The Brittlebush has lined the Pontatoc Canyon Trail with yellow flowers filling the gaps between all the other flowers – it has been fun this year to make enough visits to the lower part of the trail to see the wildflower season start/grow/explode along the trail!
The rain is making streaks across my photos – I am half way up a small side canyon finishing a too-short loop in Buehman Canyon. Often I would welcome the weather – but today, parked on a dirt road I barely know and in a section of canyon I have never visited before, an early exit due to the weather seems like a smart decision and, reluctantly, I continue upwards.
Rather than the the traditional entrance to Buehman Canyon I started on Brush Corral Road – FR4407 – near Pink Tank. From here there are beautiful views of the Evans Mountain area – it is an easy walk to the edge of Buehman Canyon and stunning views of the canyon below.
The descent down a small drainage into the canyon is steep and unremarkable – but the bottom of the canyon is amazing! Interesting rock walls, carved water ways, flowing water, gorgeous colors – the first drops of rain signal an end too my visit much too quickly…
Pima County owns and protects much of the bottom of the canyon east of the forest boundary – the land was donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1996 and in 2011 was transferred to Pima County (who owns the nearby A7 and Six Bar ranches). In the last few miles down to the San Pedro River the canyon becomes a mix of Arizona State Trust Land and private land.
Buehman Canyon is named for Henry Buehman. Henry Buehman was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1851 and before setting off for the US in 1868 he spent 3 years as a photographer’s apprentice. After a short stay in New York Buehman traveled to California where he worked as a photographer for 4 years before selling his business in Visalia to fund mining ventures in Califonia, Utah and Nevada.
After becoming an American citizen Buehman crossed into in Arizona at Stone’s Ferry and equipped himself for a trip into Mexico in Prescott – but in Tucson he ended his journey and soon began working as a photoghaper and dentist.
Buehman made potraits, photographed events and traveled Southern Arizona creating photographs. His studio and photographic business were successful and he purchased 150 acres west of Redington and established a ranch. He lost the ranch after droughts in 1895 and 1896.
In addition to photography Buehman held a number of offices in Pima County and Tucson beginning in 1882 when he was elected as Public Administrator of Pima County and culminating with two consecutive terms as Mayor from 1895 to 1899.
Henry Buehman died in 1912 – but Buehman Studio continued to be run by Henry’s son Albert and grandson Remick. The studio closed in 1950 and in 1967 the Arizona Historical Society purchased the collection. The photos are available for the public to view thru the Arizona Historical Society and are featured in The Buehman Studio, Tucson in Focus.
The picture is unremarkable – rolling hills stretching towards the east side of the Santa Catalina Mountains on an overcast day – the remarkable thing is not the picture, but when and where it was taken… On a Friday in Oracle State Park!
Oracle State Park was, sadly, closed in 2009 due to budget cuts. It was re-opened in 2012 on weekends and this March finally re-opened full-time to the public.
I am very glad that the park is now open on weekdays – the north and east side of the Santa Catalina Mountians can be surprisingly different from the more often visited south and west sides and Oracle State Park’s compact network of trails is one of the easiest ways to visit this landscape!
Oracle State Park is now open 7 days a week!!!! Closed in 2009, re-opened to the public on weekends in 2012 and now open 7 days a week! Oracle State Park reopens to the Public 7 Days a Week! | Oracle State Park – Arizona State Parks, Oracle State Park north of Tucson will again be open daily – Arizona Daily Star.
Get a look at Tucson’s bighorn sheep through spotting scopes – Arizona Daily Star: This upcoming event is being hosted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Santa Catalina Bighorn Sheep Advisory Committee. The event is “a celebration of the completion of the initial phase of a bighorn reintroduction project in the Catalina Mountains” and will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa, 245 E. Ina Road – there is no fee and there will be exhibits, talks and spotting scopes!
I have made a number of visits to the Linda Vista Trails over the years and have always enjoyed it – great views of Pusch Ridge and amazing desert close to town. Certainly so close to town you won’t completely escape city views and noise – but still beautiful! So it was no surprise to see a positive article by Doug Kreutz about Linda Vista – but it was a surprise to read a short letter to the editor a few days later with concerns that the trails are suffering because a “commercial horseback riding enterprise now using Linda Vista as its own private trail system” – something to think about… Linda Vista Trail’s various adventures attract amazing array of users – Arizona Daily Star, Letter: Linda Vista Trail suffers | Letters to the Editor | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star
Dark side of U.S. history that built Catalina Highway | Arizona Sonora News Service – Arizona Sonora News: An article about the Prison Camp – now called the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site – on the General Hitchcock Highway that provided labor for the construction of the highway. The article highlights the terrible treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII – 46 Japanese Americans were held at this Prison. The article does not contain details about the history of the Prison before and after WWII – the National Park System and the Densho Encyclopedia both have interesting additional information.
Highway closures – the first link has several pictures that give a good idea of the kind of rock/mud slides that can happen in wet weather: Catalina Highway ‘open but restricted’ after rock slide – Tucson News Now, UPDATE: Rock slides cleared from road to Mt. Lemmon – Tucson News Now, PCSD: Mt. Lemmon open with vehicle restrictions – Tucson News Now
Activity Lists: Outdoor activities March 2-10 | Things to Do in Tucson | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star, Outdoors Feb. 23-March 3 | Things to Do in Tucson | tucson.com – Arizona Daily Star
Wild flowers and water! Where to see Arizona wildflowers – , Snowmelt turns Sabino Creek into a fast-flowing spectacle – Arizona Daily Star, Wildflowers, greenery shout spring at Catalina Park – Arizona Daily Star
Rescues/Accidents/Incidents including information from the SARCI Newsletter:
I am constantly amazed how much there is to see on the Linda Vista Trails – it is easy to focus on the noise and proximity to town, but if nothing else the views make the Linda Vista Trailhead a worthy destination…
