2/20/18 Sabino Canyon

We had bit of rain last night and woke up to gray skies with a bit of sun poking through every now and then.  We checked the temperature this morning and at that time it was cooler here than at home! It has been windy most of the day, but the temperature did get up to 56.  We drove about a half hour south and visited Sabino Canyon located in the Coronado National Forest. Here they pronounce it Sa-bean-o rather than the way we pronounce the ship at the seaport.  We bought a ticket to the shuttle and had a lovely 4 mile ride up the canyon.  There are nine stops and you can hop-on/hop-off at any stop.  It runs every 30 minutes.  We elected to go to the last stop and then did a bit of walking here and there.  We didn't walk the whole way down as in some places water was running over the bridges.  Yes, I said water!  Since we have had rain, the creeks and brooks have filled and there is actually water running.  We chatted with a few people on our way down, but the most memorable was an 85 year old man who was walking up the canyon.  He was from Indiana, but lived in Tucson for 10 years and was associated with the U of A softball team.  He was very bright and spry for his age and said he comes back every year for a few weeks to get warm, visit old friends, and hike.  The sides of the canyon were quite steep in places - about the height of a 40-story building.  We saw plenty of cacti - some even on the steep hillsides, holding on precariously, but also enjoyed the geology.  The gray and white rock visible in at least one of the photos is Catalina Gneiss, a metamorphic rock.  There were several caves up on the rocky sides - makes you wonder if the Native Americans used them for shelter.  I don't know if it will show up, but the rocks at the top of the canyon at one point look like Snoopy lying on his back.  We saw several sycamore trees and some of plants and cacti were even showing some new green growth due to the recent rain.  We had another wonderful day here in Tucson.