January 29, 2010
January 29, 2010
The weather in Tucson has been unseasonably cool and wet, one of the wettest Januarys on record. We even have water flowing in the normally dry washes. All the result of a month long total of a mere two inches.
Well today it is back to warm and sunny so Aimee and I decide to get the hiking boots out and explore. We have been on a quest to visit the entire National Park System, all 391 national parks, monuments and historic sites. We are making good progress and I thought Arizona was checked off. Unbeknownst to me this list didn’t include those managed by other government agencies. Turns out there are three BLM national monuments in our backyard.
So today we are driving to the closest, Ironwood Forest National Monument. It is not going to be an easy visit though. The Bureau of Land Management doesn’t have the budget the NPS has. This monument has no Visitor Center and there is precious little to be found on the Internet. I am hoping that there will be a few roadside interpretative signs and trailhead markers. I am disappointed. There is nothing but a single entrance sign along the entire dirt road through the monument. Despite the lack of information we have a very pleasant drive through a virtual jungle in the Sonoran Desert. This place is thick with tall saguaro cacti. We are thinking this ought to be Saguaro National Park or at least an extension of it. Instead it is dedicated to the Ironwood Tree. This slow-growing long-lived tree only grows in this region and has some of the hardest densest wood. Unfortunately without signs, we are not sure which of the trees here are Ironwoods. On the way out of the monument, we stop along side the road, get out the boots and hike along what could be a trail. It doesn’t lead anywhere but the walk is pretty and takes us nearer the jagged isolated mountain that is in the center of the park.
The weather in Tucson has been unseasonably cool and wet, one of the wettest Januarys on record. We even have water flowing in the normally dry washes. All the result of a month long total of a mere two inches.
Well today it is back to warm and sunny so Aimee and I decide to get the hiking boots out and explore. We have been on a quest to visit the entire National Park System, all 391 national parks, monuments and historic sites. We are making good progress and I thought Arizona was checked off. Unbeknownst to me this list didn’t include those managed by other government agencies. Turns out there are three BLM national monuments in our backyard.
So today we are driving to the closest, Ironwood Forest National Monument. It is not going to be an easy visit though. The Bureau of Land Management doesn’t have the budget the NPS has. This monument has no Visitor Center and there is precious little to be found on the Internet. I am hoping that there will be a few roadside interpretative signs and trailhead markers. I am disappointed. There is nothing but a single entrance sign along the entire dirt road through the monument. Despite the lack of information we have a very pleasant drive through a virtual jungle in the Sonoran Desert. This place is thick with tall saguaro cacti. We are thinking this ought to be Saguaro National Park or at least an extension of it. Instead it is dedicated to the Ironwood Tree. This slow-growing long-lived tree only grows in this region and has some of the hardest densest wood. Unfortunately without signs, we are not sure which of the trees here are Ironwoods. On the way out of the monument, we stop along side the road, get out the boots and hike along what could be a trail. It doesn’t lead anywhere but the walk is pretty and takes us nearer the jagged isolated mountain that is in the center of the park.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 2:48 PM
1 Comments:
Hi--
Just a note to say I am still enjoying your posts and pictures. What great memories you are making together!
Still a member of the 9 to 5 team - maybe in a year or so, I can join you guys in the ranks of the retired--
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