Kartchner Caverns

Exploring the world beneath our feet

a picture of a hiking shoe on a desert trail

We  limit our world to what can be seen…the ground we stand on, the sky above us, and all that lies in between. Did you ever stop to think about a world we don’t often experience? The world beneath our feet?

Hike #27 on our 52 Hike Challenge takes us to Kartchner Caverns State Park about an hour’s drive from Tucson.

The history of Kartchner Caverns

 Imagine walking along the limestone hills of the Whetstone Mountains in Arizona, you come across a sinkhole. Could it be? You squeeze into the narrow slit in the earth and discover what you have been seeking for years…a cave! This is what happened to two University of Arizona students Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts in 1974.

For 14 years they kept the discovery to themselves, mapping and exploring in secret. Realizing that secrecy alone would not protect the cave from vandalism, litter, and theft, they set the wheels in motion for the state to purchase the property from the Kartchner family in order to develop the cave as a state park. Kartchner Caverns State Park was officially opened in 1999.

The sign at Kartchner Caverns State Park

A Visit to Kartchner Caverns

 For our visit, we didn’t have to wiggle through a sinkhole; we followed our guide through a set of sealed, stainless-steel doors and walked under misters at the entrance to preserve the 99 percent humidity of the caverns. I have no pictures of the inside of the cave, as visitors may carry nothing inside including phones, food, or water bottles.

Unlike Randy and Gary, we didn’t crawl on our bellies guided by headlamps. Instead, we walked upright along paved pathways with guardrails and amber lighting that our guide controlled. At one point in the tour, he turned off the lights plunging us into total darkness.

 “Cave-dark is unlike any darkness you have experienced,” he said. “It is the total absence of light. Your eyes will never adjust, you can never see your hand in font of your face.”

 It was unnerving as I lost my sense of sight, and we stood in total silence except for…

“Listen.” our guide continued. “Do you hear it? Water dripping. This is the heartbeat of the cave–how we know it’s alive.”

He turned the light’s back on to reveal one of the cave’s famous residents, a slender, twelve foot long soda straw formation. A droplet of water glistened at its tip, lengthening the straw one miniscule bit at a time.

Our tour culminated in the Throne Room, a breathtaking cavern where a 58-foot high column named Kubla Kahn reigns. We sat on stone benches while soft music played and a light show highlighted one spectacular formation after another.

 I was enveloped in a sense of calm and peace, sheltered in this underground sanctuary that was unconcerned with the world above where life flies at us so fast we struggle to keep up or make sense of it all.

  Here, in this place, change occurs over eons. Patience in a drip. A heartbeat.

At the end of our 90 minute tour the steel doors closed behind us, sealing the cave once more. We are, after all, above-ground creatures who need sunshine and fresh air.

Yet, the world beneath our feet has much to teach us.

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Threads of Thought

In 1969, Neil Armstrong put the first footprints on the moon, exploring the world above us.

In 1974, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts put the first footprints on the mud floor of Kartchner Caverns, exploring the world beneath our feet.

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The 52 Hike Challenge: Halfway There

a man walking down a wooded path
A Walk in the Woods ( June 21, Mt. Lemmon )

We just completed hike #26 ! We are officially halfway through the 52 Hike Challenge we began in January and I thought it might be fun to give you, my faithful followers, an update.

To go along with our challenge, and to prepare for the writing I’m doing in tandem with the hikes, I’ve been reading Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Though he beat me in publishing (his book was published in 1998 and was made into a movie in 2015,)our stories are very similar… except that Ed and I are not hiking in heavy backpacks, haven’t seen any bears, aren’t on the Appalachian Trail, haven’t hiked in snow or rain, aren’t sleeping outdoors and our longest hike has been 3.3 miles. OK, so not very similar, but here’s our version, to date, of a walk in the woods.

a woman and man hiking in winter clothes
January 6, A cold morning in Bloomington, IN

The idea for the challenge came to me on New Year’s Day. Too much food and late-night celebrations with the family left me tired and melancholy. The last of our kids and grandchildren had returned home, and we would soon be returning to Arizona. I always feel a mix of emotions during this time. Saying goodbye is never easy.

               Perhaps that’s why the Facebook ad attracted my attention:

The 52 Hike Challenge

A challenge where you gain physical fitness, mental well-being, make new friends, explore new places and connect with friends, family, and yourself through nature.

This sounded like a fun way to break out of our routine, get some exercise, spend time together, and find new trails, but would Ed go for it? Much to my surprise, he said yes.

So begins our adventure.

Unique Hikes

We began our challenge on January 6 by hiking the B-Line trail while we were in Bloomington Indiana, our holiday hometown, and have done 26 unique hikes–meaning someplace different each time. Since we live in Arizona, most of our hikes are desert terrain. We have enjoyed the opportunity to explore new trails in our area as well as visiting old favorites through new eyes. In addition, our hikes have taken us to the top of Mt. Lemmon, a sandhill crane observatory, state parks, botanical gardens, a zoo, the green hills of Southern Indiana, and the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago.

a woman standing on the shore of Lake Michigan
June 11, Enjoying the Chicago Lakeshore

Physical Fitness

This is one of the main reasons I suggested we start this challenge. Ed and I are in relatively good shape, but were looking for an opportunity to get outdoors and add some novelty to our weekly routine. What I like about this challenge is that you can start at any level. The guidelines simply state that a hike must be at least one mile long and be done outdoors. Most of our hikes have been between one an a half and two and a half miles. We would like to build on that, but are being challenged right now by the brutally hot weather here this summer.

two long shadows on a desert trail
July 7,Long shadows cast on an early morning desert hike.

Friends and Family

Our hikes have included family members visiting our home in the Southwest during February, and friends from my writer’s group. We’ve also met some interesting characters on our adventures, like the spry, silver-haired woman on a strenuous hike up the Tumamoc Hill in Tucson who was channeling her spirit animal ( a wolf) and passed us at a good clip. “Don’t worry hun, it’s not a competition,” she told me. Then there was a “wine-pourer” in Wilcox Arizona (Don’t call me a sommelier, he said). Dare I mention this hike ended at a winery and another one led to a brewery? For the record, I checked the official rules. Nothing forbids it.

Quilting the Hike

If you’ve been following me, you know that I am ‘quilting the hikes to add a creative element to commemorate our year. One triangle earned for each hike. Not sewn together yet, I’m waiting until all 52 are there to see what sort of pattern I’m inspired to make, but here’s a peek at what I have so far:

a patchwork quilt
26 triangles earned…halfway there!

Halfway there and it’s been fun so far. Will we get creative and find ways to hike in the summer heat? Will we be hiking on our trip to Portugal and Spain this fall? Will we get in 26 more hikes before the year ends and will any future hikes end with wine? (or whines?) Stay tuned…

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Threads of thought

What are your favorite walks or hikes?

Make up a chant or cheer to keep us going in the comments below !

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Adventures in Thrifting

a bowl, notecards and a book : thrifted treasures
Thrifted Treasures

thrifting. Verb: shopping for or buying used goods especially at a store that specializes in secondhand merchandise.

thrifting. Purpose: to find and purchase things you didn’t even know you needed.

thrifting. Fun: experienced alone or with a friend, an enjoyable way to spend a morning.

My friend E and I go to lunch every month or so to catch up and discuss our current writing projects. Last week, we decided to mix things up and meet at a local thrift store before lunch. An “artist date.”

According to Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, an artist date is a block of time especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness. I was long overdue for some inspiration. What treasures would we find?

We arrived shortly after the store opened and the checkout line was already backed up to the housewares section. A sign proclaimed it was “Christmas in July” and all holiday merchandise was half off. Many shoppers had their arms full of decorations, gift wrap, and holiday nick-nacks.

Except… One man shifted from foot to foot as he waited in line, trying to balance two large, orange, gasoline cans in his hands. (The kind you use when you run out of gas and have to walk to the gas station. )Hopefully they were empty. I’m sure there are laws. I’d found my first story and I hadn’t even started shopping yet!

E stopped to look at a display of Christmas cards, boxed in original packaging. As it’s over a hundred degrees here, I’m not in the mood for Christmas. I moved on.

A Portuguese bowl painted with colorful stripes and playful fish caught my eye. It reminded me of Dr. Seuss…One fish, Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. It had to be authentic because the hand printed tag taped to the bottom makes it so…and a bargain at $12. But I don’t need it . I said as much to E. “Ok, but its really cute,” she said. I walked away and continued my search.

Things that ended up in my basket:

  • Three blank journals, unused. (But wouldn’t it be fun to find secret notes in them? There’s another story idea!)
  • Three packages of vintage floral notecards. I wasn’t surprised to see them at the thrift store. Most messaging is done via text or email these days, but I still like to send notes or include them with gifts.
  • A pristine copy of Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. The copywrite is 2005, but I could tell it had never been read. The cover was still tight and there are no notes, highlights, or coffee stains. Perhaps the original owner already knew everything about writing, or thought they wanted to write, but never got around to it. This will be a good addition to my writing library.
  • A red, t-shirt type dress was in my basket temporarily. I had high hopes it would be a good addition to my travel wardrobe, but after I slipped it on in the dressing room, no. A definite no. Seasoned thrifters know you win some, you lose some.

E had her hands full too. On the way to check out, the Portuguese bowl I didn’t need called out, “Pick me, pick me! ” I couldn’t resist. This was my favorite purchase of the day. It prompted me to make a nice crisp summer salad for dinner that night, inspired a blog post, and makes me smile.

As it turns out, impulse buys, those things you weren’t looking for but tug at your heart, are the best part about thrifting! Something is waiting for you out there!

a salad in a decorative thrifted bowl
Threads of thought icon

Threads of Thought

Are you a thrifter?

What’s the best thing you’ve found at a thrift store?

What do you currently own, that needs to go to the thrift shop?

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Legacy

A Six-Sentence Story

moonlight on the water
Moon over Eagle Bay

The announcement came as I was on vacation at the lake house. My writer’s group was having a six-sentence story contest. I love a good writing challenge and this one was fun and interesting. Each sentence had to carry weight. The story needed to grab the reader’s attention, carry through with a story arc and end in a conclusion. All in six sentences. What to write about? Where to get ideas?

Leonardo da Vinci had a term for his visualization process: Saper Vedere -Knowing how to see.

Rick Rubin, in his book The Creative Act says “The ability to look deeply is the root of creativity. To see past the ordinary and mundane and get to what might otherwise be invisible.”

Seeing, really seeing the moonlight shine across the bay one night was the inspiration I needed. Here’s my story, in six sentences.

Where are inspirations and ideas? All around us if we open our eyes and really see.

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Threads of Thought

Your turn. “Know how to see.” Find a small moment, thought or idea and try your hand at a six sentence story, or a poem, or a painting, or a sketch, or… Live life creatively!

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Saguaro Blooms

Hike #19 of the 52 Hike Challenge

Saguaro Blooms

Late May to early June is Saguaro blooming season and hike 19/52 of our yearlong hike challenge took Ed and I to Saguaro National Park East in Tucson Arizona.  At 7am we gathered at the Broadway Trailhead to meet Ranger Don, the park’s resident biologist, and a small group of visitors who had gathered for a nature hike.

photographing Saguaro Blooms
I helped photograph the Saguaro blooms from a bird’s eye view.

Having lived in the area for ten years, Ed and I thought we knew a lot about these iconic cacti, guardians of the Sonoran Desert, but we learned a lot from Ranger Dan.  Here are some fun facts:

  • Flower buds will first appear on the east facing side of the cactus to take advantage of the warmth of the sunrise in early spring, then move in a counter-clockwise ring at the growing tips as the blooming season progresses.
  • The waxy-white flowers open at night and begin to whither during the day—each bloom only lasts 24 hours.
  • The cup-shaped blooms are filled with nectar, enticing bats, birds, and many insects to aid in pollination.
  • Saguaros can live to be 150-175 years, yet are slow growers and have a better chance of surviving to adulthood if they grow in the shelter of a nurse tree (usually a Palo Verde or Mesquite). As the Saguaro grows, it doesn’t kill the tree, but simply outlives it.
  • According to Ranger Dan, a stressed or diseased saguaro will put its energy into survival and may not bloom.
a battered saguaro

Take this guy for instance…stressed, diseased, filled with way too many woodpecker holes…and yet Saguaros are resilient creatures. Look closely. It’s growing new arms and…

Saguaro Blooms

it’s blooming!

Against all odds, it’s BLOOMING! A small gesture in the middle of a desert perhaps, yet I can’t help feeling there’s hope for the world. Find your way to bloom!

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Threads of Thought:

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”-Mahatma Gandhi

2 Books, Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life...and Until Italy: A traveler's memoir

Read more from Debra!

Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life and Until Italy : A Traveler’s Memoir are available HERE.