Larry, Sandy and Kathleen prepared an excellent Thanksgiving meal including the normal items such as a smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, cranberries, monkey bread, salad and several kinds of pies.
Several
days of sitting around eating was making us antsy, so eventually
the urge to "do something" took over. We decided to drive
to the Oracle State Park to see what was there.
The photos below are what we saw.
Voila!
A home made cherry pie with tart cherry filling. Sandy did
a great job with both the crust and the filling.
This was
a "small" dinner with only 7 bodies present. Sandy's son
Eddie, his wife Julie and child Ellie were the other attendees.
After an
hour of dishwashing, the kitchen was sufficiently cleared to be
able to see the counters again. Above, Kathleen packages
the leftovers.
A
post-turkey food coma enforced by near continuous commercials on
the TV.
Several
days later, the group decided to head to Oracle State Park north
of Tucson to see what is there. Oracle sits on the north
slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains and "back in the day" was
the source of significant mineral wealth from the Magma Copper
Company. Magma was closed a number of year back and the
smelter in the San Pedro River Valley was sold and moved to
another mine in South America. The mine site is hidden
below the crest of the hills in the photo above. In the
distance the Galiuros Mountains are visible.
En-route
to the visitor center at the park we saw these two hawks resting
on a power pole.
The
plants in the park are native species. Above is a
so-called Century Plant (a type of agave) that blooms once and
then the plant dies. The seed pods are on the top of the
plant.
The
finest in hillbilly technology.
In the
brush I spotted a small hummingbird. Only it's silhouette
was visible against the clear western sky.
The
visitor's center is this one room administration building that
doubles as a gift shop.
The
Oracle State Park is a 4000 acre wildlife refuge that has 15
miles of hiking trails. The property was once the Kannally
Ranch back in 1902. In 1976, the last remaining Kannally
donated the land to the State Parks Board with the stipulation
that it become a wildlife refuge. Oracle State Park was
the result. Above, there were plenty of other visitors
here to enjoy the trails.
The
hills were rather lush due to a combination of altitude and
rains.
The
rolling hills of the northern flanks of the Santa Catalina
Mountains are pretty good grazing land.
Several
kinds of cactus put out tall flowering stalks.
In
addition to cactus there were scrub oak trees.
This
cholla hosted a substantial bird's nest. The thorns of the
cholla prevent the nest from predators.
This
long-dead cholla was slowly being taken over by the grasses.
There
were many nice seed stalks on the cactus.
The
harsh desert climate supports both life and death as vibrant
plants live alongside dead ones.
The San
Pedro River is in the valley beyond the hills in the foreground
of the photo above.
Apache
Peak on Oracle Ridge looms large on the distant horizon.
The farthest ridges are in the main Santa Catalina range.
The
hillbilly transformation is in progress. Only 2 front
tooth extractions remain to be completed.
This
dead mesquite tree still serves the local ecosystem by providing
roosting areas for local birds. And great firewood to
grill your steaks.
A spider
nest spotted in the low brush near the trail.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.