Sahuarita Town Lake and the Wilderness Trail.

Sahuarita Town lake is a ten-acre artificial lake that neasures 0.93 miles around. It's 12 foot deep and stocked with trout, bass, sunfish. No swimming is allowed, but non-motorized boats can use the boat ramp on the north end of the lake. 

 I was up to walk the perimeter at 7:30am. My mom's house is on the south end of the lake. I was impressed with the many early birds out jogging, walking, fishing, dogwalking. Young and old use this lake! There are blue metal benches every 0.1 miles along the way to sit back and listen to the birds. 

 A tree full of what I thought were American coots or comorants were perched in one tree gawking loudly. There were other sounds I heard, but couldn't identify the bird. Can waterfowl perch in trees?

 Large two-story homes with small yards line the lake. A lot of people live in the Rancho Sahuarita area, and many of them were up early. I admire active people. 

 

I walked the lake twice, once in each direction. But then I got bored and decided to walk into town, toward the strip mall where the grocery store is to grab a cup of coffee. But along the way the arched trailhead marking the Wilderness trail caught my attention. So why not see where it lead? I had until 10am to explore. 

 The Wilderness trail is an 8-foot-wide paved path that envelops Rancho Sahuarita. It's popular with cyclists. The west end is two miles long and arched on either entrance. To the west is desert land and a dry wash.

 There's not much wilderness to be seen here, but there are some lovely samples of crested saguaros. I continued my walk on the sidewalk, now on my return walk along Sahuarita Boulevard. This section had palm trees along the neighborhood, but it was still mostly exposed. There is still much undeveloped land here. What this neighborhood could use is a cafe or coffee shop. All the stores are clustered near the I-19 exits instead.