Hiking @ Catalina State Park

Nothing like jumpstarting a day of hiking with a good breakfast! One of my favorite things to do while camping is to make a great breakfast. This morning, we had French toast with cream cheese and lemon curd.

Someone looks happy!

After luring her up with an early morning breakfast, we headed for the Romero Ruins Interpretive Trail and grabbed a few Geocaches along the way.

Early morning hike to the Romero Ruins Interpretive Trail.

Aha! An ammo can cache.

Better read up on the park trivia to get to this cache.

Arduino inside!

Once back from the hike, we headed up to the Canyon Loop Trail, but found everyone else was headed there as well - and I mean hoards of people and hoards of dogs. So instead, we took the Romero Canyon Trail and headed up to the very small pools. We saw a total of seven people and one dog over the next few hours.

Big, huh?

Napping on the trail.

TIP: If you take your dog on the trails, use a short leash. There are many opportunities for your pet to step on cacti.

Cadillac Camping @ Catalina State Park

At one time, this state park must have been outside of town...but not now. Tucson has made its way up to the boundary of the park, which has some pros and cons. Mostly, though, the park is a all on the plus side.

I called this experience Cadillac Camping because everyone had their fancy rigs, all decked out for the holidays, on nice asphalt slabs with complete hook ups. For us, it meant no dust or sand in our little popup and running water on demand.

Warm afternoon with great views.

Holiday Lights

Candelaria on the 2018 Winter Solstice

TIP: If you go, make reservations. This is a popular place to stay!