Catalina State Park II

We’ve been busy doing the trails at the park and going to several classes. I saw a coyote running ahead of me on one of the trails…which was just cool. Saw bobcat prints, but no bobcat. Scarier was when I saw a couple of javelinas on the trail. I was doing a typical morning hike by myself when I saw them. They say to wave your hands and look big while backing up. I did that as one of the javelina glared at me and started moving my way. I backed further down the path and saw them go off the path. I wanted to continue on the trail past them so I moved closer. At which point the mean javelina started moving menacingly my way. After that, I turned around and decided to do the trail loop in the opposite direction. They were gone by the time I came back to that spot.

Another morning, I saw 9 javelinas on a path. These saw me and ran off the path. Did you know they can run pretty fast? According to the internet, up to 35 miles per hour!

It’s been raining off and on so the dry desert is looking much greener. 

The saguaro has these spines and a waxy surface to protect itself from the hot sun. The surface feels cool if you (very carefully) touch it. As the cactus ages, the spines will fall off and the surface actually burns in the sun. BTW, John had to replace my bike tire. A cactus spine completely blew out my tire tube.

This is called a crested saguaro. It’s a genetic mutation. The crest with these pseudo arms everywhere isn’t really helpful, it just happens sometimes.

The park has a lot of hidden sites that aren’t on any map. There are at least a couple of rocks with grinding holes. These were used by Native Americans to grind beans and grains. There is also a large area of petroglyphs. The problem is that you have to have someone take you there the first time. I can’t find any coordinates online but know it is somewhere near the Baby Jesus trail. 

Earlier we tried the Romero Canyon trail. This time we tried the trail with more water plus it was a cooler day so we made it to the Romero pools. These guys were swimming in the pool, but they said it was VERY cold.

Some great views!