Patagonia AZ

After leaving our campsite in Patagonia Lake State Park, we headed north on SR 82.

Our first stop was the Paton Hummingbird Sanctuary. This quirky little place is the backyard of a family who started in the early 70s to create an area that was hospitable to birds, in general, and hummingbirds, in particular. They have piles of brush that attracts sparrows and finches and feeders with thistle seed, sunflower seed, and sugar. Lots of birds at the feeders and a few woodpeckers in the trees nearby.

Our second stop was the Sonoita Nature Conservancy Refuge. We enjoyed a nice walk along a (about) 2-mile trail along Sonoita Creek with a return on the old rail bed of the railroad that extended from Benson AZ into Mexico from the late 1800s until 1962.

After our hike, we headed into Patagonia and had a nice lunch at Velvet Elvis. A great meal of salad and gourmet pizza. Well worth the stop — thank you for the suggestion, Katherine.

We are now settled in at Kartchner Caverns State Park for the night — a modern campground with beautiful views of the mountains.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)