A few weeks back, I took a trip down to southern Arizona with my wife. The goal of this trip was to visit Sycamore Canyon in the Pajarita Wilderness. To cut the drive in half, we started by driving down to Tucson on Friday night, camping at Catalina State Park just outside of town.
Catalina was a wonderful refuge. I went to college in Tucson, but despite that I never visited the park, preferring the fee-free areas on the south side of the mountains. So it was nice to finally get a look around the park. Shortly after waking, we took a short hike on the Romero Ruins trail.
After breakfast in Tucson, we hit the road for Nogales and the border. Sycamore Canyon is a special place for me, as it was the second overnight, solo hike I ever took, way back in the late 90s when I first got into backpacking and the outdoors. I revisited the canyon several times during my college years, and I have a lot of affection for it. So I wanted to share the experience with my wife.
Sycamore Canyon is nearly a perfect date hike. Its easy, with no real elevation change, and incredibly pretty, with rock formations, slot narrows, waterfalls and green vegetation. The drive in from Nogales takes you over hills with great views off in all directions. The start of the hike passes by historical ruins from Arizona's frontier days. It's an all-around great place to hike.
On the way back from the border, we decided to stop off at Tumacacori National Historic Park. I knew, vaguely, that this was a historical building from Arizona's early days, but my knowledge didn't go deeper than that. It was a revelation to discover the place pre-dated the founding of the country. We explored the park, as well as swinging over to Tubac right before it closed, rounding out the trip in great fashion.
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