Heavy rains occurred during the night and temperatures were several degrees lower this morning, under grey skies. These cleared for the morning walk for Lynda and me and the cycle ride (a longer one beside the river) for the Daves.
We drove to Catalina State Park and, due to the unseasonal rain last night, avoided the trails which would have meant wading across the watercourses. We took the Nature Trail instead and enjoyed the new information plaques about the flora, fauna and geology as well as the scenery.
On the micro scale, there were some lovely, brightly coloured flowers, very distinctive today.
This afternoon we drove to the Sabino Canyon and took a tram tour along the bottom. A narrow road, along with nine bridges, was built during the Great Depression to provide work for the unemployed.
Our vehicle had to splash over several bridges as Sabino Creek was swollen. The driver, Cindy, gave a great narration about the history, geology, flora and fauna of the area, and the cost of the ticket ($10) was well worth it, even though rain fell for the duration of the return journey.
In 1887 an earthquake centred in Mexico dislodged some massive boulders of gneiss on the sheer canyon sides, which came to rest at the bottom and make an added interest today.
Thimble Peak is an appropriate name for this landform.
We drove to Catalina State Park and, due to the unseasonal rain last night, avoided the trails which would have meant wading across the watercourses. We took the Nature Trail instead and enjoyed the new information plaques about the flora, fauna and geology as well as the scenery.
In fact, the areas close to the watercourses, termed riparian, have a much greater variety of plants than the higher areas. Today, there seemed to a lot of "green" after the rains of the last few days.
The higher slopes showed several gleaming streams which we haven't seen before.
This afternoon we drove to the Sabino Canyon and took a tram tour along the bottom. A narrow road, along with nine bridges, was built during the Great Depression to provide work for the unemployed.
Our vehicle had to splash over several bridges as Sabino Creek was swollen. The driver, Cindy, gave a great narration about the history, geology, flora and fauna of the area, and the cost of the ticket ($10) was well worth it, even though rain fell for the duration of the return journey.
Thimble Peak is an appropriate name for this landform.
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