Copper Glance Road

Copper Glance Road is a dirt road to the east of the San Pedro River off Hereford Road. When we first moved to Arizona, Kevin would go down that road to a huge dirt mound where people would target shoot, near the wash. Eventually the area was closed off and turned over to the county. Apparently the trash heaps got to be too much as people were leaving everything from washing machines and other large appliances to pressed wood board and glass. There was always lots of brass there as well. I'd sometimes go here years ago with Sara and Sammy just to collect brass and let the dogs run around.

I drove down there in the afternoon with the four dogs but didn't realize that the road was now gated shut. A NO TRESPASSING sign now warns people to stay away. Not wanting to violate the order, I parked the car and let the dogs walk along the road, making it to the BLM boundary and back before I discovered another trail closer to the river that led us partially along the abandoned railroad of the Southwestern Railroad. A BLM sign was next to a Railroad property sign, adding to my confusion as BLM lands here are accessible to the public.

Sammy was going slowly and I went at his pace while the others frolicked in the wash we were walking in. The wash was the only weed-free and cactus-free area to walk in. The rest of the area is uninviting with cholla cactus, prickly pear and other desert flora. Many of the larger trees were burned, too, perhaps from an old brush fire from years ago. This is definitely not a hikeable place in the summer!

The wash then disappeared into a field of weeds before emptying into the river, but I was not about to dredge through high weeds again. Zeke still has burrs in his long fur from last week!

The sky went from blue to overcast in the afternoon, providing some shade that allowed us to stay out as long as we were. This wasn't a long hike, but a hike in an area I never was before. The desert is studded with mesquite and cacti here, and thick weeds closer to the river. This really is a quiet place to take the dogs off leash without bothering others.

I saw two women walking down the abandoned railroad as we were walking in the wash toward the river, but didn't get close to them because of the dogs. They were collecting iron nails from the road. When we got back from our walk toward the river, I noticed a black backpack left behind with two large plastic bottles of ice tea next to the pack. The women had left the area but left the loot behind. That's probably a good idea, as the sign also states NO ARTIFACT COLLECTING

Carr Peak with Sadie, Minnie and Zeke

What a gorgeous day it turned out to be. Yesterday's dark overcast produced no rain over us, and this morning the sky was a clear blue. I kept thinking of where to go with the dogs that didn't require a lot of driving, and in the end I opted for Carr Canyon since Zeke insisted on going along. I figured I could walk up the road with the dogs and turn around at the Reef Townsite. Instead, I discovered that the gate was open to vehicular traffic so I decided to take the dogs up Carr Peak, five miles up the road to the trail head.

Driving in the Buick Century is not easy on a forest road. There are some big boulders and deep crevices in parts of the road. But there is no snow or ice on it right now (which is why the Forest Service opened the road) and we proceeded to the parking lot. We got to the Old Sawmill parking area and started the hike at 11:23am.

I was dressed in yesterday's clothes: jeans, light t-shirt and thin yellow sweater. I packed Kevin's ripped wind breaker just in case. I carried 1.5 gallons of water for us, plus the chicken jerky treats from last weekend. I need not have worried, as there was plenty of patches of icy snow in the northern sections of the trail. With our mild temperatures I don't expect any snow on the peaks in another week. The ground was moist (and surely refreshing for the dogs' paws) in many of the shaded areas.

It didn't feel like January. I would have packed a thicker jacket had I realized I could do the peak today. I moved fast enough and never felt chilled on today's hike. I was dressed in all cotton, too, and never felt wet, either.

I saw birds out today. I spotted one hawk and several song birds in the trees around me. The bald deciduous trees highlight the green of the pine trees. And to my amazement, the aspens are already pre-budding. This is not good news. What if we get a late freeze and the buds die?! We desperately need a few weeks of cold, wet weather for the sake of our forest's health.

Of course the dogs weren't worried. The girls ran ahead, chased each other, sniffed the ground. I never came across anyone else on the trail. The girls were always ahead of me, but Zeke stayed by my side. He's finally learning trail etiquette! While all three dogs stayed close and didn't chase wildlife, the birds in the trees did seem to excite them.

There was no wind on top. It was surprisingly mild. Several butterflies flitted around. And I was the only person who opted to bag the peak today? I lucked out with this solitude. We rested at the peak for 17 minutes. The dogs got more water and the rest of the chicken jerky treats. Minnie wanted to play fetch again on the summit. Sadie would bark if I didn't throw the stick fast enough for them. I learned how to take selfies with the Nikon D7000 and got a few decent ones of me without a dog's butt in my face.

It was the perfect weather for a hike up Carr Peak and I'm glad I did it before the month was over. I hope I can do this again for February. It was 65F at 3pm.

There were no other cars in the parking lot when we made it back to the car at 2:30pm. Most of the people in Carr Canyon were at the lower falls area, and even more so in the lower picnic area. I'm glad I had the peak to myself and could take advantage of giving my dogs unleashed exercise.

This is my first peak of the year. I was a little nervous hiking the uneven terrain after torqueing my right knee last month up Miller Peak. The pain only is bad when I step up; power walking is OK.

My computer is telling me I need to update my Adobe Flash so that I can upload photos. I tried downloading the latest version and I still have no luck with the photos.

Walking south along the San Pedro River

It was a quiet day today, with a clear blue sky, no wind, and I wanted to go out and explore without going too far in the car. I chose the San Pedro River south from Palominas. I didn't leave the house until 1:30pm and took Sadie, Minnie and Zeke. I wasn't expecting any people near where I was going, so having Zeke with me was OK.

It turned out to be a lovely nature walk. The river here (it's more of a creek, coming from the Midwest) is shallow but in the monsoons heavy floods can turn this area into a raging quagmire. The trail that illegal border crossers create changes every year, depending on the water flow. The massive beaver dam from a few years ago, that was my turn-around spot with the dogs, is no more, and in its place are dense sections of thorny burrs.

I never came across another soul in four hours. All I saw were Great Horned Owls, falcons and hawks. Farther south I saw what looked like the beginnings of a beaver dam, with felled trees lined up in the water. The alignment looked too perfect to have been created by flooding.

The dogs enjoyed this romp very much.

Unlike previous years, this year I saw no trash along the route. I used to find discarded backpacks, clothes, Jumex cans and personal effects. The enforced border here from 2008 has made a difference in the number of Mexicans crossing over. The prickly weeds, however, have increased, especially Russian thistle (tumbleweed) with its 10,000s of seeds per plant. Old snags, flood debris and erosion also slowed down the walk in parts.

I didn't go at a fast pace since most of the time I was in or at the river bed. The dogs clearly enjoyed the frolic while I watched my footing. The river meanders quite a bit and after two hours I was still a mile from the border. Had I gone down the straight trail a half-mile to the east, I would have made the border. Walking along the river under the bald canopy of cottonwoods, however, is more rewarding. I saw plenty of Great Horned Owls watching us. I came across a dead juvenile hawk (most likely attacked by a falcon) and at least one perched prairie falcon high in a tree. Of course the dogs were oblivious to the birds; they just wanted to play.

Had I started the hike an hour sooner, I could have made the border, but I would have gone back via the trail. The parking lot here closes at dusk and I made it back to the car just in time. The dogs barked at a biker nearby, who was exiting the restroom. A lone USBP truck was parked in the lot but the agents were no where near the vehicle. It was 5:45pm when I drove back home, just 4:15 hours after starting. I had a craving for ice cream, but instead Kevin had a nice turkey dinner going.


My computer is once again not allowing me to upload my photos. I'll have to work on this!

Upper Carr Falls (Huachuca Mountains)

Today was a mild winter day with overcast skies. This should have been a day to bag a peak. Instead, I took Sadie and Minnie (leaving a reluctant Zeke at home) to Carr Canyon, parked the car at the closed gate by the lower falls, and walked two miles up the road to the falls. I hadn't been here since I took Beth here 18 months ago. I always have enjoyed walking up this road when it's closed to vehicular traffic.

There was still ice in some of the more shaded parts of the falls. This surprised me, having had warmer-than-usual temperatures later. I also noticed more graffiti that wasn't there the last time I was here. The three memorial crosses along the fence line were also destroyed. At least we were alone and the dogs weren't bothering anyone. That is always my first concern.

I explored the mine above the falls. I had never been in the mine as I hate dark places. The rocks outside the mine were badly graffitied, and some white plastic bags lay in the entrance, but it was no where as bad as the Upper Bear Mine in Lutz Canyon where trash litters the floor. Both dogs followed me inside the abandoned mine, but the pitch darkness unnerved me and I turned around at a burned stake. The musky air also wasn't appealing. It seems to me that at one point there was an opening for air to circulate, as one branch of the mine looped upwards back to the surface. The opening seems to have been buried by landslides

I wasn't in the mood to turn around at this point. I wanted to explore the falls higher up, so I took the dogs and scrambled up rocks. And more rocks. And bigger and wider rocks. I had never been back here. I had heard about the old car wreck ( the "carcass" as I would call it), and came across parts of rusty metal pieces along the way. Surely years of summer monsoons had washed away or buried the original car.

Both dogs had no trouble climbing up the boulders. There was ice only in the shaded areas. Had there been snow or ice back there, climbing would have been more treacherous. I never had to give them water as there was plenty of it for them in crevices.

This was a very solitary area, although it's obvious that the place is a well-known party spot for locals. I picked up plenty of Budweiser cans along the route, but very little other trash like stuff abandoned by illegal border crossers that was more prevalent just a few years ago.

This is a place I would not want to be in a monsoon. If I had fallen and injured myself, who would hear me? Get to me? One enters the wilderness at one's own admission. When I came across the rusty carcass I had to wonder how long it had been there. By the time I made it to the end of the canyon, I was just below Reef Townsite and the yellow-lichen rocks at 7000'. There was no other place to go but nearly straight up, and I didn't want to endanger my dogs by going that route.

We went down the way we came, with gravity on our side. Minnie had fun fetching sticks and Sadie had fun trying to steal them from her. Zeke would have enjoyed this isolated paradise, but how was I to know? All the cars that were parked at the gate must have been for the lower falls, as the only person I saw was at the half-mile mark, and he told me he had seen a couple higher up (Reef Townsite) with five dogs.

We got back to the car around 3:30pm. I got home at the same time Eric did. Kevin had a turkey meal for us. What service! The two hiking dogs each got their own hotdog.

San Pedro River at the Charleston Bridge

I wanted to take the dogs somewhere where there was water, take them out for a leisurely hike. This hike fits the bill as it's also a very scenic section of the river, near some mining ruins and petroglyphs. It's an easy three-mile hike. It was a cloudless sky with temperatures in the 60s with no wind.

I piled the four dogs in Kevin's Buick Century since my van needs to be serviced. All the way to the river they moaned and whimpered: I wasn't driving fast enough and the dogs were restless. Minnie gets especially bad in these situations as she has no patience. There were cars parked in the lot but luckily no one at the river there, so we went down and under the bridge and walked north. The dogs ran in the water, played, and genuinely had fun. Sammy did fine but he was slow, so I stayed at his pace watching him.

There were several groups walking in the same direction, but on the other side of the river. I slowed down so that they could gain some distance from me. Zeke wanted to chase them but he came back whenever I called his name. He is more bark than bite, but still, the leash laws are strict and I have to always be aware of other dogs in the area. The nice part about the river here is that it's wide and shallow and there are several trails to take without getting dogs too excited. Too bad the trails are lined with pesky burrs, which Minnie, Sammy and Zeke picked up.

It has been a while since I was at this trail. We stopped briefly at the tunnel which now sports new and bright graffiti. It's a perfect rest area due to its flat surface and shade. Sammy took whatever breaks he could. Another group with a black Lab came down. The poor dog was briefly spooked but the dogs stayed with me and I moved away, to give the group their space. They ended up walking back south to the bridge.

From the tunnel we went north, going up to the old railroad tracks and to the historic mining town of Millville, which still sports the rock walls and lots of rusty metal relics on the ground. We climbed up one wall, but this proved difficult for Sammy, and yet that boy was determined to join us and came up a side trail. For his efforts I let everyone rest here some more. The Huachuca mountains are visible from here, as well as the rest of the ruins. This place is an obvious party spot with all the trash nearby. I didn't bring a backpack so couldn't pick up any trash.

Today's warmth radiated from all the rocks so we didn't stay long, going back to the river to let the dogs romp around more. Again we saw more people and again I had to go off trail to prevent the dogs, especially Zeke, run after them. By now Sammy was looking very tired, I slowed down my pace even more. Another group with yet another dog were splashing around by the bridge, so I took the dogs back up the old railroad path where I slipped down an embankment and hurt my left hand. We were back to the parking lot by 3:15pm. There were still plenty of cars in the lot! I had chosen a busy place to take the dogs. We had explored for two hours. I was thirsty and drank a warm Diet Pepsi I found in the back of the car.

I think I will take the dogs to the Palominas bridge next time when I feel like taking them down the river. Of all the river trail sections, that is the least used.

A slow start into the new year

Eric and I drove the van to Chicagoland for Christmas and spent two weeks there with family. This was a nice retreat for Eric, who hadn't seen his dad in 18 months. He opened up more, laughed, and was a pleasure to have around. Eric spent time with stepgrandma Carol as well as his friend Derek.

Eric was great at helping me drive the van when I was getting tired. He is a good driver. We drove to Chicagoland in 40 hours, with no adverse weather anywhere. There was no snow, no ice. The return trip was a nightmare, though, with record-setting lows and a "polar vortex" that brought a windchill of -40F two days after we left to return to Arizona. This was the coldest C'mas I have had in Indiana since 1983. We took our time driving back and took hotel rooms in Texarkana and Abilene.

The drive to Chicagoland brought back memories of the drive I took with Sara in 2005 to South Carolina. (My daughter lived there at the time with a boyfriend. I was on medical leave and wanted to see her.) Sara was my company and guardian as we drove the long stretch on I-10 and then I-20. That stretch across the Permian Basin in west Texas is painfully boring, ugly and stinky from the oil refineries. When we passed Abilene I remembered the rest stop where Sara and I took a break late at night. I missed her, and I missed her again when I walked along Lake Michigan on the one day it got above freezing. Sammy is now the only dog who remembers frolicking on the beach of Lake Michigan.

My cousin Cheryl never did make it home to Chicagoland for the holiday so we weren't able to get together to plan our summer trip to Europe. I'm not sure what is going on there.

Eric and I returned late Sunday night. The dogs were ecstatic to see me again, but I noticed a visible limp in Sammy's front right leg. Earlier today he was holding it up and not wanting to put pressure on it, when I took all four dogs to Hunter Canyon for a fast 1.5-mile run before it got too dark. Kevin doesn't know how Sammy got that limp and I will be watching it.

Both Sammy and Sadie are now getting Dasuquin tablets twice a day for arthritis relief. Dasuquin, I read, supposedly is also good for dogs with hip dysplasia. Both dogs like the supplement and take it willingly. (Sammy never had trouble taking any kind of food!)

Weather here has been lovely, with temperatures in the mid 60s during the day and upper 30s at night, but a cool front is coming for later this week. This still beats the current temperature in Chicagoland, so I am not complaining!

I need to plan some hikes before it warms up again. I will leave Sammy home with Sweetie and take the three younger dogs. Sammy needs to give his front right leg a rest. I will come up with somewhere to go this weekend that's different but also not too far away. I need to burn off the holiday blubber I feel in my belly!