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Though Spring is winding down here in southern Arizona, it’s not over yet and we’ve been enjoying as much of it as possible. It is a time of year to savor since May ushers in the start of another of this area’s five seasons¹, Dry Summer. It has been an unusual Spring so far, one day hot (97Àö F), the next day cool and incredibly windy. Though the region received the necessary incremental rainfall this Winter all hope for a spectacularly showy wildflower year was killed by several late, hard frosts.

That is not to infer that this Spring hasn’t been beautiful, on the contrary, what we’ve seen of it has been amazing! Easter morning found us driving up the Mt. Lemmon Highway with our friend Nancy—the female half of the Nancy and Denny duo, the male half doesn’t do windy mountain roads with steep drop-offs.

First stop, the open, grassy desert of Molino Basin, at roughly 4500’ it’s a good two thousand feet above the valley floor. The place was packed with families participating in all the typical bunny-and-egg day festivities. At first we thought the commotion would ruin our chances for bird sightings, but thankfully, we were proven wrong. It didn’t take us long to pick out some of the usual suspects: Greater Roadrunner, Canyon Towhee, House Finch, Pine Siskin, Rock Wren, Mourning Dove, Gray Flycatcher, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Mockingbird. Later we discovered a Black-throated Gray Warbler and a Cassin’s Kingbird. An auspicious start to the day!

Further up the mountain we stopped at Middle Bear Picnic Area, adding another thousand feet in elevation and a completely different ecosystem. Now we were surrounded by towering trees and on the ground, snow! A fast moving cold storm blew through the Tucson area the Friday before, leaving behind rain in the lower elevations and snow up higher. We weren’t even out of the car with our various gear when we sighted four bird species: Red-naped Sapsucker, Acorn Woodpecker, Yellow-eyed Junco, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We ambled through the picnic area following one bird call to another, adding a White-breasted Nuthatch, Bridled Titmouse, Spotted Towhee, and two nifty warblers, Olive and Grace’s.

We had time for one more stop so we scurried up to the Rose Canyon Recreation Area at some 7,000 feet in elevation. Unbelievably, we were skunked. Though we could hear birds all around us we couldn’t see them! Luckily, just as we were leaving we were rewarded with a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird sitting on her nest. Since it was quite cool up there and snow covered the ground we were surprised to see a hummingbird up there at all, much less one tending her eggs. By then it was time for us to turn around and head back down the mountain. Though Nancy was disappointed that we dipped on a Red-faced Warbler a quick stop at the Windy Point overlook allowed us to pick up a Zone-tailed Hawk, which was not a bad bird to end on.

Zipping down to the welcome warmth of the valley we met up with Denny for a late lunch (he spent the morning shooting trains—with a camera, of course). It was quite an occasion for us, not only was it Denny’s birthday but it was our last visit of the spring since they were leaving for home in a few days. Discussing their upcoming road trip made Lance and I a bit desirous to hit the open road ourselves but there’s a good reason why we’re still here in Tucson (more about that in a future post).

Down in the valley my Letterboxing adventures led me past some of Tucson’s hidden treasures, small works of art that are slowly fading away. Isn’t it funny how you can drive by a place daily and yet never notice how interesting it is? Or in some cases even know that it exists at all? Having grown up in Tucson I thought I had a pretty good handle on its character and heritage, humph, little did I know. In my pursuit of Letterboxes I have traversed this town, often on foot, traipsing through random neighborhoods and down tiny side streets. Along the way I’ve stumbled across some fascinating adornments, such as the neon Termite, the Bull Fight scene, and the pictorial history of ranching in Tucson.

The former were new discoveries, the latter I have known since I was a child but for once I finally took the time to appreciate it. The several hundred feet-long mural covers the brick wall around the now defunct Farmer John’s meat packing plant. In 1962 the Clougherty family expanded their meat packing operations from California into Arizona with the opening of the plant near Grant and I-10. Just as they had done at their original locations they hired Leslie Allen Grimes to paint a mural depicting ranch life: cowboys, and cattle cavorting through the artwork. Though much less visible, Grimes also painted the exterior of the buildings inside the wall, they are most notable for their lack of bovines.

Grimes, an Australian-born wrestler and former set painter for the Fox and Charlie Chaplin studios died doing what he loved—in 1968 he fell to his death from a scaffolding while painting yet another mural for the Clougherty’s. Finishing that mural and maintaining the others was a job that soon fell to Arno Jordan. According to local lore, Jordan had to paint over one of Grimes’ dirt roads after a man tried to drive on it (to no surprise, the man had just left a drinking establishment). The Farmer John’s mural soon became a local landmark and was later included in a book about modern folk art. Unfortunately, since the plant closed in 2001 the mural has fallen victim to tagging and vandalism. It makes me wish I had stopped to photograph the wall years ago, while it was still in good shape! At least I captured some of it. By the way, if you haven’t been a tourist in your own home town, I sincerely recommend it—you never know just what you might find!

Mid-week we attended a family barbecue—Lance’s parents were in town for a few days before heading off to Spain for the summer. It was a lovely night and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. Friday evening we took our bikes downtown for a bike tour of historic buildings. An incredibly diverse group of close to 30 cyclists rode along the maze of one-way streets. Though our group at times blocked entire roads, motorists were kind. I think most of them were surprised to see that many people pedaling through downtown. The tour ended at a historic, old adobe building that we are intimately familiar with; Cushing Street Bar and Grill (I worked there for several years before we moved from Tucson in 2005).

Saturday found us unencumbered with previous engagements so we headed for the hills. This time we retraced our steps up Mt. Lemmon but with a very different purpose, instead of birding we were hunting… for Letterboxes. By my rough estimation there are over 20 LBs tucked into little nooks along the Mt. Lemmon Highway, some close by, others requiring hiking shoes. Though Lance doesn’t officially Letterbox (he doesn’t stamp in), he is a super sleuth. I was glad he was along since many of the ones we found that day weren’t easily recognizable as they weren’t hidden under SPORs (suspicious piles of rocks). The day was a success—we scored 12 LBs, four Hitchhikers, and three First Finder Awards! Hitchhikers are micro-Letterboxes that travel from box to box, as the finder it became my job to take the HHs to the next LB I find and I’m looking forward to it!

All this and April isn’t even close to over yet! Hurray for Spring!

Photos: View our photographs to accompany this post: Hurray for Spring.

Notes:

¹ Southern Arizona’s five seasons are: Spring (late February through April), Dry Summer (May and June), Monsoon (July through early September), Fall (late September through November), and Winter (December through early February). Read more on Wikipedia.