For most Americans, Thanksgiving is traditionally spent with family. For me, ‘family’ is not limited to blood relations, but also encompasses the people that I cherish. It most definitely includes a group of close friends that I met in Tucson nearly a quarter-century ago. We’ve spent many of the intervening Thanksgivings together: backpacking through the Anasazi ruins of Grand Gulch, mountain-biking the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands, hanging out on the beach by the Sea of Cortez. Some years we convene in the summer rather than Thanksgiving, to take advantage of seasonal activities like bluegrass and beer festivals. The size of the group waxes and wanes, and its members are now spread out across the country. But the bond remains.

This year, we returned to our roots in the desert Southwest. K & T, who live in Tucson, graciously hosted the festivities. The weather was typically spectacular for late November – blue skies, brilliant sun, low 70s – so we decided to revisit some of our favorite hiking trails. In Milagrosa Canyon, a popular rock-climbing spot, we discovered a diversity of wildflowers and butterflies, courtesy of some recent rains. Florida Canyon, in the Santa Rita Mountains south of town, was as beautiful as I remembered, a progression of ocotillo and prickly pear, through grasslands and sycamores, into scrub oak and alligator juniper. The birders among us were rewarded with phainopeplas and roadrunners and cactus wrens and verdins and Gila woodpeckers and vermillion flycatchers. In the mornings, we filled up at Frank’s or Bobo’s, two no-frills local institutions known for their hearty breakfasts. In the evenings, we feasted on the Mexican cuisine for which Tucson is famous: tortillas, salsas, machaca, chile rellenos, tamales, carne seca, ceviche, enchiladas. We baked pies, mixed cocktails, celebrated P’s 50th birthday, and stayed up talking into the wee hours. A great time all around.

So for 2018, I give thanks for this amazing groups of friends, the times we’ve spent together, and adventures past and yet to be.

h.

Scenes from Milagrosa and Florida Canyons (photos by Rich Etchberger)