Spring truly sprung on the UA campus this week. As any slightly allergic nose can sense, the season of rebirth has come to the desert.

On a weekend urban hike, I encountered these beautiful blooming roses by a bike path south of Old Main near the Forbes building. They were truly spectacular so I just had to document them. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Happy spring!

Today, Saguaro National Park put out a call for artists ages 18-25 to participate in their 1st Annual Centennial Youth Art Show.

The park hasn't released details about the actual event yet, but they did post some information to entice artists to get in touch:

Creative Tucson youth, ages 18-25

Artists will be selected to exhibit & sell their work to the public June 3-4 at the Tucson Mountain District Visitor Center 

1st & 2nd place prizes include:

• participation in the Friends of Saguaro professional art auction
  
• 1 year national park pass
  Extended display time & recognition

Email [email protected] for submission instructions and details—the submission deadline is April 14. 

Opponents of the proposed Rosemont Mine were cheering news that the open-pit project in the Santa Rita Mountains has been delayed indefinitely.

Officials from Rosemont Copper’s Canadian parent company, Hudbay Minerals, announced on Feb. 24 that the project has been put on hold because of low copper prices and regulatory hurdles.

But company officials added in a press release that they still plan to move forward with the Rosemont mine once copper prices rebound.

“Hudbay remains committed to advancing Rosemont, which is expected to be one of the first new copper projects to be built once copper prices and capital market conditions improve,” the release states.

Mine opponent Gayle Hartmann said the company’s confidence in the project is a smokescreen to keep investors on board.

“Of course they sound bullish,” said Hartmann, president of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, a nonprofit group that has battled the project from the start. “It’s not real, but that’s the way they have to sound for their investors.”

This Valentine's Day, you'll probably be seeing metaphorical stars of love, but for those of us who aren't, Pima County Parks and Rec will host a night of actual stargazing with their "Night Under the Stars" event. 

There are two opportunities to learn about the stars from pros and semi-pros alike: one the night of Feb. 12 at the Historic Hacienda de la Canoa in Green Valley, and the other Feb. 13 at Agua Caliente Park here in Tucson. Volunteers from the Sonora Astronomical Society will help visitors learn about the night sky through telescopes at Canoa Ranch, and volunteers from the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will show event attendees how to use telescopes at Agua Caliente Park. Visitors can also take an optional self-guided tour at Canoa Ranch before the stargazing begins.  

Event organizers recommend visitors bring flashlights for after-dark walking and lawn chairs if they please. 

Both "Nights under the Stars" run from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information on the events, visit the Canoa Ranch website or email [email protected]. 

The recent storm brought wind and rain, but it also brought some beautiful weather for this upcoming weekend. Enjoy it:


1) Mount Lemmon SkyCenter SkyNights Program 

Check out the largest public viewing telescope in the Southwest any night this weekend. A five hour "tour of the universe" up on Mount Lemmon is $60.

The event is held nightly at the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter (9800 Ski Run Road) from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are required through skycenter.arizona.edu.

Have next Monday off? Well, it's time to lace up your walkin' shoes because Saguaro National Park is waiving entrance fees for MLK Day. 

That sounds nice on its own, but those looking to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a more community-service driven way will also have their moment:

The park is seeking volunteers to help us pick up trash and litter along S. Freeman Road and S. Old Spanish Trail. This service event will be taking place on Monday, Jan. 18 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday. Tools, equipment, and protective wear will be provided to volunteers. Please come prepared wearing long pants, sun-screen, hats, and close-toed shoes, with personal snacks and a bottle of water. Additional water will be available for refilling bottles. Parking is available.

To sign up for this day of service, please email or call the park’s Centennial Volunteer Ambassador, Corina Yeh, at [email protected] or 733-8603 by Jan. 15.

In addition to this volunteer project, the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona will also be joining park staff in a service event removing invasive buffelgrass from park lands.

But wait, there's more!

Good news for people who like to creep on bearded dudes on bikes all day, every day: you're right where you need to be to maximize your creepability. That's because People for Bikes released the results of their newest cycling statistics, and Tucson ranks highest on both bearded bikers and everyday cycling.

According to the organization, which acts as an advocacy network for cycling industry professionals and millions of riders, Tucson is a totally awesome place to take short trips to get around town every day (i.e. commuting) due to its high numbers of costumed, bearded, skirted and other unique, casual riding styles over the last year. 

With support from contributors and counters across the country, these stats were compiled to draw attention to cycling as a mode of casual or utilitarian transportation. Tucson was closest in the rankings with Memphis, which ranked a few points behind. However, Tucson more than doubled the ranked score of Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Denver and more, making them look dumb for even trying. Get it, Tucson. 

Oh, and while you're jazzed on biking in Tucson, just thought it'd be pertinent to remind y'all about the BICAS Art Auction that's taking place this weekend to raise money for an organization that helps many low-income individuals get mobile and empowers anyone with the information they need to ride, build and maintain a bicycle in town. Now go get on your bike and buy some art.

NASA's Earth Observatory tracks the ebbs and flows of Colorado River and Lake Powell in a series of images that show how dramatic the drought has been on the Southwest. Watch the water recede here.

From NASA:

Changes in the northeastern reaches of Lake Powell are documented in this series of natural-color images taken by the Landsat series of satellites between 1999 and 2015. The Colorado River flows in from the east around Mille Crag Bend and is swallowed by the lake. At the west end of Narrow Canyon, the Dirty Devil River joins the lake from the north. (At normal water levels, both rivers are essentially part of the reservoir.) Sunlight brightens plateaus and southeast-facing slopes, casting shadows on the northern and western faces of the rugged landscape. (Due to the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.)

At the beginning of the series in 1999, water levels in Lake Powell were relatively high, and the water was a clear, dark blue. The sediment-filled Colorado River appeared green-brown. In the early years of this image series, water levels began to drop. The declines were first apparent in the side canyons feeding the reservoir which thinned and then shortened. By 2002, the lake level had dropped far enough that the exposed canyon walls created a pale outline around the lake.

Dry conditions and falling water levels were unmistakable in the image from April 13, 2003. Lake Powell’s side branches had all retreated compared to the previous year’s extents. Water levels in Narrow Canyon had dropped enough to show canyon floor features not visible in earlier images. In the image acquired on May 1, 2004, the reservoir’s northwestern branch is isolated from the main reservoir; the shallow water upstream could not crest raised areas in the lakebed.

Lake Powell’s water levels plummeted in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. The northwestern side branch of Lake Powell remained cut off from the rest of the reservoir. In the main body of Lake Powell, water pooled along its eastern edge, while large expanses of dry canyon floor were visible in the west.

"BREAKING NEWS," I was told when I answered the phone. "It's Bloom Night."

If you're familiar with Tohono Chul's Bloom Night, you're already excited. Here's the deal: every year, Tohono Chul (7366 N Paseo Del Norte) keeps careful watch over their plants. When it's time for the peniocereus greggii (you might know her as the "Queen of the Night"—a hefty and well earned title, I assure you) to bloom, well, everything else stops.

Those of us who grew up in the Arizona desert can tell you: This is a big deal. These plants bloom for a few hours every year. That is not a typo—they bloom for a few hours every year.  

Stop by this after hours event for $5—or for free, if you're the fancy membership type. 

Here's the press release in it's entirety: 

Bloom Night is Tonight Friday, June 12
6 p.m. to Midnight
Members Free
General Public $5
Children 12 & under Free

Please join us Tonight for Bloom Night and enjoy one of nature's most unique events. During Bloom Night you can enjoy the blooms of the peniocereus greggii, enjoy dinner in the Garden Bistro, snack on Sonoran hotdogs, desserts, prickly pear lemonade and libations from the Mobile Bistro and listen to special presentations (presentations at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.)

Remember to:
Bring a flashlight
Wear Closed Toed Shoes
Bring your Membership Card for easy admittance

The Morning After for Members Only
6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.
The gardens open early the following morning for members to enjoy the last hours of the blooms before the sun starts to wilt their petals. Remember to bring your membership card for free admittance. 

This April, the Living Streets Alliance partnered with the City of Tucson to host their annual bike-centric event, The Bike Fest. This year marked the largest Fest yet, with 75 events taking place all April and 20 plus businesses showing support in the form of discounts and special deals for cyclists.

A new challenge debuted this year which urged local businesses to scale down from 4-wheeled cars to two-wheeled bicycles. Participants in the 2-Mile Commuter Challenge were asked to commute to work by bike and log their travel hours on the Bike Fest’s website for the month of April.

A total of 57 local businesses, nonprofits and organizations participated, including Raytheon, Himmel Park Library and Pima Community College. Close to 200 cyclists competed in the friendly cycling challenge for prizes and the glory of holding the title of the most bike friendly organization in Tucson.

This year, the honor goes to the Watershed Management Group, a local nonprofit working to think up creative, viable solutions for water sustainability in the Southwest. Twelve employees out of a staff of 16 collectively logged 448 bike trips to work.

WMG’s Program Manager Kieran Sikdar contributed 96 of those hours, earning him first place in the individual category.

As winners of the challenge they received a bike bell, a 1-year membership with the Living Streets Alliance and social media publicity.

Though WMG only recently received this accolade, they have been cultivating a strong bike culture for employees, volunteers and guests for some time. Because of their ample bike parking, compensation for employee bike commutes and availability of showers for employees, they have earned a gold level ranking from the League of American Bicyclists in April. They are currently the only business in Tucson to receive this level.

The Watershed Management Group, 1137 N. Dodge Blvd., offers a variety of classes and workshops to the public, including rain water harvesting. Any interested in seeing their summer schedule can view it at watershedmg.org.

The Bike Fest returns to the city in April 2016.

For more information on the Bike Fest, visit bikefesttucson.com  or the Living Streets Alliance at livingstreetsalliance.org.