Tucson/Oro Valley Caches

[+geospyder]

We will be spending a couple days in Oro Valley in mid-February. Any cache and sightseeing recommendations? We'll have a vehicle and like taking short hikes.

[+Moose Mob]

We will be spending a couple days in Oro Valley in mid-February. Any cache and sightseeing recommendations? We'll have a vehicle and like taking short hikes.

I would recommend the caches near Flagstaff instead.

[+geospyder]

I would recommend the caches near Flagstaff instead.

Minor problem Lynn - the condo is in Oro Valley BTW - we'll be in Vegas the evenings of the 16th and the 24th.

[vagabond]

You try this it's just a little south of where you'll be

 

Or here

Edited December 31, 2008 by vagabond

[+geospyder]

You try this it's just a little south of where you'll be

 

Or here

We just found a site this morning called Discover Southern Arizona. The two places you mention are places I want to see. Marga has mentioned the Biosphere 2 Center and we both agree on the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

[+WeeWillie]

There is an abandoned Titan Missile Site with two caches near Marana. SAC 570-5 (GC19RBF) and DEFCON 1 (GCCXHV). I suggest you visit the Titan Missile Museum first so you know what you are looking at. If you plan on visiting Tombstone or Bisbee you will have lots of cache opportunities.

 

Flagstaff is great when there isn't snow and right now there is plenty of it. My son is a student at NAU.

Edited January 9, 2009 by WeeWillie

[+geospyder]

There is an abandoned Titan Missile Site with two caches near Marana. SAC 570-5 (GC19RBF) and DEFCON 1 (GCCXHV). I suggest you visit the Titan Missile Museum first so you know what you are looking at. If you plan on visiting Tombstone or Bisbee you will have lots of cache opportunities.

 

Flagstaff is great when there isn't snow and right now there is plenty of it. My son is a student at NAU.

 

I checked my AZ cache list and see that DEFCON 1 is on it. SAC 570-5 is not because I filtered out all caches on State Trust land. There are so many caches in the area that I'm filtering out caches on State Trust land, terrains greater than 3, caches that have not been found in the last 45 days and caches that the last two logs are DNF. Of those I'm only keeping traditional, virtual, letter box, earthcaches and a few multis and a few puzzles. With all that filtering I'll still have almost a thousand caches to choose from. I'm just blanketing the area so when we do sightseeing we can also snag a few caches.

 

One thing I want to visit is the Titan Missile Museum. My wife wants to see the Biosphere. We both want to see the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Kartchner Caverns. Since the caverns are only 30 miles or so from Tombstone we'll also visit there. If you have any pull - try to keep the weather dry. The Jeep loves desert trails but has an aversion to stucky mud

Edited January 10, 2009 by geospyder

[+imap1rate]

I don't have any specific caches that I would mention only because I can't really think of any particular caches worth mentioning. As for the places you plan on visiting, I would totally recommend going to the Biosphere and Tombstone. As for the Desert Museum, it's not the greatest for people who come from the southwest, but if you've never heard of a javalina before I would check it out. Kartchner Caverns is one of the best caves I've ever been to. I've gone multiple times and plan on going again now that the new room is open with all the bats in it. There are a ton of caches around Tombstone and in a town south of Kartchner Caverns called Sierra Vista. You can take the highway through Sierra Vista to Tombstone and along the way find tons of caches! Good luck on your visit to Arizona! I hope it's not too hot for you.

[+WeeWillie]

There are two Kartchner Caverns tours. Both are open now. My preference is the The Rotunda/Throne Tour which is open year round. The Big Room Tour is closed April 16 - October 14 so the migratory bats can roost. Both tours are about 1.5 hours. Give yourself about an hour to visit the Discovery Center and learn more about the caverns.

 

If you are going out to Kartchner Caverns and want to combine the trip with caching, book an early tour. That should give you time to do some good caching.

 

I am from Sierra Vista and there are plenty of caches. You will not need a 4 wheel drive vehicle for the Kartchner Caverns, Sierra Vista, Tombstone, Benson Loop unless you want to head up into the Huachuca Mnts. The San Pedro Riparian Area has vehicle restrictions. (Very scenic caches, such as Eager Beaver (mine)).

 

An alternate is Kartchner Caverns, South to Hwy 82 to Sonoita and finally Hwy 83 North to I-10. You will find plenty of easy to find caches near the roads and opportunities for 4 wheeling to other caches.

 

I've lived in Sierra Vista for 17 years and still enjoy the Desert Museum. Every time I go I learn something that helps me as a BSA Scoutmaster.

Edited January 13, 2009 by WeeWillie

[+AtlasHiker]

There are two Kartchner Caverns tours. Both are open now. My preference is the The Rotunda/Throne Tour which is open year round. The Big Room Tour is closed April 16 - October 14 so the migratory bats can roost. Both tours are about 1.5 hours. Give yourself about an hour to visit the Discovery Center and learn more about the caverns.

 

If you are going out to Kartchner Caverns and want to combine the trip with caching, book an early tour. That should give you time to do some good caching.

 

I am from Sierra Vista and there are plenty of caches. You will not need a 4 wheel drive vehicle for the Kartchner Caverns, Sierra Vista, Tombstone, Benson Loop unless you want to head up into the Huachuca Mnts. The San Pedro Riparian Area has vehicle restrictions. (Very scenic caches, such as Eager Beaver (mine)).

 

An alternate is Kartchner Caverns, South to Hwy, then Hwy 82 to Sonoita and finally Hwy 83 North to I-10. You will find plenty of easy to find caches near the roads and opportunities for 4 wheeling to other caches.

 

I've lived in Sierra Vista for 17 years and still enjoy the Desert Museum. Every time I go I learn something that helps me as a BSA Scoutmaster.

Nice to see another person in Sierra Vista. I've been wondering when I would run into somebody from the area. I've gotten some of the caches around here but haven't had a chance to get up to Kartchner Caverns yet but that's on the to-do list.

[+AtlasHiker]

Double post, oops. The page timed out and I made the mistake of resubmitting it.

Edited January 13, 2009 by rhuff04

[+WeeWillie]

Rhuff04

 

I am an ocasional cacher with Scouts being my primary outdoor activity. We will be going out to the San Pedro by Charleston and knock out some caches. I am surprised you haven't bumped into more cachers. Yesterday afternoon when I was leaving post there was a truck with the Geocache logo and someone has a license plate TNLNSL.

[+AtlasHiker]

Rhuff04

 

I am an ocasional cacher with Scouts being my primary outdoor activity. We will be going out to the San Pedro by Charleston and knock out some caches. I am surprised you haven't bumped into more cachers. Yesterday afternoon when I was leaving post there was a truck with the Geocache logo and someone has a license plate TNLNSL.

That's pretty funny. Haven't run into any other cachers yet though. I was hoping there would be an event in the local area sometime in the near future but I don't see any and haven't heard of any. I've been plugging away at the caches but still have many more to go.