Back Road Explorations with Donna and Dick

Looking out at the desert from the Visitor's Center - this is the Western piece of the Park.

Our next four days were spent with our neighbors and friends from Shrewsbury, Donna and Dick. They have a second home in Marana, AZ. We are able to park Baby right next to their compound and plug in on a long extension cord. We visited them on our first trip in 2021 and stayed there without them last year. They have been coming here for over 20 years and Donna knows the back roads very well. We went down single lane rutted dirt roads that Scott and I wouldn't have dared. And there are a warren of possibilities up near the mountains. But Donna knew every twist and turn, plus she was an excellent tour guide on the history, birds, animals and vegetation. Donna drove in her Jeep Cherokee truck and it even handled a stream crossing! That was carefully checked out before we entered. It was a lot of fun and so beautiful. The recent rain has brought out the flowers everywhere and the desert is green right now!

The movie screen went up and revealed the desert
itself!

Donna and Dick, our neighbors and friends from
Shrewsbury, VT

The barrel cactus were in bloom -
their fruit is delicious.

Our first full day we went out to breakfast at the local airport. It rained that morning but it cleared up,  and they drove us to Saguaro National Park and around the Hohokam drive. The park was created as Saguaro National Monument in 1933 and in 1961 additional acreage was added. It became a National Park in 1994. There are two sections to the Park and we only had time for the Western area.  At the Visitor's Center we enjoyed a movie on the park. At the end, the screen pulled up and revealed a huge picture window of the park itself - very dramatic and fun! That night we went out to dinner at a local bar where the Mexican food was great. 

On the back roads with Donna & Dick

Our second full day we spent exploring back roads all the way to the base of Ragged Mountain. We saw an old mine and the ruins of the community that once surrounded it. We saw a crested saguaro whose mutated tip was so large in looked like it couldn't stand up! Each morning I enjoyed sitting with Donna out on her front porch drinking our coffee and talking in the morning sunshine. Evenings we all had our drinks on the back porch watching the sunset.  

That's Ragged Mountain in the distance. We saw lots of boondocking campsites off those back roads.

The sky was very dramatic. It had rained that night and was clearing up.

You can just see the top of the crested Saguaro
in the background

That's the stream we crossed, over on the left.

Our last day Scott and I went off on our own for a hike in Saguaro National Park - the Desert Wren Trail and the Signal Hill trail. At the top of the hill we saw petroglyphs drawn by the Hohokam people who lived in this area from 300 AD to 1450. Then we visited a Amateur Airplane Field where they were having races. These planes were about 5 or 6 feet in diameter and beautifully painted.  It was a Sunday morning so over 100 people gathered to watch and see each other's planes. 

I hope you can make out the concentric circle
petroglyph on the center top rock.

A view over the desert from the Signal Hill trail

That afternoon Scott and I moved Baby over to our next Harvest Host member - the Little Anthony's Diner and the Gaslight Theater. I bought tickets for ourselves and Donna & Dick. The show was "The Curse of  the Pirate Gold" and it was a lot of fun - comedy, dancing and singing, with a great band. It's a dinner theater so we sat at a table for the 4 of us and ordered drinks and food - no room for dancing though!

The four leads from Curse of the Pirates Gold

We were sad to say goodbye to our good friends but the next day we were off heading north. More on that later!

A rainbow greeted us on our last morning in Marana with Donna & Dick.