Hiker Chicks Wassons Peak 

The Hiker Chicks bagged a peak!  Wasson Peak, in the Tucson Mountains was our destination.  It was a beautiful spring day and we covered the 8 miles and 1716' climb in just a couple of hours.  We saw quite a few mine openings, and the beginnings of some wildflowers.  The view across valleys all the way around was stunning.

Hiker Chicks Sutherland Trail 

Seven hiker chicks met on a beautiful morning, at Catalina State Park. We were rewarded with lots of colorful wildflowers, birds, other friendly hikers and a good workout!

Hiker Chicks Blacketts Ridge Sabino Canyon

The Hiker Chicks took one of the most famous Level 4 hikes - to the top of Blackett's Ridge in Sabino Canyon.   It was a 1700' climb (135 stories high).  Two of us accomplished this hike for the first time.  Three others were first-time Hiker Chicks.  It was a perfect day.

Hiker Chicks Petroglyphs and Cactus Wren 

Twelve Hiker Chicks met at Saguaro National Park West to hike to the Signal Hill Petroglyphs and hike the Cactus Wren Loop.

Most southwestern rock art pre-dates modern written history and had its origins hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago, created by the people of this region.  Most of the rock art found in Saguaro National Park was created by the prehistoric Hohokam and is in the form of petroglyphs.  These are created by etching, pecking or scraping designs into the dark patina found on the surface of sandstone and other rocks.  Both representational and abstract designs can be seen in Hohokam petroglyphs.  Representational images are often animals, humans and astrological objects.  Abstract designs take many forms, including spirals and squiggly lines.

We do not know what these petroglyphs mean.  They could have religious or ceremonial significance.  They may be solstice markers, clan symbols, decorative motifs, or simply ancient graffiti. Environmental conditions and visitors take their toll on the rock art.  Fortunately, Saguaro National Park has an active program to monitor the condition of this and other cultural resource sites.

Hiker Chicks Lower Javelina Hike 

Six hardy hikers completed a 4 mile hike at Dove Mtn in Marana. Starting by the Ritz Carlton Resort, our hike lead us through the Tortolita Mtns. Starting on the Wild Burro trail we walked through a wash which  lead to the Lower Javelina Trail. The Lower Javelina Trail is a rugged trail with 360' feet of elevation change which provided a good workout for the group. On the Lower Javelina Trail there were beautiful views to the southwest of the resort and the 2,400 acre Tortolita Preserve. 

Hiker Chicks Douglas Springs to Bridal Fall 

Bridal Veils Falls was the destination for the Hiker Chicks on.  We took the Douglas Springs Trail through Saguaro National Forest (East) and ate lunch in the grotto of the waterfall.  Since it's been so dry, there were only a few drops of water coming through.  We enjoyed the pleasant weather and views across the Tucson Valley to 4 mountain ranges.  Did you know the way to remember them all?      Think CRISTT :

C - Catalina Mountains 

RI - Rincon Mountains 

S - Santa Rita Mountains 

T  - Tucson Mountains 

T - Tortolita Mountains 

Hiker Chicks Phoneline/Sabino Creek Hike 

It was another lovely day in Tucson for a hike at Sabino Canyon. Led by our leaders, we walked from the Visitors’ Center to the tram road toward Bear Canyon, and caught the Phoneline trailhead. We hiked up the Phoneline trail, past Blackett’s Ridge trailhead. Continuing a short way on the Phoneline trail, we then took the Phoneline cut-off on the left of the trail. This trail has a handful of switchbacks, and is reputed to be a favorite hangout for mountain lions. Rather than head toward the Sabino tram road, we took the trail to the left, which took us past the currently dry Sabino Dam and Creek. We then headed back to the visitors’ center to complete our sweet 4.3 mile hike.

Hiker Chicks on Catalina Loop

Things really warmed up today on our hike up the Canyon Loop, at Catalina State Park. Our group of 8 managed to do the hike and take in some beautiful scenery (and take a pic or 10). Thank you to our leader for the great hike!

Hiker Chicks on Linda Vista Loop 

Hiker Chicks had a great time traversing the 2.5 mile Linda Vista Loop Trail. Rocky terrain made for an interesting “watch your footing” type of hike. The mild climb and easy pace created a pleasant level 2 hike enjoyed by the group of 14. The popular trail, with awesome views of Oro Valley and the Pusch Ridge rock formations, called for several stops to take in the views! It was a perfect day for the perfect hike!

Hiker Chicks in Sabino Canyon 

Eight Hiker Chicks enjoyed a leisurely loop hike in  always beautiful Sabino Canyon on the Esperero/Rattlesnake trail on a perfect Southern Arizona Fall day. Our leader pointed out the best places for views and pictures and for a quick snack before walking back to the Visitor's Center.

Hiker Chicks in Honey Bee Canyon Hike 

Hiker Chicks in Catalina State Park 

Eight Hiker Chicks mastered the Catalina Canyon Loop hike.  Beautiful views of the mountains had us stopping to take pictures while enjoying the camaraderie that comes from hiking together. Our leader carefully pointed out the trail markers we needed to be aware of, to stay on the correct course and hike easily to the end. It was a scenic hike enjoyed by all!

Luncheon Tanque Verde Ranch
Over 100 people, many dressed in their Western best, enjoyed socializing and eating a tasty buffet luncheon at Tanque Verde Ranch.  Glenda Bonin, a nationally known storyteller, presented the early life story of Dusty Vail as a young girl growing up in the early 1900s on one of the largest cattle ranches in West, Empire Ranch. 

Museum Tour Mission Garden

We had a nice, big group attend the Museum Tour at Mission Garden. The weather was perfect and our docent was incredibly knowledgeable about all the different types of native plants and the origin of the non-native plants. The garden has been cultivated for 4000 years and is just amazing. They have all kinds of interesting festivals and special events coming up so please check out the website  http://www.tucsonsbirthplace.org/ and try to attend one or all!

Soon we are heading south for a tour of the Mission San Xavier del Bac. This should be another fantastic, historical tour of one of our area's most beautiful missions.

Next tour will be The Museum of the Horse Soldier and after that is the 390th Squadron Memorial inside the grounds of the Pima Air & Space Museum. 

Museum Tour  UA Pharmacy Museum

We toured the U of A Pharmacy Museum. What a fascinating afternoon! Our docent, the museum curator, regaled is with fabulous stories about the development of the modern pharmacy from its origins in partly mystical apothecary. The display of artistic hand blown glass bottles to outrageous advertising was really fun. While we were there the local PBS station was filming our docent in action so if you watch PBS you might see and hear some of us too!  This is another treasure and we encourage everyone to visit this museum.

Museum Tour Biosphere 2

We had a private tour of the facility and it was absolutely fascinating!  There are so many scientific achievements and continuing experiments taking place and it was really fun to learn about them!

Meet Me Sabino Canyon Geology Tour

Newcomer members, spouses and guests walked about 2 miles in the lower Sabino Canyon and learned about the area geology and plant life. This walk/talk was planned and put on by the Sabino Volunteer Naturalists  If you want to hear an interesting story, find a member who attended and ask them about 'fox on a rock'!!! One additional tool you might consider adding to your backpack for desert hiking is Nair.  According to the naturalist who led the tour, it can be useful for dissolving cactus needles that at too small to tweeze, if it is applied promptly. If you missed the event, don't despair. There are several upcoming geology events offered to the public in the park each week.  You can find them on the Sabino Canyon Calendar on their website.

Museum Tour  Sonoran Desert Museum

We had an amazing visit to the Sonoran Desert Museum in December.  It was chilly but our docent was so knowledgeable, we hardly noticed.  We learned about all the different types of plants in the different areas of our desert and saw some regal and amazing animals.  We got to put jojoba (pronounced ho-ho-ba) oil ( but really it's a wax) on our hands and learned it takes four male jojoba plants to fertilize one female jojoba.  We totally enjoyed the raptor free flight show and had to duck a couple of times as Harris Hawks came within inches of our heads!

Luncheon Tanque Verde Ranch 

We enjoyed a wonderful buffet lunch at Tanque Verde Ranch and a very interesting speaker, H Allen Day.  He recounted many great memories of growing up on the 200,000 acre Flying J Ranch and the time he spent taming a herd of Mustangs in South Dakota.  Additionally many Newcomers dressed in western wear to enhance the western theme of dining at Tanque Verde Ranch.  After lunch, several members took time to pet the horses in the corral. 

Luncheon Silent Auction

Through amazing teamwork, the auction committee pulled together over 100 items to tempt club members.  Our generous members purchased items

generating over $4600 for the local charity that we support.  Everyone had a great time supporting a great cause.

MEET ME - Gaslight Theater, Phantom of the Opera on 

A group went to the Gaslight Theater for their super-fun version of Phantom of the Opera.  We all laughed so hard we almost cried.   Even the cast was having so much fun they had trouble keeping a straight face on stage.  It was so great!