5K Mutt March

This 5K Mutt March, hosted by the Army's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) twice a year in Sierra Vista's Veteran's Memorial Park, is a fun event for all local dogs and their owners to get together, have some exercise, and meet other like-minded people. Several local businesses also provide supplies or services as well. Yaqui Hay and Feed from Huachuca City, Sit Means Sit Dog Training, Furbabies Organic Dog treats and several veterinary offices all helped out at the Mutt March. Alicia and I took our pups to this event this morning and at 8am walked the course.

The event didn't seem as busy as last year's event held in the fall. Nor where there as many events as last year, like the painting event. I overheard that the event would talk place, but never saw paper or paints set up. Perhaps the sponsor bailed out of this?

We walked the course as the last participants to start. That allowed us more treats at the end, for both us and the dogs. The organic treats provided by Furbabies were popular with all four dogs (I took a handful home for them to try). There were also bagels for us humans and plenty of water. For a mere $10 per walker, I can't imagine MWR making much money on this event. The t-shirts we got must have cost a pretty penny to print.

Luna and Zeke had fun. Zeke initially barked at all the dogs when I first arrived, scaring me into thinking he was going to bark at all of them all day long. But he quickly realized he was having fun sniffing butts, playing with other dogs, and watching a few do some amazing tricks in the end. Like Sam from "Sit Means Sit" told me today, Zeke just needs to get out more.

After the march there were several events, non of which I participated in: Best Smoocher, best tail wagger, best trick, best costume. A toy poodle I recognized from the last Mutt March again showed up with dyed fur, namely pink. Teca, Alicia's little chihuahua, didn't "kiss" her mom as much as she normally does; perhaps the dog was scared of all the attention. Other dogs performed as badly as well. And here I was getting my face into everyone's face, just to get a decent photo.

Temperatures quickly got warm. After almost three hours we departed, going separate ways. There were many other events going on in town today, but I was too tired to visit PetSmart, Ramsey Feed for another adoption event, or even the Earth Day events in town.

And as it turned out, I discovered once I was home that my 50mm f/1.8 lens had broken!

Tombstone Pet Parade

Earlier in the week Alicia and I talked about a Ghosttown tour of western Cochise County, knowing that Sunday's weather would be cool. Instead we agreed to help out a local animal shelter and met at 11am in Tombstone for the Pet Parade, hosted by the Tombstone Small Animal Shelter. All money raised went directly to the shelter, which is 100% volunteer staffed and funded. I've already met a few of the volunteers at the PetSmart Charities in Sierra Vista so some faces, but no names, were familiar. Entrance fee was $5. Awards were given out after the parade in several categories: Largest Pet, Smallest Pet, Oldest/Youngest Pet/Pet Owner, Most Unusual Pet and Most Popular Pet. All participants also got a goodie bag afterwards, stuff donated from local people.

Weather was ideal for the parade. It was in the high 60s today with no wind and clear skies, which made for some sun-bleached photos. At least the pavement wasn't too hot for the dogs' paws.

This was not a huge parade, but several people entered their horses, cows, goats, chickens and even a goose. This made for a very interesting mix of animals on the street, and luckily the gathering went peacefully. Nobody brought a cat. Now that would have been a riot!

The town was still waking up when Alicia and I met at 11am. We were early and had time to spare, so we walked a bit around Allen Street, the tourist street that is depicted in all the literature about Tombstone. Locals sat around watching passers-by--as they often do--including one man dressed in Confederate costume to match that of his young German Shepherd Dog, Aphrodite. The poor dog looked weighed down with her costume, which included a Confederate hat, a thick leather collar and a choker collar and a bag of "Tombstone gold" over her back. She obediently followed her owner as he walked around the area. I'm not sure if he was actually a participant, though.

We walked a bit up and down Allen Street. This is were all the tourists go for entertainment. This street is closed to regular traffic and is reserved for the horse carriages so that tourists can feel as if they are walking in the past as they stroll through. That's fine, but the street is PAVED (because business owners complained of dirt getting into their shops!). Locals are seen wearing era clothing for their OK Corral Shoot-Outs, then walk the rest of the day around town looking like business owners, saloon keepers, miners or even outlaws from the 1880s. For the tourist this may be nice to see, but I am not too keen on how the town markets its past with so much artificiality.

Tombstone is a tourist town that makes money on its rough past. But few things are real originals. The only original building is the Bird Theatre, with allegedly real bullet holes from the famous outlaws. The OK Corral's current location is not where the original shoot-out from 1881 occured, nor did the shoot-out happen in the middle of the street. Even the famous Boot Hill Cemetery is not the original cemetery and is now located off SR80 north of town so that drivers can access the place easier and which provides more convenient parking for large vehicles like tour buses. I actually prefer the places frequented by locals in the side streets. Talking to them is always interesting, as everyone has a fascinating story explaining their presence in this town. There are many out-of staters who claim Tombstone as their town now.

"The Town too Tough to Die" is notorious for some quirky people. People here still love their guns and carry them when allowed, although I saw no open carrying today. (Have the local police cracked down on that?) The people I met today, though, were nice. Most shelter volunteers that I have met have the genuine concern for the animals in mind and are more than happy to have more volunteers. I am considering helping out the shelter, but it is a long drive from our home, longer than the drive to Bisbee.

My number in the parade was #16. Alicia with her Luna and Teca were #18 and #19. When we finally lined up to walk the street at 12:30pm, the entire event didn't last but 15 or so minutes. An announcer called our names, we waved back, and that was it. Lots of onlookers dressed in their era costumes, kids in their spring clothing, and even older people all waved at us, but this wasn't a huge crowd. The Bell Family with their goats, chickens, dogs and goose were a big hit, and I got to chat with Lisa Bell for a bit. The goose had never walked on a leash before until a few minutes before the event. Except for one short protest sit-down, he did splendidly! "Most Popular" award went to Senor Rex, a male chihuahua behind me wearing a horse blanket and sombrero, matching his young owner.

Zeke and Luna behaved very well. Zeke seemed curious about the horses, cows, ponies and goats there, but didn't bark at the other dogs, and there was quite a variety: Labradors, Great Dane, German shorthaired pointer, cocker spaniel, English setter, Jack Russell, German Shepherd, ChowX, a few chihuahuas and pit bulls. Many animals were shelter animals out getting some advertisement, and I must say the dogs out today were the best I've seen in a while. (My personal favorite is a 4-year-old German Shepherd DogX, Cedrick) All dogs were well behaved. Strangers came up to Zeke to pet him, both young and old, and a few even photographed him. I was very proud of him. He truly is a happy dog who aims to please, and he walks so well on a leash. I can't say that about Sadie.

Paraders quickly dispersed after the event. We stayed in town and sat down on a metal bench in the shade and watched people walk by. It didn't seem as busy today. At 2pm a group of reenactors came out to play the OK Corral, but this time without the shooting and swearing. A group of older men yelled at the Earp brothers (four men up front dressed in black attire) as the group walked down the street. After a few loud exchanges, the group walked on and that was the end of that.

A wide variety of people visit Tombstone and today was my first time actually watching them. Even the tourists wear Western Wear. A few kids carried toy pistols that fired blasting caps. Shop owners pose outside their shops in leather jackets and long skirts. Men wear bollo ties. People look around, peruse through shops. There really isn't much else to do in this town.

We sat there for two hours and stayed until business everywhere started waning, around 3pm. That's also when I started feeling the cooler temps come on by. After Alicia left in her car, I walked around the block to my car, noticing displays in the small garden plots and taking more photos. This town had a lot of bikers visiting, and people were generally in a good mood. This was one of my better experiences in Tombstone.

The Pet Parade was a fun event. I can see this being enjoyable for local children as well, especially when animals other than dogs are in this parade. Volunteers provided doggie bars for all the animals at the start and finish. I would do this event again.

Next weekend we are talking about walking in the Sierra Vista Mutt March, a similiar event as the Pet Parade but limited to friendly dogs. It's on a Saturday and starts early, at 7:30am, and supports the Nancy Brua Animal Care and Control Center in Sierra Vista. I could participate in that event and still get a hike in afterwards, weather permitting.

Hunter Canyon

It's no secret that my favorite place to walk the dogs is Hunter Canyon. It's two miles away, little used, and scenic. I'd rather take the dogs there than walk them around the neighborhood where all the other dogs go nucking futs and bark at us two blocks away. The only issues with Hunter Canyon are the target shooters and the USBP that may be active there.

Today I took all four dogs with me in the van. All four jumped out and for almost a half mile they trotted next to the van. Even Sara jumped out, and because of her I drove extra slow. She's almost ten years old and doesn't have the energy she once had to trot three miles during her walking sessions.

There was no one around at 12:30pm when we got to the shooting area. The dogs walked around and sniffed the trees when shortly after our arrival another van pulled up. The dogs were all off-leash so I immediately rounded them up. They didn't bark and neither did the driver come out right away. When he did, the dogs remained calm and that put me at ease. It turned out that Mike, a tall, retired bricklayer from Michigan, loves dogs and has lived in the next canyon over for four years. He comes to Hunter Canyon several times a week to shoot his .22 pistol. He also visits Ash Canyon with his metal detector and revealed some of his high-value finds doing that. I had never seen him before, and maybe that's because I normally go to Hunter Canyon later in the afternoon.

Mike was a "snowbird" in his younger years, when he and his wife would settle near Mesa. "But that area has gotten too big and congested so we decided to move here instead." He has a modest home in the adjacent canyon.

"We used to sit on our front porch and watch the illegals walk over the ridge, coming down in groups of five" said Mike. He knows where the popular pick-up points are in these canyons, and even where the illegals hunker down and wait for their SUV to get them.

"The trash isn't as bad as it used to be when we first got here in '04" I told him. "We used to see mounds of trash in Brown Canyon." Little Sieger was outside the van and cuddling next to me as we talked. He was restless and despite enjoying the chat with Mike, opted to go on with my walk with the dogs. We walked up the next trail until that, too, faded away into the burned trees of the hillside. I hadn't been back there in a few years, and the side trail, like a few others nearby, was heavily damaged by flood waters.

The winds were now picking up as well, picking up the abrasive dust as it blew by. Red Flag warnings weren't supposed to kick in until later today. I didn't want to be walking under fragile trees weakened from last summer's fire.

Mike set up his firing position and fired his pistol the entire time, crouching down on his foldable seat. We never spoke again after that as he looked focused on his shooting. I then took the dogs to the muddy spring for water before driving home.

Sieger and Sara played in the mud. Sieger loves muddy water and "digs" in it for holes. Both were covered in mud so before I let either back into the van, made them walk next to me for another half mile to dry off before coming back into the van. Both dogs got baths once we got back home. Sara desperately needed a bath as her fur had been gritty and greasy for a while. The bathwater after her wash was a dark brown, and heavy sediment settled on the bottom of the tub when she was done.

Reef Townsite

Reef Townsite is the second-highest elevation drivers can go on the Carr Canyon Road. (The highest elevation is the Upper Carr Peak campsite a mile uproad.) It's an old mining community that was active over 100 years ago, from 1893 through the early 1920s. There is a campsite here and also a separate day-use parking area. Alicia and I went here this morning, initially just to look for chrystals but then just to chat, explore and walk around. I took Sadie and Sieger; Luna stayed at home because of suspected kennel cough.

I had been here a few times, and was here last in early March to first see the damage. The actual reef with cliffs now is a totally destroyed flat mesa overlooking the valley. All the scrub oak and manzanitas are now burned. The oaks are growing back but the manzanitas are lifeless. The Forest Service here is probably glad about that as manzanitas are considered non-native and invasive. The rocky mesa is too rocky to sustain tall pines. Years ago this was a popular paragliding area but I don't see much activity here now. A few years ago ATVers still came here (as is evident in the beer cans I still find.) What the nearby cliffs are good for, though, is watching hawks in the fall.

We didn't find worthwhile chrystals but we did discover some new (old, actually!) mining trails. The post-fire floods, however, have wiped out some of the trails, and in other cases, mining shafts have totally been buried by mud and other debris. This is a nice area to explore in cooler, more overcast skies. At least we had an early start and were up here by 8:30am. We were back at our cars by the Mesquite Tree restaurant by 12:45pm, and by then it got really hot.

We did discover what looks like a USBP scope facing into Miller Canyon, and a nearby solar antenna. These were definitely not here before the fire! Is Miller Canyon that infamous with drug smugglers? We sat here overlooking our neighborhood, and we chatted about old co-workers from years ago. From Carr Peak yesterday I could see the heavy damage of the Reef area. This may be the last area that can grow back after the fire.

"I don't understand people who say there's nothing to do here!" said Alicia. Those people don't bother exploring the mountains.

There weren't too many people this high up. Maybe because all the remaining shade is at the campsite. We came across two other cars that drove up the road and down again, and another couple off the campsite were conducting an area survey. We walked as far down the campground as the first cliffs of Carr Falls, but to explore that will be for another day. The bulk of the people and cars were in the Carr Canyon picnic area 5.3 miles down the road. Are Easter picnics a tradition here? I never knew!

It got hot fast, though. Temperatures in Phoenix went above 90F, and it got that hot in Tucson as well. We hit 85F this afternoon, and my little garden is starting to suffer from that. Today was the hottest day so far this year for us. I wore a t-shirt and shorts today, and my neck is red. I hate being a redneck.

It was a pleasant Easter morning. I came home, had a late lunch, and pretty much mellowed out for the rest of the day. I learned of the death of CBS newscaster Mike Wallace today. He died in New Canaan, CT at age 93. He had the kind of nose for news that few today possess. It seems as if amateurs now run news websites, or there is more of a focus on celebrity or scandal news.

Anyway...Next weekend Alicia and I will get together again, maybe do a Ghostown tour of Gleason and a few other sites. That'll be another great photo-op! Alicia has been a great companion on these discovery hikes.

Carr Peak (first time since the June 2011 wildfire)

Carr Peak was reopened to the public on Friday, so instead of walking up the road I was able to drive up to the last parking area and hike the peak trail for the first time since last June. I was thus able to see the fire damage for myself. I took my time hiking to the peak, looking at flora and taking almost 500 pictures. I hadn't been up here since the forest was closed last June, so seeing the fire damage today was both suspenseful and scary. I had no idea what I'd find.

The morning started out cool and overcast; perfect weather for a peak. Sadie and I got to the trailhead at 10:09am. We were the first ones in the parking lot. I was expecting many more people, since this area had been closed off since early June of last year.

The trees at the upper campsite were mostly still there, as were the manzanitas along the first ridge. Even the oldest strand of pines were intact. But less than a mile on the trail and I could see the extensive damage all around me: Reef Townsite took a heavy toll and entire sections of the trail are now hot and exposed. The first mile had been exposed for years so this was nothing new, but after that first mile there are entire sections of burned trees.

What surprised me the most, though, was the lack of flowers. I only spotted three different flowers on the trail and two of them were alpine species. Pink penstemons that normally bloom this time of year were none. Yellow Columbine, which had clustered around the cool trunks of aspen, were also absent although I saw young leaves emerge from the soil. The entire horizon was a dead hue of brown, with an isolated green tree here and there. But I've gotten over my grief.

Upon looking at trees more closely, though, one notices that many of what look like dead trees are still alive. Many have green canopies, or are burned on only one side. When I arrived at the aspen groves it was much of the same thing, with the lower aspen grove actually just now showing buds. The upper aspen grove is more damaged than the lower grove, with many of the trees burned at the trunks.

The lower aspen grove also had some snow left from the March 19 storm. This was great for Sadie. I stopped whenever she needed water. There was also trickling water at the one overhang, and we stopped here as well.

The higher and closer I got to Carr Peak, the more damage I saw. Oaks, elms, aspens, pines standing burned in all directions. Upper Miller Canyon looked especially ravaged. This area had already had so many dead trees from the last fire in 1997, and now there are newer, blacker trees to add to the wasteland.

On a hot and clear day this would be one very hot hike now. Some shady areas still remain, and of course the amount of shade varies with the time of day. The sky didn't begin to clear up until I hit the peak at 11:58. Sadie and I sat here for 45 minutes, having lunch, looking around and just enjoying the solitude. Carr Peak looks like the last burned peak as everything north still looks fine.

We didn't come across anyone until we began our descent. A couple spending the weekend in the mountains approached me just off the creek. Further down a man and his two white retrievers hiked up, and a mile from the end I met five army dudes bushwhacking up from Miller Canyon. I also saw a lone USBP agent behind some dark trees in the campground. (I met another five men 2.5 miles down the road walking the road up; they wanted to hit the peak). Why do people start hikes so late in the day when it's at its hottest?

I was in the mountains for five hours. It was nice to be on Carr again, although there wasn't much as far as wildlife goes. I saw a group of ravens fly around Carr and Miller. Were they the same Ravens Ellen and I spotted last week? I saw three species of butterflies, bluejays, one meadowlark and several hawks, but the forest was void of the usual songbirds.

When I hiked up this trail I didn't think the damage from last summer's fire was ~that~ bad, but looking at photos later on this evening, I do realize I may be too optimistic. Some of the mountainsides are now void of the usual flora. All I can do now is see this part of the mountains as a beginning, and watch life come back, slowly, as the years pass. I hope to live long enough to see a new forest emerge.

Hereford Bridge trailhead of the SPRNC trail

Today was a nice Sunday hike at a perfect pace and distance. Alicia and I agreed to meet at 9am in the parking lot of the Hereford Bridge trailhead of the San Pedro River. She wants to start hiking again and help her new pup meet other dogs outside her pack. Sounds like a perfect excuse to take the dogs out on a hike again! I left Sadie at home since she had her turn yesterday. Today was reserved for the pups.

By 8:15am we were ready to go. It was noticably cooler and windier today, which blew in more dust but which kept our dogs cooler. We were the only ones parked in the lot.

We headed south on the trail with the dogs on leashes. They barked at each other and squirmed around. Since we were hiking with the dogs so that they can be better socialized, we did what we had to for them to better get to know one another. Once they were off leash, things went better and soon both Sieger and Luna, a German shepherdX pup, were playmates.

I had no idea how far we would go since Alicia hadn't hiked in a while, but she kept a good pace. We made it down to Waters Road, the 2.5 mile mark, and then went east toward the river. This is the standard route I always take when I walk this section of the trail and I always enjoy it. It's flat, offers water, and provides shade to view any birds along the way. Today the big wild life were the pesky western caterpillar.

The dogs had fun in the water. Sieger prompted Luna into the water, and soon there was a splash fest. It was fun to see the young dogs be dogs.

We once again encountered no one. Even birds were few although I did spot a Swainson's hawk high above. There was plenty of horse poop on the widened trail as well. The wind picked up more force on our return trip.

How far we hiked I am not sure. I don't think we did five miles since we cut back a bit along the creek. Regardless, two days in a row of decent hikes and company is a good thing. Alicia and I are talking about having another hike next Sunday as well. We have plenty of trails nearby to choose from.

The river area is in complete bloom now. Soon this place will be one of the few cool places for the dogs. I like this area, though, because this part of the trail hardly gets used, and I feel safe having the dogs offleash around me. The Huachuca Mountains cover the horizon. The entire mountain range looks so small.

I wasn't tired much at all considering all the hiking I did this weekend. I am on a roll! To top things off, at 4pm I took all four dogs down to Hunter Canyon for a short romp. Sara is clearly getting too old to enjoy long walks, but she does enjoy sniffing an area and exploring. Two men ready for target shooting pulled up a few minutes after I got there, so to avoid the dogs fearing the sound of gun shots, I took them further away up an illegal trail into Stump Canyon, where last year's fire raged. Some people are still rebuilding their homes, others look abandoned altogether. A family walking their dog off leash prompted me to quickly move down the hillside and on another trail. That was as much excitement as we had all day, other than Sieger finding more deer legs (coyote kill) to show off.

Miller Peak from Montezuma's Pass

The week after returning from my roadtrip went by fast. Kevin was away on business so I was alone with the dogs and the house. As soon as Kevin left Monday, I was determined to wash all my winter clothes and put them away for the season. Unfortunately the laundry pole outside broke from too much rust, and for the rest of the week I had clothes hanging from all over the backyard.

Thus I didn't get much cleaning done, but I did manage to get out with a short hike with Beth on Thursday, with a sky view from the UA's telescope afterwards to see Orion's Nebula. The big hiking events weren't until this weekend, when I promised a hike with Ellen up Miller Peak on Saturday, and a hike with Alicia and our pups Sunday morning.

Saturday's weather was forecasted to be the hottest yet this year, with temps in the mid 80s. That meant that at the peak it would be in the 70s. I dressed in my favorite hiking shirt and shorts. I brought enough water for both Sadie and me.

The hike Saturday started before sunrise, since we both had commitments at 2pm and this gave us the extra time needed to finish the hike. I left the house with Sadie at 5:15am and arrived at Montezuma's Pass at 5:38am. To my surprise there were no USBP anywhere at the top, no surveillance antennae or any other vehicles. The lone USBP had driven down the pass as I was driving up. It was an eerie feeling to be up there, exposed, with no security around. Naco was still dark, but the reds and purples of early morning twilight were growing across the horizon. I had never seen the pass this early in the day.

Ellen joined me at 5:50 and ten minutes later she, Sadie and I were on the trail, the trailhead still subdued by shade. The sun didn't rise for another ten minutes and that still kept us in the shade the first mile due to the steep canyons to our east. I didn't mind, as I knew this southern-facing trail would be hot on the return hike.

We were both hiking at a good pace. We pushed each other. I was impressed with my own strength. Had my hikes from the week before conditioned me already? We were walking in badly-burned desert, with all the shade trees burned and other flora charred so that more detail of the hillsides were evident. We could see old mining trails I had never noticed before. Ellen was excited about the abandoned mines along the way, all which she explored either going up or coming down.

Only Sadie seemed to be hurting a bit. She was passing rancid gas the entire hike. Had she caught another bout of giarrdhia?

We made it to the Miller Peak Wilderness boundary in just over an hour. It's a 1.7- mile hike that starts at 6575, and another 3.3 miles to the peak. We never saw any snow and the trails were dry. It's as if it had never stormed here the week before. To my sadness all the tall pines that before the fire offered the hiker the first good shade, are all dead now. The eastern slopes hiking northwesterly offer no shade at all. The scrub oak along the trail is growing back and new growth is about two feet tall, but all that will take another ten years to reach useful shade. All the manzanitas are charred and gnarl heavenbound "like fingers" said Ellen.

A lone USBP agent caught up to us after 90 minutes. He was walking at a fast pace. "There's five more behind you, so you are safe!" he said. We later saw him at the Lutz saddle waiting for his team to catch up to him. (We never saw the other agents until we were leaving the parking lot at 12:34.)

This ten-mile hike has always been a hot one with so much south and east exposure, but now with the fire damage even the western slope is exposed. It doesn't get cool now until that final mile north of the Lutz canyong intersection, where mature Douglas firs still provide shade that is reflected off the tall boulders. This steep section was the only cool section both going up and coming down the peak. The last few snow patches were here as well.

We made it to Miller Peak just before 9am. We were the first up there for the day. We could see the dust blowing in from Mexico, and in fact the wind was giving the panorama a hazy view as a result. A cold wind blew and once again we sat in the old foundation wall, that provided some protection from the wind. We sat up here for 45 minutes, and left as a lone AZT backpacker took over the vista. IT was 10am as we descended. The wind got stronger as the day grew on.

Now the trail was filling up with hikers and AZT thru-hikers. Three more hikers were at the Miller Peak/Crest Trail intersection; one woman asked for water. A group of four young people followed. Despite the loss in elevation, we didn't make it that much faster back to our cars because our legs were hurting, and my toes were being pushed up against my hiking boots. Even Ellen, who had caved and mountainbiked earlier this week was feeling fatigue.

This was her first time up Miller Peak from Montezuma's Pass. Although this stretch is shorter, it's steeper and more exhausting than starting from Reef Townsite off Carr Canyon. That elevation is almost 1000' higher up. But I'm glad I was able to sqeeze in my first real peak for this year in March.

The parking lot was crowded as we got back to the cars. Both of us drove off right away as we had other things planned. For me it was a photo event at Ramsey Canyon Feed: a Customer Appreciation Day from 10-2pm. There were dogs there available for adoption and a rescue organization asked if I could take photos. My legs were very sore but I managed to photograph some of the animals, but I wasn't feeling my perky self and lasted barely an hour. I didn't meet many people, either, that I was expecting to see, but my fatigue was probably one factor that kept me from staying long. Sadie was exhausted, too and still had the shits, so she was glad to break out of the van on the drive home to relieve herself.

Kevin had a delicious patty melt waiting for me AND a case of Blue Moon beer. If only he could have massaged my legs!

Globe and the Tollroad Trail

The night was quiet once the stores closed. I heard no other russtling from my neighbors, despite the RV next to me having a little terrier. As soon as the sun was up, I left the lot. The sun was still opening its rays across the town, giving the nearby hills a golden hue. I was looking for the city park east of town off US60, but instead turned toward the Pinal Mountain Recreation area without knowing a thing about it, where it was or what it had to offer. I took a risk. My Benchmark gazetteer helped me locate FR 112 which I noted eventually ended in AZ 87, which would take me to Benson.

Globe is a small mining town that was founded in 1875. According to Wikipedia, its population is 7,532 but it sure does seem bigger than that. The town stretches west to east along US60, and the old town is in the valley while the newer town with its modern hotels are further up the hill. As I drove up FR112 the town spread out before me. It's got a lot of old mining shacks but from a high viewpoint the surroundings are nice, with pine-covered mountain tops, several wide, lush canyons, and the fertile fields. Only the mines themselves nearby cut ugly scars into the landscape.

I had no idea where I was going. I wanted to find a trail with water nearby and hike for a few hours before my final miles back to home. The dogs needed their daily exercise. I found an area that looked inviting when I reached the Pinal Mountain Rec area, which was a high campsite with nearby trails. I parked the van at a water stock tank and took the Tollroad trail down to the Oso trail. I lucked out with the water, as the trail stayed close to the trail the entire time.

The morning temperature in the shade was only in the 50s. My shirt kept me warm but my hands were cold. The dogs had fun in the water. What started out as a wide tollroad turned into a rocky singletrack after the first mile, and it was all downhill. I couldn't go too far down as that meant coming back up!

According to the forest sign we hiked a little over three miles. We never saw another person although one truck had passed us going downhill and another car was parked at another campsite, but I didn't have to worry about other hikers. The forest looked healthy here.

The end of the hike was the end of my roadtrip. It was after 10am and I had to start thinking of my return drive, a good six hours yet to go. The FR112 got too rutted further south so I backtracked and went through town instead. It's an interesting town where nice homes are next to dilapidated shacks. I'd come back here for the weekend to explore the Pinal Mountain trails more.

I resumed the drive on AZ77. I'd been on this stretch a few times. It's a scenic drive with diverse vistas, including one small town, San Manuel, where the entire population is Mexican. (I've always wondered if that town harbored members of a Mexican drug cartel.) Wildflowers were blooming along the road's edge and I'd stop every hour or so to let the dogs out. They knew the routine well by now. South of Winkelmann the saguaros reappeared along the roadside.

The plan was to drive along the San Pedro river back to Benson, but somehow I missed the turn-off to the River Road near San Manuel. I picked it up south of town via an eastern turn-off for the small airport. Nothing looked familiar to me, not even the abandoned Pinal County Animal Shelter, an empty place on a hill overlooking San Manuel that looked more like a secret place were cats and dogs were killed.

River Road changes its name a few times. It's also known as Reddington Road in the north, then Cascabel Road, but it retains its north-south direction until it hits Benson and resumes its pavement. But Benson from this angle is not a pretty view, with more abandoned lots and run-down homes along dusty roads.

I made it home at 3:15pm. My trip was over. I was relieved. Kevin was now packing his stuff for his week-long journey. He had dinner ready for me, which I enjoyed. All the dogs were back together again and Sieger was back to being the puppy of the pack. He did well on his first roadtrip, and just like the other dogs, he has his first trip behind him. This roadtrip was almost 1100 miles.

I was a little surprised to still see snow on the peaks of the Huachucas.