A Week Cycling in Tucson

Prickly Arizona landscape

Dave and Edna had been to Mexico in the morning and managed to get all their dental work completed early enough that we could get hitched up and head on down the road. After camping together for 10 days in Yuma, we continued traveling together to Tucson.  By car, this is about a 4 hour drive. Towing the trailers we would go much slower than the speed limit and the trip would probably be closer to 6 hours. We decided to make it a 2 day trip stopping at the Painted Rocks Petroglyph campground. This campground is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) public lands and is located about 20 miles west of Gila Bend. The campground doesn't take reservations and sites are occupied 1st come 1st serve. There are about 60 sites each with a picnic table and fire pit. There are also a couple of vault toilets but, otherwise, there are no services. You need to come prepared with water, food and power. We didn't really know what to expect but the petroglyphs peaked our interest. There is also a dam on the map that looked to be an easy trike ride's distance.

Map from Yuma to Painted Rock Petroglyphs Campground

Camp set up

The campground is 11 miles from I-8. Painted Rocks Road is paved all the way to the campground where it turns to dirt.  We found a very nice double site where we could camp together.  We arrived early enough that we got our trikes out to go for a ride to find the dam and reservoir that's shown on the map. This was a very nice 12 miles on a paved road with undulating hills and next to no traffic. We got out to the dam where there is an Army Corp of Engineers office but the road to the reservoir is closed with no public entry. We turned around and I put the drone in the air to have it follow us back to the campground. Strangely, both directions felt downhill. That's a nice ride!

Casting shadows

Riding next to Painted Rocks Ranch

Three Amigos

Desert riding back from the dam

We got back to the campground in the late afternoon with just enough light to walk around the Petroglyphs. These are left from the Hohokam peoples who lived and farmed the area in AD 900 - AD 1400. There are many other petroglyphs in the area but this campground has the largest display with about 800 painted rocks. The rocks are roped off and you can easily walk around the mound in 15 minutes. There are a number of interpretive signs describing what the rocks mean and the history. 

Petroglyphs from AD 900

 

Petroglyphs from the campground site with 800 rocks

The sunset was fantastic and the night sky was bright with stars. The campground is surrounded by desert with only the sound of coyotes howling and barking. For me, this campground is a real find and I expect to return. With a senior national parks pass, the fee is $4 per person. We chatted with the camp hosts for quite awhile. They were very interested in our trikes. The hosts also told us the dam and reservoir have been dry for many years and would only be used in a 100 year flood event.

Sunset reflected on the trailer

Desert Sunset

The next morning we hitched up and headed to Tucson where Dave and Edna have a site reserved for the winter at Prince of Tucson RV park. The gem show, which is the biggest in the world, is also going on in Tucson. I had called a number of RV parks and all were filled through February. Dave, somehow, got me a site where they are camped and I checked in for a week. One the features of the Prince of Tucson RV Park is it has direct access to the Tucson Cycling Loop.

Desert Sunrise

Sunrise with the moon still high in the sky

Tucson is well known for cycling. The Tucson Loop is more than 130 miles of cycling paths and there are many more cycling opportunities as well. I sent word to the Tucson Recumbent Cycling group that I wanted to meet up and they announced 2 rides. The 1st group ride started just outside the RV park. I got to meet people that I've known online for years. Bonnie and John, Kelly, Mo, Ad and Chuck along with Dave and Edna met for a ride out to Marana. It was a gorgeous day and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. The trail goes along the flood control washes but at the very end the topography turned quite dramatic where we were riding right next to a deep red jagged rock mountain. I got out the drone to have it follow us to a trailhead where there were a couple of tables and we stopped to have a snack. Bonnie and John came prepared with place settings and cutlery.

 

Tucson Recumbent Cycling Group Ride

Bonnie and John show us how it's done

The next day, Dave, Chuck and I met again at the RV park and rode up Sentinel Peak. We had ridden passed the mountain the day before and Dave said he wanted to ride up. I was all for it and Chuck knew how to get there. In the morning and early afternoon the road is closed to car traffic. There is a gate across the road. We took the flags off our trikes and they rolled right under the gate. The view from the top was fantastic. You could see all of Tucson and the surrounding mountains. Here too, I got the drone out and had it follow us on the way down. I would love to do that ride again.

Tucson from Sentinel Peak

View on the way down from Sentinel Peak

Great tacos at the Mercado

Trikes resting after a tough climb up the mountain

On Thursday, the group met again for a ride to Saguaro National Park East. I rode with Kelly, Ad, Dave and Edna out of Pantano River Park. Ad led us down the loop and then we took Old Spanish Trail road into the National Park where we met Mo and Doug to ride the 8 mile loop. This was sensational. The road in the park was super smooth and the views were incredible. The saguaro cactus only grow in the high desert in Arizona and south into the Sonoran desert of Mexico. This park was set up to protect them. The day had bright blue skies with light winds. The ride started out in the upper 50's but warmed up to the mid 60's. The brilliant blue sky contrasted the cactus beautifully. There's a good amount of climbing which is where the best views were. I loved this ride.

Saguaro Panorama

Dave and Edna on a dirt road detour

Kelly and a Saguaro

Javalina Rocks

West Side View

Dave and Edna also took me to the west part of the Saguaro National Park. The winds were blowing fierce on Friday and we felt so lucky to have had calm winds for our group ride. This National Park is in 2 separate parts of the city. In fact, the city of Tucson is right between the 2 parks. I loved the drive and really want to return to camp out there and do more riding.   Riding up Gates Pass and being able to see Old Tucson would be very fun. 

Cholla in the sunshine

This was an action packed week where I also got my hair cut and colored, had 2 chiropractic visits for routine maintenance adjustments and did some necessary shopping at Costco.  Dave and Edna had their grill going almost every night and I enjoyed hanging out with them. The next time I see them will probably be back in Portland.

I, of course, will have videos coming for all the rides. From here, I'm heading west to meet triking friends in San Juan Capistrano, California to do more riding.