Santa Cruz Live Cam

El Paseo de los Arboles runs alongside the Santa Cruz River between Ajo Way and Irvington Road. The pathway's 600 trees were planted between 1994 and 1997.

You could call El Paseo de los Arboles "memory lane." El Paseo de los Arboles (The Path of the Trees) is along the Santa Cruz River Park between Ajo Way and Irvington Road. It's a joint project of the Pima County Parks and Recreation Department and Tucson Clean & Beautiful. The 600 young trees, planted from 1994 to 1997, are courtesy of donors who paid $125 a tree to honor or remember a loved one with a palo verde, mesquite, acacia or desert willow. At each end of the mile-long path are tiled signs containing the names of the honorees. The memorial signs are right next to a wide, smooth path that's perfect for walking, skating or biking.

And there's even an ornithology lesson or two. The path is split into six segments, each represented by an Arizona bird. You'll find tiles with images of corre camino (roadrunner), chupaflor (hummingbird), paloma (dove), halcon (hawk), matraca (cactus wren) and codorniz (quail). Drip irrigation nurtures the trees, and the grounds are immaculately maintained. The fresh, vibrant look of so many healthy, young trees makes for a lovely grove. In a few years, trees will grow to shelter birds and offer shade. The river park is also part of Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, named for the explorer who trekked along what is now the Santa Cruz River in 1775. A round-trip walk of this park segment takes about an hour. Ancient history, memorials to recent inhabitants and new trees springing from the soil inspire appreciation for the cycle of life.

West of the path, a residential housing subdivision is under construction. On a recent day, hammers and drills performed a staccato serenade. Mountains west of town rise behind homes, creating the appearance of a backdrop to an old cowboy movie. A lone mature tree with shade-giving, outspread limbs is halfway along the path, harboring a strategically placed picnic table for refreshment or meditation.

The Santa Cruz River bed, tree-lined and wide, is the dominant landscape feature. Litter mars the bed but is less ubiquitous than in segments farther north. The upstream and downstream views are pleasing if you ignore electric transmission lines running parallel to the river. That's pretty tough in a few places where transmission poles are planted in the middle of the river's bed. Near Ajo Way, on the east bank, are horse properties, where horses can been seen in their corrals, tails swishing in a lazy rhythm.