Areas Around Green Valley in Arizona, March 2025

Just south of Tucson along Interstate 19 is the town of Green Valley. Other lovely towns dot the highway, including Tubac, Amado, Sahuarita and Nogales which is a southern border town with access to Mexico. The main feature in this area is the Santa Rita Mountains, which we have explored a bit from Patagonia on the southeastearn side. Our other reason for coming here is that friends have recently purchased land in Green Valley, and plan to build a home. So we are curious.

At camp and nearby
	On the way to our new campsite near the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, we come to the Longhorn Grill and Saloon in Amado. The entrance looks legendary, so we had to stop for a photo.  It was created and built by concrete artist Michael Kautza in the early 1970s. The restaurant is still in operation.
	Sunset at our dispersed campsite on Mt. Hopkins Road, only a couple of miles below the observatory's Visitor Center. The views of the Cerro Colorado Mountains and the Baboquivari (Bah-bow-KEY-vah-ree) Mountains way in the distance were stunning.  Those are two Curve-billed Thrashers in the ocotillo, which were blooming.
	We did go to the Observatory Visitor Center, but did not take a tour of the telescopes as the weather was not favourable (we had snow that morning!). No matter ... the VC and the staff are extremely informative and educational, describing the telescopes used at this location, including VERITAS - the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, a gamma-ray telescope.  We also had fun creating a black hole with this interactive display, as you can see in the video.  This observatory is run by the Smithsonian Institute.
ASARCO Copper Mine Tour
	Only a few miles northwest of Green Valley is the ASARCO copper mine. It is the only working copper mine that operates tours. Outside the Mineral Discovery Center (the Visitor Center) is a beautiful display of desert flora. Behind this is an outdoor museum of old mining equipment. The Center provides a detailed explanation of the history and process of operating copper mines in Arizona.
	A bus drove us up to the open pit, pictured here. It is huge, although not the biggest pit. That distinction goes to the Morenci Mine to the north in Arizona. There are three haul trucks in this photo, as indicated by the red arrow.
	This is one of the tanks filled with water that floats the processed copper to the top. The copper is the grayish substance on the left of the tank. This is the only place we were allowed to get off the tour bus since this is a working mine and can be dangerous with huge haul trucks driving ore around. We went into the building (which can't be seen in the photo) where the raw ore coming out of the pit is crushed and the copper separated using a water process similar to the tank here.
	One of the old haul trucks, although the newer ones are even bigger. While taking a photo at the back of this truck, I almost stepped on a snake, but it turned out to be a "harmless" bull snake. Rattlesnakes are common here too, so watch where you step!
Madera Canyon
	I have wanted to visit Madera Canyon for years, but I always thought it would be too cold.  By March, it isn't. The main draw here is the birds, especially migratory birds. The canyon and view of Mt. Wrightson are far from disappointing too! This is a female Hepatic Tanager.
	A pair of Acorn Woodpeckers. These birds store acorns in holes they bore into dead tree trunks.  We saw these birds last year at the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary.  Click to see how they stash the acorns in the trees; scroll down to the appropriate section.
	A view of Mt. Wrightson, elevation 9,500 ft (2,880 m) on a frosty morning. The trees are white because they are covered in snow and frost. This view was taken at the parking lot at the top of Madera Canyon Road.
	A male Magnificent, aka Rivoli Hummingbird. Unfortunately, the flash of purple crown isn't visible as he's in the shade. They are the largest hummingbird in this area.
	A Broad-billed Hummingbird. This boy has spectacular colours, and posed in the shrubs for a long time.
Tumacacori
	Tumacacori (too-mah-KA-ko-ree) National Historic Park is an old Spanish Mission that has not been restored. This is the church built in the early 1800s by Franciscan missionaries.
	The nave inside the church. As you can see, it is being preserved but not restored. The park provides an interesting history of the native O'odham and Yaqui peoples, as well as the Spanish missionaries, soldiers and priests who followed.