Scenic southern AZ loop - part 2

Continuing the loop
The previous blog posting explored the eastern half of this scenic loop, along Arizona's Highways 83 and 82. In this posting, we will look at stops along the scenic Santa Cruz River, starting from Nogales (please see previous posting) and traveling north toward Tucson.

Traveling north
Interstate 19 will take you from Nogales directly to Tucson. For the most scenic routes, however, take the numerous discontinuous frontage roads along the east side of the freeway. (The roads are discontinuous in part because traffic must pass through the large Border Patrol checkpoint near Tubac.)

Rio Rico

Pena Blanca Lake

This area's economy is largely dependent on international commerce, which helps explain the abundance of warehouses that dot the Rio Rico area. Travelers should nevertheless enjoy the beauty of the surrounding hills and valleys. A relatively short side trip to Pena Blanca Lake will confirm that impression of rugged beauty.

Tumacacori
Tumacacori (pronounced tumaCOKcori, according to a resident) is home to Tumacacori National Historical Park. Within the park are a partially restored mission church as well as other historical buildings dating back to the late 17th century, when Padre Eusebio Kino established a system of missions operated first by the Jesuit order and later by the Franciscans until Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821. Efforts to restore the mission began in the early 20th century, and the National Park Service estimates about $20 million has gone into restoring and maintaining the site.

Just north of the NHP is a gate providing access to the Anza trail and the Santa Cruz River, if you feel like taking a short hike. The Anza trail continues 4 1/2 miles north to the village of Tubac, if you feel like a longer hike or bike ride.

Santa Cruz River

View of Santa Rita Mountains from TNHP

At this point, if you feel like having a bite to eat, Wisdom's Cafe, just north of the NHP, serves tasty Sonoran Mexican food, including grilled shrimp tacos with a spicy mango salsa. Tubac, one mile north, also offers a variety of cafes and restaurants.

Wisdom's Cafe mascot

Tubac ("Where Art and History Meet")

Although much of the town is dedicated to shops and galleries, Tubac is far from a mundane mall experience. Shops offer a range of products to suit every taste and many are housed in architecturally interesting old dwellings. The K. Newby gallery (across a foot bridge from the main shopping area) offers a feast for the eyes in its outdoor sculpture garden as well as its indoor art gallery. Tubac also offers a variety of cafes, fine pottery and art galleries, specialty stores for items such as kitchen accessories or iron or leather products, as well as the inevitable Mexican curio shops.

 

Tubac details

Even if shopping is not your cup of tea, you will find many aspects of Tubac to love. Tubac has numerous charming inns and bed and breakfast establishments as well as the guest ranch and farm (and golf resort) mentioned previously. Travelers might also want to tour the Tubac Presidio State Historical Park. Although the presidio itself exists only as a partially excavated underground display, the display, the museum, the school, and other features of the park are lovingly preserved and historically fascinating.

 

Details from Tubac Presidio State Historical Park

Other attractions

If you have the time, a side trip to Arivaca (west of Amado/Arivaca Junction from I-19) and the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is well worth the drive. This pleasant drive through the grassy hills and wooded valleys near Arivaca will eventually arrive in the semi-desert grasslands of the refuge at the base of impressive Baboquivari Peak.  The refuge is home to more than 330 species of birds as well as a broad range of mammals and reptiles. More than 250 miles of dirt road are available for bicyclists, hikers, and more intrepid automobile drivers. If you take this side trip, drive north on state highway 286 to Three Points and east on 86 to continue to Tucson.

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

If you continue to Tucson via I-19, a side trip to Madera Canyon is worthwhile, if you have the time. Exit I-19 at the Continental exit and follow the signs to the canyon on the west side of the beautiful Santa Rita Mountains. This might be the second favorite local outdoor destination for Tucsonans (after Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area), so the canyon can be rather crowded in parking lots, but fewer people choose to trek trails into the peaks. In addition to spectacular views of the peaks above and Santa Cruz valley below from the trails, the canyon offers more sedate pleasures of browsing gift shops or lodging in a handful of quaint inns.

 

Madera Canyon

San Xavier del Bac mission ("White Dove of the Desert")

A must-see side trip nine miles south of Tucson is mission San Xavier del Bac. The mission as a whole is more than 300 years old, and the current church building was built in the late 18th century, chiefly by O'odham natives. Although an active, ministering church, the facility is open to the public daily, except for special events such as weddings. The church is considered one of the finest existing examples of Spanish Colonial architecture.

 

 

San Xavier del Bac

Southern Arizona: Sonoita-Patagonia scenic byway

One day road trip (or several)

If you have only a day to explore this area, drive south from the Tucson area of Interstate 10 on either I-19 or Hwy. 83. At Nogales, take the other option back toward Tucson to complete the loop. This post will explore the eastern leg of the loop, from the Sonoita area to Patagonia, and the next post will encompass features on the western half. This loop, with possible stops depending on your interests, for wine in the Sonoita/Elgin area or for shopping in artsy Tubac, makes a full day trip through this scenic area. As rich as the area is in scenery and history, a thorough exploration of the area could conceivably be expanded into several days (or a lifetime). 

Sonoita area

Anyone unfamiliar with the lushness of the Sonoran Desert might have a stereotype of a desert as being all frizzled creosote bushes and dried bones. This day trip (or more, if you wish) through the area south of Tucson will change that stereotype forever. Arizona Hwy. 83 winds through gently rolling, high desert grassy ranch land and wine country near Sonoita and Elgin, and Hwy. 82 continues through scrub oaks and conifers between Sonoita and Patagonia. 

I'll provide more details about the bones of this trip (Sonoita and Patagonia) after a brief diversion to introduce you to some of the biodiversity around Sonoita.

Some Sonoita side trips

A relatively short side trip south of Sonoita continues on Hwy. 83 through conifers and sycamores to Parker Canyon Lake, one of several lakes in the southeast corner of "Baja Arizona."

Parker Canyon Lake

Travelers wishing to see more mountainous regions can take another detour into the Santa Rita Mountains to the northwest of Sonoita (for instance, into Gardner Canyon), but will need a high clearance vehicle to travel beyond the foothills.

Parts of the Arizona Trail in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains

Sonoita/Elgin Wine Country

For most people, the Sonoita/Elgin region means wine country, as there are about a dozen vineyards in the region. Each vineyard offers a wine tasting flight for about $5, less if you bring your own glass. A list of vineyards and a map are available at the Sonoita Mercantile, at the intersection of Highways 83 and 82, and other Sonoita shops. Tasting rooms range in terms of ambience from barn-like to neo-Tuscan villa, and the wines are likewise distinctive. Often visitors will find a vineyard they prefer and return to that one repeatedly; for the novice to the area, the fun is in discovering which you prefer.

If you decide to make an afternoon of exploring vineyards here, you probably will want to bunk down afterwards in one of several local lodging venues. The following description of three options provides you with an idea of the range available and is not necessarily an endorsement. The Sonoita Inn, southeast of the 83/82 intersection, offers a "country lodge" atmosphere and decor. Just south of the Inn, at 92 S. Los Encinos Rd., is the Xanadu Ranch Getaway, which also offers boarding for any horses the traveler might have brought with them. Farther south at 1490 Hwy. 83, Whisper's Ranch Bed and Breakfast provides a relaxing getaway amid a working horse sanctuary. Although it is a bit distant from the wine region, Whsiper's is perfectly situated for those who wish to venture farther south, to, say, perhaps Parker Canyon Lake or the incomparable San Rafael Ranch Natural Area (and State Park), a grass prairie preserve of more than 21,000 rolling acres of grassland. (For the latter, you need to be willing to drive many miles of well-maintained but unpaved roads). The Sonoita area offers many other bed and breakfast/guest ranch options. Be sure to search Sonoita AZ lodging on the internet for the best fit for your needs.

There are only a handful of restaurants in Sonoita, but they offer a variety of fares to fit your tastes and mood. For instance, if a grilled steak at the Steak Out doesn't suit you today, try the hearty Tuscan bean soup at Viaggio Italiano (both at Sonoita on Hwy. 82). As with accommodations, you might want to research on the internet before making a choice.

Tombstone side trip

If you have the time, and especially if this is your first visit to southern Arizona, consider a detour east on Hwy. 82 from Sonoita to Tombstone (on Hwy. 80), site of the notorious Gunfight at the OK Corral. In addition to daily reenactments of the shootout, the town also features seasonal special events, such as the Rendezvous in early September. The well-preserved main drag offers many specialty and memorabilia shops as well as several restaurants.

Patagonia

If you continue following Hwy. 82 south from Sonoita to Patagonia you will enjoy seeing miles of wooded hills and canyons and colorful mountain ranges that give the area its nickname of the Mountain Empire. The area is popular among artists and birding enthusiasts. To the northwest of the hamlet, the Nature Conservancy operates the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (accessible by a dirt road).  To the east and south of Patagonia are many lovely wooded canyons in the Patagonia Mountains (again, dirt roads).

Farther south/southwest on Hwy. 82 is the turn-off for Patagonia Lake, another pleasant southeast Arizona lake that offers swimming, boating, and fishing. If you are a birding fan, the hike along the creek at the east end of the lake offers numerous opportunities to view a wide variety of birds not seen in any other part of the United States.

The Patagonia area has numerous bed and breakfast as well as several eating establishments. As always, research the options online for the ones best suited for you.

The next post will explore the completion of the loop, from Nogales north through Tumacacori, Tubac, San Xavier del Bac, with a side trip to Pena Blanca Lake in the rugged Tumacacori Mountains.

The Frugal Traveler

I have created this blog to share my love of travel and adventure with kindred spirits, people who like to explore new places but don't have much money to do it. I hope to emulate Rick Steves by creating a sort of America Through the Back Door resource for thrifty travelers.

Up front, I have to state that the cheapest way to travel is to camp out, but many of us are not suited to the rigors of camping. Even if I camp, I like the luxury of alternating one night of camping with a night in lodging of some type where I can take a shower and sleep comfortably. Some people swear by recreational vehicles, which certainly save on nightly stays -- that is, unless you factor in the purchase price of the vehicle. I suspect for the average RV user, per-day use costs run into the thousands of dollars, especially with current gas prices.

Most of us who can't actually sleep while camping or can't afford an RV will have to find lodging, arguably the most expensive aspect of travel. The good news is that affordable lodging is out there. All you have to do is follow these two tips: do research and be prepared for a certain amount of inconvenience.

Research
My ex-husband was an unprepared traveler. He would decide to take a trip, load a grocery bag with clothes and his cooler with beer and hit the road. One time we drove to San Diego and somehow wound up in Prescott, Arizona, at the end of the first day. We went to several hotels with no vacancies before we learned that every room in the town was booked for a balloon festival, a convention, and a homecoming. Unpredictable, yes. Unavoidable, no. Even before the internet, there were phones. Ultimately, we wound up driving 60 more miles and staying in a stinky "court" motel in Wickenburg, Arizona, which would not have been my first choice.

The internet has made research ridiculously easy; no one should wind up in a roach motel in the back of beyond. While doing your research, be sure to check out sites with reviews. There is at least one site that blows the whistle on places with bed bugs, a growing problem in the United States, which had virtually eradicated the pests many decades ago.

Inconvenience
Affordable lodging doesn't necessarily mean you might have to suffer inconvenience, but there probably is a reason the place is cheaper than anywhere else. For instance, the cheapest place I could find in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was located on a busy truck bypass. I was able to sleep but had dreams of trains roaring through the room all night. My cabin in West Yellowstone was adjacent to the insomniac owner's workroom. My dirt cheap but lovely flat in Firenze (one floor of a former palazzo) was on a busy street a half block from a nightclub apparently very popular with Florentines. On the other hand, I have paid top dollar for places with an equal amount of inconvenience, so the best you can do is make an informed decision after weighing all the factors.

(Bates Motel photo is in the public domain)

Fall splendor in the Catalinas

As cooler days soften the edge of summer's heat in the Tucson area, the mountains surrounding Tucson have been in full autumn regalia: golden aspens, rusty oaks, and rosy maples. These photos, taken late afternoon October 23 in Bear Wallow Canyon, show the brilliant array of color.

On my return to Tucson that evening, nature outdid herself with another spectacular display of color, this time with one of Tucson's famous sunsets.