As our last, full-on camping destination, we camped at Catalina State Park, a little bit north and east of downtown Tucson in Oro Valley.  This is a fabulous campground, on the foothills of the 9,000+ foot Santa Catalina Mountains (altitude at the campsite is about 2,600 feet), with tons of hiking and biking trails available, right from your campsite.

The hiking trails are abundant, and all with spectacular views.  There are many older saguaros and other cactus along the trails, and with clear blue skies the mountains are regal.

We camped in the B loop, which sites have electric and water.  During our stay we saw javalinas and deer.  I won’t lie – I believe javalinas are the ugliest creatures on earth, although the images here are unclear.  They make possum look like cuddly bears.  With very high fire danger, there are no outside wood fires, although you can use a charcoal grill.  Here are a few photos taken from our campsite.

I made a couple of hikes on several of the 42 miles of hiking trails within and around the park.  One hike, from the campground, took me through a canyon where I came upon Rancho de los Cerros (Ranch of the Hills), which it turns out is a venue for weddings, corporate events and other activities that are improved mixing lovers, friends or coworkers with dirt, dust and horses.  Pretty cool, but on my hike, it sure seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere.  I guess that is exactly the idea.

The area suffered a major fire (Bighorn Fire) in 2020, and you can see the residual marks and damage that was done at the time.  During a storm, lighting started the Bighorn Fire, which burned for six weeks and consumed over 119,000 acres – making it one of the ten worst fires in Arizona history.  It is amazing how trees, cactus, grasses, and other life forms in the fire area have rebounded over the few years since.

We also went biking, which is really nice here as there is a huge bike trail available easily right from the campground – sorry, no photos.  But this trail, if one were to continue, goes for miles – a trail we used previously that is an enormous asset for Tucson residents and visitors.

Another hike was up the Romero Trail, which for me was about a 6+ mile hike with elevation gains of about 900 feet, and a good bit of it rockhounding.  People say I am as graceful as a mountain goat.  Said no one ever.  A more apt image would be me crawling over the rocks while buzzards fly overhead, waiting for me to perform my final pirouette.

Another distinguishing event associated with this campsite is that I left Karen to a little “me” time, while I went off galavanting to Reno to ski with friends at Heavenly, which I may report on separately.  While some things are better left to the imagination, we had a blast – many stories, laughs, and lies.

From here we head east and eventually north, back to New Hampshire where the weather will be what the weather will be in February.

What a great trip.  Until next time!