36: Last Impression
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Arizona P A T A G O N I A, A Z A black cat crosses my path as I’m leaving the Stage Stop Inn in Patagonia, AZ. I’m anti-superstitious, so I scoff at the encounter. But then, thirty minutes later the only bad luck I’ll have in Arizona rears its head. The plan for visiting the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve included a promise that the gate would be open for me at sunrise. When the gate is locked, I immediately think of that damn feline. As the sun rises on my last day in Arizona, I wait impatiently. I have a flight to catch later so I’m hyper-aware of how fast the clock is ticking. I’m determined to see this property, locked gate or not. As I was driving in earlier, I noticed another gate. It too was locked but seemed a lot easier to hop than the barbed one I’m currently deterred by. After a few more minutes of waiting impatiently, I head back down the road, park wher...