The Canyon Loop Trail - Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona

 

Our final day of trail riding at Catalina State Park, we rode the Bridle Trail to the Canyon Loop Trail. I was overjoyed to see so many water crossings - which always make a ride a little more interesting and relaxing. It was an easy ride with some beautiful views. 

Catalina State Park is a definite winner.

A Day off from Riding - Walking the Turquoise Trail in downtown Tucson

 

With my broken foot, I can't ride my horse every day. We bought this cute little mobility scooter off Craigslist so I can tool around and play tourist. I wanted to "walk" the Turquoise Trail. You follow the blue painted line for this walking tour to see all the sites.

This was my favorite stop...

One of the stops on the Turquoise Trail.. El Tiradito - also known as the Wishing Shrine or the "Throwaway". Back in the 1880s, when the Barrio Viejo (Old Neighborhood) was first getting started, there was a ranch hand named Juan Oliveras. Juan fell in love with his wife's mother. (I cringe at this entire idea) Juan's father in law caught them in bed together and stabbed Juan to death.

Because Juan was an adulterer, he was not allowed to be buried in the Catholic cemetery. Instead, his body was thrown away. So, his lover and mother in law started this shrine - the only Catholic shrine in the entire United States dedicated to a sinner and not a saint. His father in law was not charged because he was considered the victim and well within his rights to kill his son-in-law.

About a month later, the father in law was out herding his sheep - after killing his wife's lover - and was set upon by Apaches. The Apaches scalped him and tied him to a Saguaro cactus naked and left him there to die. He was found on the wagon trail entering Tucson, dead and still tied to the cactus.

The mother-in-law - now a widow and without her lover - hung herself in despair. Juan's widow who was pregnant, tied the rope of the property's well around her neck and jumped into the well, snapping her neck.

Well, this story is very Shakespearean, with all the players dead at the end of the story.

The shrine sits near the site where Juan's body is buried. Legend has it that if you light a candle and make a wish, if the candle stays lit from sundown until sunrise, your wish will be granted - as long as you have a forgiving heart.

We didn't have any matches, so we were unable to light a candle and make a wish, but it was also pretty windy, so I am not sure if the candle would have stayed lit - although there was one candle burning when we stopped here to check it out.

Another thing I enjoy about these walking tours is to see and learn about different architectural features. These canales are drain pipes. They drain the water from the flat roof of this century old adobe house and because they extend away from the wall, they keep the water away from the walls and foundation. The canales are decorated. They are lovely and a fabulous invention.

We also saw many murals, but this one is my favorite as it has a lot of Mexican symbols - including the eagle grasping a snake sitting on a cactus. The Mexican eagle grasping a snake in its beak and cactus in its talons portrays an ancient Aztec myth. 

The myth-story tells that the Mexica tribe, originally from Aztlan (mythic place, and why people incorrectly named them “Aztecs”) were looking for the promised land. The supreme god of the Mexica tribe was Huitzilopochtli, and told them to travel south and establish a big city.

In order to know when they reached the promised land their god Huitzilopochtli would signal them by placing an eagle devouring a snake on top of a prickly pear.

According to the myth-story they found the sign on what today is Mexico City, were they founded Tenochtitlan and created the Mexica Empire that lasted till the Spaniards invaded and conquered Mexico.

Each individual element had meaningful elements for the Mexica tribe:

• Eagle: Strength and freedom, also related with the sun, wind and fire. for the mexicas, the eagle was deeply linked to Huitzilopochtli.
• Snake: Knowledge, and sacred animal
• Prickly pear: Symbolizes the world, the universe, and life. A thorny path that we all should take with pain and suffering to reach the flower and fruit of happiness.

Having both the eagle and the snake together symbolizes the Quetzalcoatl god.

Meanwhile the snow storm in Tennessee means that the medical device that is supposed to help my broken bone heal is being held up. This means we will be staying in Tucson and Catalina State Park a little longer. We need to wait for the device to be delivered before we move on.

 

Cataline State Park - Tucson, Arizona

 Heading South before we head east, we are spending the next few days in Catalina State Park in Tucson, Arizona. This campground is a real jewel. Only $20/night (including the stalls for the horses), water is available, but no electricity. There is a vault toilet available as well as a small picnic area with barbeques. The horses have good sized stalls with no covers. There is a dump station close to the park entrance and you can dump your black and gray tanks for free if you are a paid camper.

Sunset in the park

When we first arrived, we parked next to another LQ. They had a loud barking dog, but we figured the dog would settle down once his owners were around. Then, they returned, but hauled out a noisy gas generator. That was that. We moved our LQ to the other end of the lot.

They left the next day, but we decided to stay put where we had moved.

There are a good number of corrals for the horses. Four of the premium corrals have covers and mangers. It is first come, first served and we are not quick enough to grab one of the coveted spaces for our horses.

It is a good-sized parking area with plenty of room to turn around.

Getting our horses ready to take them out on the trails.

We decided to try to ride a loop - starting with the 50-Year Trail to the Link Trail to the Bridle Trail.

The 50-Year Trail is a climb of about 1,000 feet, but the horses managed with no problems and the views were outstanding.

Our problems started when we got to the Link Trail. This trail was more rocky and less well marked. We got to a section of the trail where you go down a steep incline and it is really rocky. The only way to do it is to dismount and walk down. But, I have a broken bone in my foot and we were concerned that if I did that, I had a high likelihood of twisting my ankle and getting another injury. So, we backtracked looking for another way to access the Bridle Trail.

We went down the same dead end two times - using two different trails. There was a constant trying different trails, only to hit dead ends or looping back to where we had started. The 50 Year Trail was starting to earn it's name.

We finally got down to the Ringtail Loop campground. Once there, the campers were able to point us to the entrance of the Bridle Trail and we were able to get back to camp. We had started our ride at 1:30 and arrived back at camp a little past 5 pm. We were both cranky and tired, but we survived it and no injuries.

There is a Walmart across the street from the park, a Safeway a couple of miles away, lots of restaurants in the area. Major streets to get in and out. Great location. We are really happy at this campground.