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.