Today, we started our drive north. Here's a rundown of our day...
Budget
Day's total: $264.14 (We're a little off budget today. The restaurants we chose were pricier than expected. We loved the meal at the Velvet Elvis but portions were small and we had to order some extra food to feed hungry children.)
Trip total: $1400.51 (We're about $100 under budget!)
1) Best Western Sonora Inn and Suites, Nogales
After swimming in the pool and enjoying a complimentary breakfast of fresh waffles, my daughter wanted to get cozy in the playfully decorated lobby of the Best Western in Nogales and watch a little TV.
2) Patagonia
It's hard to not use the most overused term in travel writing "hidden gem" when describing this blink-and-you-might-miss-it town in south Arizona's mountain empire, tucked between the Mexican border and the Santa Rita and Patagonia mountains. While most of southern part of the state is parched and dry, this area enjoys cooler temperatures and more rain, presenting a dessert landscape that's more lush, with bright green willows and mesquites lining the many rivers, streams and lakes.
The town originally served the many mines in the area but those have since shuttered and artists, writers, birders, wine makers, outdoor enthusiasts and retirees have taken over the two-block stretch lined with adobes on one side and a leafy park on the other. In town a traveler will find everything you might need: an Elvis-inspired restaurant dishing up fresh organic salads and pizza, a bakery pulling oatmeal cookies studded with white chocolate chunks and cranberries from its ovens, an elegant jewelery store specializing in pieces by local Native American tribes, a church that's been converted into a night club, a natural foods store with a colorful fruit stand out front and several art galleries.
We start with lunch at Velvet Elvis Pizza, which we learned isn't named actually after the King but "is a playful allegory to bad art, a commodity that Mexico continues to provide its U.S. comrades."
Inside the colorful restaurant with turquoise walls you'll find only one velvet Elvis painting.
The menu at Velvet Elvis features organic salads and pizzas made with wholewheat crust.
3) Patagonia Lake State Park
This 265-acre man made lake sitting among the rolling hills outside the town of Patagonia happens to be one of the best birding spots in the world. At least that's what we learn from a man carrying a camera equipped with a lens the size of a newborn baby. As we walk the trail circling the lake, we pass birder after birder, all of them carrying fancy camera equipment.
What are they looking for?
On that day rumor has it that someone spotted an Elegant Trogan that morning and everyone on the trail was hoping to catch a glimpse of this parrot-like bird with red-and-green Christmas plumage that flies into Patagonia over spring break from Mexico.
We pass one guy on the trail who has just seen the bird and he tells us to hurry ahead so we might see it too.
Down the trail we see a spot of bright red in a tree and my husband quietly gets close and snaps a shot.
But when we show our prized photo to the next birder we pass, he tells us that what we've seen is a Vermillion Flycatcher, a sweet little bird, but much smaller and much more common than the Trogon.
Hiking further down the trail, and after crossing a muddy stream, we see a larger flash of red. It's a gorgeous cardinal and we're all thrilled by his vibrant color. For a group of amateur birders, we feel pleased and accomplished and head back to the car.
4) Mission Tumacacori
From Patagonia, we take South River Road to Rio Rico, then head north on Interstate 19 for Tucson. Along the way, we pass this Spanish Colonial mission dating back to 1828. It's well past 5 p.m. when the mission closes but we get a good glimpse from the road.
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| NPS Photo by Vicki Wolfe |
5) Tubac
This village on Interstate 19 was founded as a Spanish presidio in 1752. Today it's like a mini Santa Fe with upscale galleries, pottery shops, cafes and restaurants housed in adobes. The fort remains are preserved in the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park where you can get a lesson in Spanish colonization.
But when we arrive at 6:30 p.m. everything is closed expect for a few restaurants. Based on its number-one rating on Trip Advisor, we choose Elvira's.
Elvira's resembles a night club that you'd expect to find in Mexico City. The decor is over the top and resembles something out of a Fellini movie with dark black and electric walls and blown-glass tear drops in a shattering rainbow of colors hanging from the ceiling.
The cuisine is modern Mexican and prices are mid-range so we fill up on chips and salsa and my husband and I split an entree to stick to our budget. We decide on a chicken mole drowned in a fragrant, complex sauce of some 34 flavors, chiles, cinnamon, banana, almonds..
After dinner we continue 45 minutes north on Interstate 19 to Tucson where we check into the Best Western InnSuites Tucson Foothills.
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