Birds, Butterflies, Art, and a Creek Through the Desert

Sonoita Creek, Tubac Art Festival, and Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

Feb 10, 2026

I almost want to turn this into a canvass print to hang on my wall

We took a nice little mini roadtrip this past weekend. Stopped at a Nature Conservatory site, visited an art festival, enjoyed a hotel in Tucson, and hiked in Sabino Canyon Recreation area. Only 75 miles from home, but still a nice change.

Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve

Our first stop on Saturday morning was a nature preserve near Patagonia, AZ. We already have a membership to the Nature Conservatory, so we were able to get into this one for free. We didn’t stay for long, but I did get a couple of bird pictures. A Robin, and Say’s Phoebe, and an Anna’s Hummingbird.

Tubac Art Festival

Our primary destination on Saturday was an art festival in Tubac, which is just north of Nogales and Rio Rico. It was a neat little town, and I think it would be interesting to visit just on a normal day. For the festival, we had to deal with a little bit of traffic, then pay $10 for parking. But it wasn’t bad. We walked around people watching and stopping in at some of the booths.

These booths cost over $1000 for the four-day rental

We bought an amethyst a candle for Kelly. It’s neat. There’s a hole drilled in it, then a glass reservoir that holds oil. A rope wick uses the oil to stay lit as long as the oil lasts. Theoretically, this candle should last forever.

Finally, there was this kid’s dance troop from Mexico that just set up in the middle of the street and put on a free show.

The Hotel was Nicer than we Expected

Seriously, for a Comfort Inn, this place was pretty stylish. We really only got it because is only 5 miles from Sabino Canyon.

It looked fairly innocuous from the outside

But then the court yards, the fountains, and even the artwork near the pool made it all feel a little bit special and more like a vacation.

Hiking Sabino Canyon

The winter is the best time to hike in Tucson, and Sunday was no exception. It was a beautiful 77 degrees that afternoon.

Sabino Canyon is run by the National Park Service, so there is an $8 daily use fee. Fortunately, I have an America the Beautiful pass, so it was free for us.

NPS volunteers were at the visitor center, and throughout the park

We only did a relatively short 5 mile loop (still wore me out). But there are miles of trails in the canyon, and if you get there early enough you can purchase tickets to get a tram to some of the more distant trailheads.

There was an abundance of wildlife. I saw several different species of birds, including a male and female Phainopepla, a Cardinal, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Black-throated Sparrow, and a Curved-billed Thrasher.