Left to right, Sandra Sowell, Jeanne Reale, Don Colen, Maureen Spence, Al Bolty, Kathryn Madore, Rita Bolty, Dee Neeley, Rosanne Beraznik, Phil McNamee, Mary Hanley, Roland Horst, Walt Shields, Ed Kammermayer, Bernie Nagy, Elaine Ellingham, Gretchen Downey and Jeanine Stoors; not pictured: Michael Reale
Michael Reale
On Ground Hog Day, Michael Reale and Walt Shields led 17 SaddleBrooke hikers on a search for Punxsutawney Phil along the David Yetman Trail in Saguaro Park West. Although we weren’t successful in locating the furry critter (it might have had something to do with being in the wrong state), we agreed that he would see his shadow. The day was glorious, starting out in the upper 50s and rising to the low 70s. If Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of this type of winter is correct, we’ll gladly accept it.
The David Yetman trailhead is located at the bottom of Gates Pass and the trail is a lovely hike in the Tucson Mountains which offers a wonderful sampling of the Sonoran Desert flora. There are stately saguaro marching uphill, lots of Palo Verde trees, groves of Teddy Bear cholla and jumping cholla. There are magnificent views of the Rincon Mountains to the east and the Santa Rita mountains to the south. You can see Rincon Peak and Mt. Wrightson towering above them.
After about five miles into our hike, we stopped for lunch at the remains of the Bowen House, built by Sherry Bowen in the early 1930s. He had moved to Tucson from Illinois because he felt the climate would help heal his wife’s health. He became city editor of the Arizona Daily Star and eventually moved with his wife to New York City, where he worked for the Associated Press. Apparently the Tucson climate was effective in helping his wife.
After lunch we continued for about another mile to the Camino de Oeste trailhead where we shuttled back to retrieve our cars. All in all, another wonderful day of hiking in Tucson.