Letterboxing~Tucson: Bats and Cacti

After we left Atturbury Wildlife Sanctuary we drove a little ways northeast to a park called "Case Park" for what I believed would just be a little hike in a little park. The small park we spied at the parking lot was deceiving, with it's bright green grass and artful pavilion. Jeremiah even decided that it wasn't worth the little hike and chose to stay in the van reading.
But the trail to the east of the park, to find the letterbox, completely took us by surprise!

We felt as if we were in the "Cactus Park of the famous Dr. Seuss"! The variety, smells, textures, shapes, colors, size, everything truly amazed us as we walked onwards through the winding sandy trails to the gently sloping hill in the center.
The beauty and magical feeling of the place was so special.
Also the found letterbox's hand-carved "Phainopepia" stamp was very special, too.

I cannot believe I left my camera in the van! I would have loved to look back to see and remember the beauty of the place. I vow to never assume anything when it comes to little, what appears to be, unassuming parks we decide to explore!
"Have a hike, have a camera!!"
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So, after we left "Dr Seuss Cacti Park', we drove a bit northwest to the Pantano River Park, which is an urban park right beside a Home Depot, basically a place to walk and ride bikes along the dry Pantano Wash.
But we were there to hunt for a hidden letterbox and to catch a glimpse of the largest bat colony in Tucson!

We hiked to the edge of the Pantano Bridge and Jackson and Jeremiah climbed down into the wash to peek up at the bridge underneath. They smelled the bat guano (and brought some of it back on their shoes!) and could hear the almost deafening chittering sounds of possibly 11,000-20,000 Mexican Free Tail bats tucked into the engineered bat slats created by the city of Tucson.