last weeks in tucson

My final three weeks in Tucson flew by with a bunch of "lasts."  I went for my last hike from there on May 11, heading a bit Northwest for the Tortolita Mountains.  I started out by driving through the gate of the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain Resort.  The friendly guard at the gate told me exactly where to park to find the trailhead, and offered me both a large and pocket sized map of the area.  From the trailhead, I took the Wild Burro Trail and ended up making a big loop (approximately 10 miles).  I had a lot of chances to listen to one thing I will truly miss from my time in Tucson - the sound of wind rushing through the spines of a saguaro cactus.  It's inimitable.  I can't even describe it, but I can say that it's soothing, a very peaceful sound.

cloud shadows and wind were respite from heat and bugs, respectively

old ranch building

this portion of wild burro canyon had an awesome echo

remains of a "line shack"

That week, I expected to spend my birthday at home by myself, working on my project.  Instead, in the afternoon I got a text message asking if I was free for dinner, and I ended up getting taken out to dinner by a group of friends from Tucson Chinese Baptist Church.  We had Mexican food at El Guero Canelo (apparently, there's a song about it...) and later went out for some amazing gelato at Allegro.  They had flavors like Pink Grapefruit with Black Pepper, Pineapple Basil, Spicy Chocolate, and Cucumber.

happy post-gelato faces

On Saturday, I took a midday run - that was crazy, it was so hot!  That evening, I searched online for the best places to check out the sunset from Tucson and ended up taking a short trek south to the San Xavier Mission.  I was a little late for the actual sunset, but it was beautiful anyway and therefore worth it.

Sunday I had my second tennis experience in Tucson, and am proud to report that I was able to return more than half the balls hit my direction not only over the net but in the court!

Friday night was the full moon, and it was beautiful!

Saturday I went out to my "farewell" lunch with an even bigger group from church, since the three girls in the group photo above were leaving for a vacation trip to the east coast.  I had to work on Sunday, but got off early enough that I took a drive up Mount Lemmon (recommended since day one by my landlady Jamie) where temperatures were cooler and the view was gorgeous.  Mount Lemmon is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains at 9157 feet.

one of two deer at the molino canyon vista

view from the top

crazy spider webs on the aspen trees at one point near the top

cool rock formations

Monday night I went to Meet Me at Maynard's for my last downtown run/walk, enjoying the fun and funky architecture as well as earning my free t-shirt.

two sides of a structure in downtown

The remaining few days will be covered in one last Arizona blog post...