The
temps were a little below freezing when I got up and the predicted cool temps scared
us off of our planned trip to Tubac to attend the Arts Festival and the closed
road due to snow cancelled my backup plan of driving up to Mt. Lemmon. So it was on to plan C with a drive thru the
Saguaro NP and late lunch at Inca’s Peruvian Restaurant.
The
Saguaro NP has a west and east portion and we chose the east because it was closer
and had an eight mile loop road that was paved – I love using my Senior Pass to
get in. We stopped at the Visitors
Center and snapped a few shots – the Saguero with Bev is 102 years old and they had a labeled version of each of the desert plants around the center.
I
like the pictures with the Santa Catalina Mountains in the back and I assume the
highest snow covered one is Mt Lemmon at 9157 feet tall.
Two
of my biggest surprises have been the mountains in the area and the amount of
plant life in the desert (I was expecting it to be more Sahara-like) and the
many varieties – many look like they are about to bloom.
This
guy didn’t know which way was up.
In addition to the loop road, the park contains several hiking trails and a picnic area. I think the Saguero must be like snowflakes with no two alike.
After
the drive I could imagine that the entire Tucson area looked just like the park
before the Europeans arrived.
From
the National Park, we made a 25 minute drive further north and west to Inca’s
Peruvian Cuisine which I had seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and wanted to
try.
We
arrived at our usual mid afternoon time to our preferred empty restaurant where
we got outstanding service from our Peruvian born server (she was also the Maitre
D’ and bartender). She explained that
the menu contained authentic Peruvian dishes but theirs were a little more
tasty and that most of the ingredients were imported from Peru.
We
began with some Peruvian cocktails for the girls, but Mexican was as close as I
could get for beer. Bev had a Pisco Sour
Maracuya and Pat had this Pisco Sunrise.
The
meal began with some highly salted roasted Peruvian corn which reminded me a little
of corn nuts. Bev ordered one of the dishes prepared for Guy Fieri when he visited: Seco de Carne Con
Frejoles - 8 oz.Tender cuts of beef braised in a cilantro and Peruvian sauce.
Served with canary beans and jasmine rice - 16.99
Pat
had the Carapulcra - Dehydrated potato (papa seca) casserole cooked with beef
chicken and pork seasoned with a blend of Peruvian spices. Served with jasmine
rice - 14.99
And
I had Ceviche Mixto - Fresh white fish with an assortment of seafood marinated
in lime juice and Peruvian rocoto pepper. Served with yam and Peruvian corn.
(Request mild or spicy) - 16.99
We
all enjoyed our meals but the girls thought theirs needed salt but since there
was none on the table, we decided we should eat it as served. The Ceviche was very different than what I
had got at the Sonora Market (which was swimming in a red sauce) and I’ve
decided I need to learn to make it as it is very good and very healthy. I do not recommend the Peruvian corn, other
than toasted and we all decided we didn’t need to move to Peru for the food,
but glad we gave it a try – it’s hard to compete with good southern USA cookin.
Photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.
Have
a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
2/7/19 event date
2/7/19 event date
What a gorgeous, unique landscape! I'm also surprised at the mountain range and lush foliage. Thanks for sharing Larry!
ReplyDeleteLove all of those photos from the desert. I happen to think Saguaro's are amazing plants. And I don't think I've ever seen snow on Mt. Lemmon. I've been to one Peruvian restaurant in Denver. It was good, but had no inkling to go back. You'll have to find a bag of mayocoba beans while you're in the Southwest - take em home and enjoy. That cocktail is stunningly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, when the arms of a saguaro turn down, doesn't it mean there was a freeze during a certain point of growth?
ReplyDeleteEl Nino and its rain has made the desert quite lush this year. Stay warm. We are loving the cooler than usual temps.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad the cold weather found you, since I presume that you went to the Southwest just to get a jump on spring! Those are some wonderful shots, Larry.
ReplyDeleteI'm enamored with the saguaro cactus and love it when they bloom in early May. We're already seeing wildflowers popping here and there in the Phx area. Will you be venturing up to Phoenix?
ReplyDeleteNot at this point
DeleteI could take photos of saguaro cactus for hours - you took some really excellent shots! Glad you got to try the restaurant and liked the food but it's too bad they didn't have salt on the table.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed all the photos of the dessert vegetation...there is much more than I would have imagined.
ReplyDelete