Author: lori977987136

On Saturday morning, we again left early after breakfast at our rental house for a day of birding. This time we went to Catalina State Park, just north of Tucson, where our birding book said we would likely see the flame-red vermilion flycatcher. It was only a 15-minute drive from our house on a very sunny and warm morning. After paying our entrance fee, we drove to the picnic area where the bird was supposed to hang out. We parked and got out and there it was, sitting boldly out in the open on a bare tree branch. There’s nothing shy about the bird.

After expressing appropriate enthusiasm about finding this showy little bird, we went in search of other species. We were rewarded with seeing a greater roadrunner in the campground, a gila woodpecker, and several other birds. Then we drove to the trailhead parking lot, which was quite full of cars. We set out on the Birding Trail, one of several trails in the park, to see more. After first crossing a dry wash, we took the dusty loop trail to see what we could see and ended up seeing a few more species. By the time we finished the loop, we were really hot, sweaty and tired and we returned to the car.

We had a second destination planned too, so we left the park around noon and stopped for lunch in one of the many strip malls along the highway. Then we made our way downtown to Tucson Audubon’s nature shop. There we did some binocular and souvenir shopping and learned more about this large chapter, which was started in 1949.

Returning to the rental house, we took it easy until dinner time, when we went to a hip place called Culinary Dropout. The kitchen was visible through glass and was huge, the waiters were young, and the place was large, airy and very busy. I enjoyed a great hard cider and chopped chicken salad, while Nancy had a spicy vegetable curry.

Sunday was our day to check out of Tucson and move on to Tubac. First we enjoyed a good breakfast at Blue Willow restaurant, where I had huevos rancheros. We returned to our VRBO house to finish packing, then hit the road about 10 a.m. southbound. An hour later, we were in the small artist’s village of Tubac.

We drove to the trailhead for the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail and set out to see Lucy’s warbler, among other birds. And we found the Lucy’s, thanks to the help of two birders from Portland who took us to the right spot.

It was another hot and dusty trail, so we hit Tubac Jack’s Saloon for beers right away. After being refreshed, we found the Tubac Country Inn, a cute five room inn where Nancy had reserved us a two-room suite.

Tubac is a very small town with only seven streets. After taking it easy in the suite for a while, we looked at the list of the hotel’s recommended restaurants for dinner ideas. Some were in a nearby town, others weren’t open on Sunday. We ended up eating in the restaurant of the nearby Tubac Golf Resort and it was nice. It had been another good birding day.

Thursday morning, March 31st, I woke up on the train before sunrise. I had slept better than on the Coast Starlight train, but still not too soundly. On this train, the dining car was five cars away, with coach cars in between. As I walked through the coach cars, I felt a little sorry for those passengers sleeping in their seats with their masks on. In my roomette with the door closed, I could take off my mask for sleeping.

After ordering the continental breakfast, I looked out at the dry Arizona scenery. The first Arizona birds I saw from the train were doves, which really contrasted to the next birds: dozens of ostriches on a farm next to the tracks.

The train arrived at the Tucson station about 7:40 a.m., just 10 minutes later than scheduled. I “detrained” with my luggage and summoned an Uber to take me to the Tucson airport where I was to meet Nancy coming in from Seattle. I found a nice waiting area near the Alaska Airlines baggage claim and hung out until her flight arrived about 10 a.m.

Once we had picked up her luggage and the rental car, a Nissan Sentra, we set off into the Tucson sunshine. Our first stop: the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. We had to park seemingly miles away from the entrance; there were many more visitors than I expected on a Thursday morning! We donned our binoculars and sun protection and walked for several minutes to the entrance. Once inside, it didn’t feel too crowded because it’s a big, outdoor museum of native plants, birds and animals. We walked the paths through display gardens, two aviaries, and a few native animal displays. We saw our first cactus wrens, Inca doves and Costa’s hummingbirds. We finished with lunch at the museum’s cafe.

By then, it was mid-afternoon so we drove to the northeastern Catalina Foothills area to our VRBO house, a two-bedroom stucco house on a large lot. We got the key and entered, exploring the house and grounds a bit before heading out to dinner. We ate at Oregano’s, an Italian food and pizza place, where we shared a large salad and a delicious thin-crust pizza. After dinner, we stopped at a grocery store for breakfast items and snacks for the next day, since we had a long birding day planned.

On Friday morning, Nancy and I were up around sunrise, which was easy to do since we’re both early birds. After getting dressed and eating breakfast in the house, we left for a day of birding on Mt. Lemmon. It’s in national forest land and there’s a 29-mile drive to reach the 9000+ foot summit. Using Tucson Audubon’s birding location book, we were guided to many birdy spots on the way to the top.

During our stops, we saw many birds that were new to us. There were bird calls we didn’t recognize and some birds we saw that we couldn’t identify, but generally we figured out most of them. It was a great day for birding: sunny, not windy, and a pleasant temperature that cooled near the top. The best stop was a campground called Marino Basin, where we walked for a ways along the road between mostly empty campsites. So many cool birds! It was nearly a perfect birding day, with the only thing lacking being internet connectivity. Without it, we couldn’t use the bird identification apps on our phones, so had to identify the old fashioned way, from knowledge, memory, and a field guide Nancy had brought.

During the whole drive up, from Tucson’s 2,300-ft altitude, to the top of the mountain, we saw bicyclists going up the road. They had impressive endurance to continually ride upwards. We saw them descend too, which looked considerably easier and more fun than going up.

We were surprised to see snow at the top, persisting despite daily sunshine. It wasn’t on the road and it wasn’t deep, but was interesting to see in southern Arizona. Also surprising was the small, one-lift ski area near the top. The lift was operating, but the snow cover so sparse that it would’ve been difficult to ski down.

We closed out the nearly perfect day with a great Mexican dinner and margaritas at Guadalajara restaurant about 15 minutes away from our house.

Who spends time in downtown Los Angeles? Me, as a result of travel arrangements. When I had booked my train legs, I was uncomfortable with planning to get on the Tucson-bound train that leaves just 1 hour after the Coast Starlight is supposed to arrive in L.A., since trains are so often not on time. So I chose to layover a day before catching the Texas Eagle train to Tucson. That left me in downtown Los Angeles, near the train station and the Doubletree, for a whole day. I planned to go to the Skyspace observation floor for a bird’s eye view of the city, which I had booked and paid for through Amtrak Vacations, plus Little Tokyo, which is just a couple blocks away from the hotel.

So I started this morning with that plan and left the hotel in late morning, taking an Uber to the US Bank building. In the lobby when I asked how to reach the Skyspace floor, the information lady told me it had closed at the beginning of the pandemic and wasn’t planning to reopen again. WHAT? Amtrak Vacations never informed me of the closure! So there I was in the business district of downtown, my plan shot. But taking advantage of a beautiful day, I chose to walk around instead. I aimed generally for Little Tokyo and started walking.

I found Little Tokyo, so at least the second half of my plan worked out. In the Japanese Village Plaza I stopped in a bakery and bought a couple of steamed buns filled with chicken curry, which I enjoyed for lunch while seated on a bench outside. Then I visited the Japanese American National Museum across the street, spending a while there absorbing their exhibits of the history of Japanese Americans from initial immigration through the internments during World War II. The exhibits were well done and moving.

After walking back through Little Tokyo to the hotel, I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the lobby and hitting the adjacent Starbucks. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant, then I picked up my luggage from the hotel’s storage and returned to Union station via Uber for the 10 p.m. train, with another roomette, to Tucson.

The train left on time and I was asleep not much later.

My trip to Tucson and Galveston for birdwatching started out with a new experience for me: an overnight journey by train. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train from Seattle to Los Angeles departed at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, March 28, with me aboard. After a bus ride with luggage from Issaquah to the train station, I boarded the train and was greeted by my train car’s attendant, Cindy. She directed me upstairs to roomette 2 on the left (eastern) side of the car, where I settled in.

Cindy provided me with all the informed I needed as a first time overnighter on Amtrak and was friendly and talkative. During the 35-hour ride, she supplied me with bottled water whenever I ran low, got my bed ready at night and put it away in the morning, and was fun to talk with.

I had 5 meals in the dining car, just one car away from mine. Unfortunately, due to COVID protocols, everyone could eat only with their own family/party, so I dined alone. It also meant eating on plastic dishes with plastic utensils. Passengers could choose whether to be served in their room or in the dining car, and many chose their rooms, so the dining car was never very full. The food was good, with some decadent desserts including a wonderful flourless chocolate torte, and even free alcoholic beverages. Sitting in the dining and lounge cars gave me the opportunity to see the view on the other side of the train from my roomette.

The first day in Washington and Oregon was cloudy and showery. The train was in southern Oregon when I went to bed Monday night, stopping in Klamath Falls as I tried to fall asleep. Although the motion of the train was comfortable rocking, I found it difficult to sleep with the various noises of passing freight trains and the hard bed. I finally drifted off, getting a few hours of solid sleep.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, we were in California and it was sunny through some fog. The sun continued as we passed through Sacramento, Gilroy, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and then along the coast. My roomette wasn’t on the ocean side of the train, but as I ate and early dinner at 5:00 in the dining car, I enjoyed the view of the coast.

The train arrived in Los Angeles about 8:45 p.m., the last stop on the route. I “detrained” and found my way to the front of Union Station, where I summoned an Uber ride for the 5-minute drive to my hotel, the Doubletree on South Los Angeles Street. My 10th floor room gave me a view over the city. I was happy to have a more comfortable bed than on the train and fell asleep quickly.

I’m looking forward to traveling again after staying home for two long pandemic years! I’m making sure my blog skills and tools are up to date and hoping that 2022 brings new travel adventures.