MADERA CANYON, TUBAC, AND BY GOLLY WE FINALLY CROSSED PATHS WITH.........

A big old cloud cover rolled in overnight and held down the day's warmer air making it not as cold as the previous night.  Looks like a couple days of cold rain headed our way beginning Monday.  Not looking forward to all the mud in the rig that could entail.

OUR DAY STARTED OFF WITH A CLOUDY SUNRISE

ONE OF OUR DESTINATIONS TODAY WAS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS

With peanut butter sandwiches on board we had the Jeep rolling early again as we slipped out of Las Cienegas to highway 83 and turned right.  Couple miles up the road we turned left at a sign pointing to Madera Canyon some 17 miles distant to the west.  Paved road for awhile which eventually turned to a hard packed dusty dirt road.  What an absolutely great scenic drive this is as it twists and winds it's way through the northern foot hills of the Santa Rita Mountains but if your a bit squeamish about heights and road drop-offs you might just want to skip this road or momentarily close your eyes in a few spots.  We followed the road until it reached Madera Canyon Road which is paved and hung a left up into the Canyon.

A VERY SCENIC DRIVE THROUGH THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SANTA RITAS

DURING THE SUMMER MONSOON RAINS THAT IS A WATERFALL AHEAD

Madera Canyon is probably best known for it's bird watching.  Just follow the pavement all the way into the canyon and enjoy all the trees on either side.  Don't miss the quaint lodges and cabins along the way.  At the end the road loops around and retraces it's steps back out of the canyon.  We had heard fellow RV'ers talk about Madera Canyon so now we've finally been there ourselves.

MADERA CANYON STRAIGHT AHEAD

WE THINK THAT IS THE WHIPPLE OBSERVATORY UP THERE

)

THE CHUPAROSA BED & BREAKFAST

THIS IS THE BOG CAMPGROUND WHICH IS NOT REALLY BIG RIG FRIENDLY BUT THIS FELLOW KIND OF WEDGED HIMSELF IN SOMEHOW

IT'S A NICE CAMPGROUND FOR TENTERS

We followed Madera Canyon Road west to the outskirts of a city called Continental then picked up I-19 heading south towards Nogales. 

HEADING SOUTH ON I-19

A BIG BORDER PATROL CHECK-POINT IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES

Along the way we spotted a very colorful looking little community on the east side of I-19 called Tubac and wheeled ourselves right off the Interstate and right into the town.  Well what a little treasure this place was to look at with all it's colorful artsy galleries and unique shops.  Loved the great southwest architecture and for anyone with a camera looking for vibrant shapes and colors it a great place to just go ahead and snap away.  Tubac is high end and obviously geared to the well heeled from Tucson's elite.  Not our kind of place to browse around but we did enjoy seeing all the manufactured beauty and we did grab us a couple coffees.

It's a Yuppy kind of place and I'm sure in the closed garages we saw in the community there were Beamers, Tahoes, Explorers, Cadillacs and Mercedes Benz's.  Nice place to visit but we wouldn't be comfortable living here.

I'VE ONLY INCLUDED A FEW PHOTOS OF TUBAC AND WILL INCLUDE MORE SHORTLY

ENTRANCE WAY TO TUBAC'S LIVING COMMUNITY

Back on I-19 we continued south towards Nogales but about 10 miles north of that border city we hauled ourselves off the Interstate again and picked up a paved short cut road leading around the east side of Nogales to highway 82.  We never did see Nogales nor did we want to.  We were there one time 10 years ago and we didn't need to go there again.

WE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY MILEAGES ARE MARKED IN KILOMETERS

Turning east on highway 82 we soon passed the entrance for Patagonia State Park and Patagonia Lake .  I remembered it as a beautiful place we had once overnighted at years ago.  It's a 'birders' paradise but today it was a different kind of a bird we were on a mission to find.  It was an elusive RVing Blogger Boondocker we were on the trail of.

For the second day in a row we rolled into the artsy laid back little whistle stop of Patagonia but this time we didn't stop to have us a look around.  Coming into Patagonia from the southern end we slipped off highway 82 and rolled right through town along main street and right out the other end where a curve to the right put us onto Harshaw Road.  We had some directions in hand that may have confused us a few miles in but luckily coming the other way was a dark blue GMC pick-up truck.  The driver waved and we instantly knew who it was.  Our quarry had been found.

FOLLOWING A DARK COLORED GMC PICK-UP TRUCK AND DRIVER TO A CAMPSITE

First time we ever met Ivan was way back in our ranch sitting days about 7 years ago just outside of McNeal Arizona.  Ivan had stumbled across my blog somewhere and made it a point to look us up at the ranch just a mile from The Whitewater Draw.  Our trails have crossed most every season since then with the exception of last year.  This year we had already just missed him first on Ogilby Road west of Yuma and again south of Borrego Springs.  Ivan, on his way to Patagonia today to buy a Sunday morning newspaper turned around and led us back to his campsite.  Good to see him again.

IVAN'S CAMPSITE

AND BY GOLLY THERE'S IVAN HIS VERY SELF NOW

IVAN'S A VERY TECH SAVVY GUY AS CAN BE SEEN BY HIS VARIED COMMUNICATION DEVICES

Ivan's campsite was only a few hundred yards from the remains of an old mining town from the 1870's called Harshaw.   Ivan, Kelly, Pheebs and I weren't long in walking down the road to have us a look at what was left there.  Not much actually, the roofless remains of one old building and the old ghost town's cemetery.  Near the cemetery we met a fellow who said his Dad grew up in that house and was buried in the nearby cemetery.  He said the old school house was still standing plus some foundations further down the road.

WE HEAD OFF TO SEE WHAT'S LEFT OF HARSHAW ARIZONA

A FEW PHOTOS OF THE OLD HARSHAW CEMETERY.....I WILL POST MORE SHORTLY

Chatted with Ivan for awhile catching up on things and of course learning about new boon-docking sites for future reference.  Ivan, a fellow Canadian from Alberta is a wealth of knowledge and an ace at finding out of the way places to camp from Alaska to the Baja in California.  He's been all across Canada as well as most of the U.S.  A former Park Ranger Ivan travels with his cat Hailey who we got to see momentarily through his 5th wheels window.  Always good to talk with Ivan for sure:))

"UMMMM I THINK IT WENT THAT-A-WAY"

"YA THERE IT IS I CAN SEE IT"

Tired from our long day trip we finally made it back to our rig around 3 p.m.  I'm always sooooo glad to flop myself into my comfy recliner for the remainder of the day.  Just after supper we saw 3 Pronghorn Deer walk by ahead of our rig just a couple hundred years away.  It's always such a treat to see local wildlife.  We've seen a lot of Hawks in this area too but I don't know what kind and haven't got a clear photo of one yet.  In the morning we plan to have us a look at the historic Empire Ranch which is less than a mile from us as the Crow flies.

ON THE WAY HOME WE SPOTTED THIS REALLY WEIRD LOOKING HOUSE ON HARSHAW ROAD

THIS IS ONE OF 3 PRONGHORN DEER WE SAW AFTER SUPPER

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Catholic Definitions::
- Choir: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-sync.
- Holy Water: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.
- Hymn: A song of praise, usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation’s range.
- Incense: Holy Smoke!
- Jesuits: An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams.
- Jonah: The original “Jaws” story.
- Justice: When your children have kids of their own.
- Pew: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic Churches.
- Procession: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass, consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.
- Recessional: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass—lead by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.
-Relics: People who have been going to Mass for so long that they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.
- Ten Commandments: The most important Top Ten list not produced by David Letterman.
- Ushers: The only people in the parish who don’t know the seating capacity of a pew.