Sabino Canyon is located at the foot of the Catalina Mountains. It is minutes from the central city area. One minute you're in downtown Tucson and 15 minutes later, you're in a wilderness area.
We decided to take the tram up the 3.8 miles to the top of the Sabino Canyon Trail. We sat in an open air tram, under the shade cover, while we made our way up the canyon with our driver narrating the trip.
The saguaros were blooming and the white flowers looked like crowns on the heads of many of the cactus.
The canyon is a perfect environment for the saguaro cactus - below 3500 feet in elevation, abundant summer rains, frost-free, and plenty of southern slopes. The hillsides are covered with saguaros and it's quite a sight.
Because we had good rains this past winter, the water in the creek was running throughout the canyon. The trail crosses several bridges and we heard the glorious sound of rushing water - precious water, the lifeblood of the desert.
Peggy kept looking for the perfect Palo Verde tree in bloom. The trees are golden for a only about two weeks so you've got to be ready to capture them on film. But they're worth it!
When we got to the end of the trail, we unloaded and began walking down the canyon trail, all 3.8 miles of it, but you get a much better feel for the canyon environment on foot. Thank goodness it was downhill because the morning was warming up.
The canyon is a favorite place for walkers and joggers to get their morning exercise and we met lots of folks on their way up and down the trail.
Water is especially appreciated!
After we got down the traill, we stopped in at the visitor's center and watched a DVD on the history, plants and animals of Sabino Canyon. It felt good to just sit in a cool place and learn more about the area.
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