2011-09-25 31 -110

From Geohashing
Sun 25 Sep 2011 in Nogales:
31.5772031, -110.9483148
geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox


Location

East of Tubac in unexplored territory.

Participants

Expeditions

SUPER YAY. Actually got to go on a geohash adventure with RoadRunner after quite a dry spell and what a perfect delve back into the fun.

It started out with quite the driving adventure. After going down Plaza road in Tubac which hosts many artists' shops, we had to drive a few miles along a train track. So close to the track that a passing train would have made us rather nervous. Luckily we didn't encounter any. After turning away from the train tracks, we found a locked gate across the dirt road we had chosen. Our alternate road felt more like a driveway through someone's farm. There were signs saying "Watch for Children", a pond with a fountain in the middle, people selling wares in small open tents, a dozen cars in a improvised parking lot and lots of friendly people smiling and waving at us as we slowly drove through.

Once on the other side, we were back on pavement and headed into an area that contained hundreds of miles of small paved roads with hardly any houses. Economic downturn at its finest. Eventually we ended up on the road west of the geohash point only to find it beyond a property fence and across a rather deep canyon with steep walls. RoadRunner to the rescue. She had already found a road that would get us to the east side of the canyon for another possible way in.

On the way around to the other side of the canyon, we came over a rise and saw a deer at the next dip in the road. We came to a quick stop to watch, only to decide it was a statue on someone's property. It had that "classic pose" that they seem to use for all the statues. As we rolled on, the "statue" darted off into the brush and was accompanied by a second one. I think we were the ones with the "deer in the headlights" look after that.

We took the next side road as far as we could and from there it was a half mile hike or so over a ridge to get to the geohash point. A wonderful place to spend a couple hours with a bottle of wine and a picnic blanket.

On the way out, we stopped for a late lunch at our friend's deli in Tubac and to look around some of the shops. The sandwiches were yummy, but we didn't get to see our friend because he was gone for the day ... gone hiking in Tucson. Go figure.

What a great way to spend a birthday. The rest of the day wasn't so bad either.  ;-}