and WooHoo!!! we found the last box in the series. I sat and stamped in and was happy as I checked off that last one on the list. Azroadie told me yesterday that if I did complete the series I would be the first person to do so. Once I was done I rehid the box and we decided while we were here at Sentinel Peak we would look for Azroadie's Sentinel Peak box. So we drove to that parking area and walked to the trail head. We followed the clues and after about 10 minutes we found that box. Unfortunately, the lid was broken and the logbook had gotten wet and was all stuck together and the stamp was starting to crumble and fall apart. I was still able to stamp in and get a pretty good image but I don't think it will last much longer. I already sent Azroadie a note and it sounds like he will do some maintenance soon.

I still had another box I wanted to hide and I wanted it to be in a certain location. So we headed up to Tucson Mountain Park. We picked a parking area and headed up the trail. It didn't take us long to find a good spot and we placed Carnegiea gigantea in its new home. I wrote up the clues and then we headed off on the same trail to find two other boxes. They are actually pretty close together so it was a quick and easy find for AZJokester's A Desert by Any Other Name . . . and Parfum Sacre's Ravens in Love. After stamping in we made the short walk back to the car. All the boxes I brought with me to plant had been planted and we had found quite a few boxes and we were really feeling the heat (I don't think I could survive a summer here in Tucson) so we decided to head back into town. We stopped for a bite to eat and then found an ice cream shop to getting something cold.

Even though it was still early and I still had clues for quite a few boxes we decided it was time to call it quits. We returned to the hotel and everything is ready for our trip home tomorrow. And I have logged in every last find, plant and exchange. And this post completes our adventure to Tucson. I hope you found something interesting or helpful in my stories and I hope it won't be long until the next adventure. Tomorrow our drive home is a straight shot - only stopping for gas, food or bathrooms - no letterboxing. We need to be home by 5:00pm for some previous engagements. See you soon!