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.
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