Memories of Agua Caliente Park in Pima County

Stuck out of the way near the foot of the Rincon and Catalina Mountains in the northeastern corner of Tucson Arizona, is Agua Caliente Park. Here sits a hundred acres of parkland with groves of trees, ponds and open grasslands, next to a desert wash, providing a rich habitat for man and beast to enjoy.

Human beings have frequented this location for 5,500 years, but from 1850 to 1870 it was an Army camp and later a stage stop. Since then it has been a health spa, a cattle ranch, a horse ranch and hay farm. In 1984 Pima County purchased the land and continue to this day to operate it as a park.

My time at this location has been limited to three visits. One in winter 2008, one in mid-summer 2013, and a third in spring 2017. Each visit has been interesting in its own way, but if I must confess, the spring visit was my favorite, but who doesn’t love spring?

I learned today that the park is undergoing a major reconstruction project, and it’s likely to be closed until early 2020. I get nervous about disturbing the balance of an ecosystem. So many times our attempts to “improve” the environment go awry and it takes a VERY long time to recover. I sincerely hope my fears in this case are unfounded.