Tuesday, March 22
I misplaced my car and trailer keys, together on the ring with the electronic door opener for the van. Feeling a bit lost without them, and after checking with the campground host and the park entrance station, I set out for the day saying a little prayer for them to turn up with Duffy's spare key fob in my bag. Story of our lives – lost sunglasses, Duffy's misplaced Swiss Army Knife (unseen for several days now), and now lost or misplaced keys. Senior moments, aarrggh!
Madera Canyon, south of Green Valley (south of Tucson) is a favorite spot for birders. It's about three miles up a climbing canyon that ends at about 5,000 feet above sea level. This is where I chanced to see an Elegant Trogon two years ago, a parrot-sized, colorful bird I'd never heard of before that last visit. No Trogons this year. Not too many other birds, but we did see a few new ones for the year, and new for us (check out our bird list prior to the March 3rd blog if you're interested).
At the top of the canyon, there is a picnic ground and trails that lead to Mt. Wilkerson and Mt. Baldy. We did not take either of these to their destinations, but did walk a short distance up one of them. Duffy's knee (the one he had arthroscopic surgery on last November) still bothers him due to ongoing degenerative arthritis. Luckily, in this canyon one does not need to walk far to see, and hear, bird life. Easier to hear than see due to all the scrub oaks and drought resistant “trees” at this altitude. Madera Canyon boasts several bed & breakfast lodgings, each one with multiple bird feeders hanging around. You may call this cheating, but it's not really. Why not invite the migrating birds in for a bite to eat, while providing front row bench seating for onlookers?
Our greatest finds, and new to us, in the canyon were the Painted Redstart (oh my!) and the Mexican Jay – blue yet bigger and stockier than a Western Scrub Jay. I also saw a Bridled Titmouse, a little black-and-white bird with a black and white masked-face and a black crest. We saw this little bird, the size of a nuthatch or chickadee, the last time we were in southern Arizona, and don't mind seeing them again and again.
On the way home, we stopped at the Tohono O'odham casino for a short penny slot tournament between the two of us (we lost 35-cents), then drove back to camp for the night. We don't spend much time in camp – there's too much to see and do in this part of the country. Tomorrow morning we leave Tucson with a long list of unseen sights for our next trip.
We called Brett after 9pm. I told him about my keys and asked him to think good thoughts for me to find them before leaving Tucson. After hanging up, I searched one more place in the trailer. Lo and behold, there they were behind the seat cushion that makes the “mattress” for my bed. Naturally, I called Brett right back to thank him. It had to be his good thoughts that located my keys. :)
Good night, Ahna. Happy Birthday. We love and miss you. Henry misses you too.
Good night, Gloria. Happy Birthday.
Hope you both had wonderful days.
Until next time,
Pam
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