Thanksgiving along the San Pedro River

Kevin and I had a quiet Thanksgiving.  I opted not to travel anywhere this year (to save up for the big trip over C'mas to Chicagoland) and perhaps put down money on a newer  SUV, and we decided to go out to eat instead.  He's still not 100% feeling good, which worries me, so we stayed alone this year. Kevin suggested trying the Country Kitchen.  I haven't been to this restaurant in 15 years.  Located on SR92 south of Sierra Vista, it always packs a house in the mornings on my way to the school.

We got there at 11am and there were plenty of tables open.  The rush hadn't started and that was fine with me.  It was mostly older people eating, couples who surely made the same decision.

The dinner was OK and nothing to rave about.  The turkey was processed, the mashed potatoes were bland, and pumpkin pie was another $1.99 added to the $15.95 per dinner.  We were both full though.  When we got back home, Kevin went to bed to rest and I decided to walk the dogs along the river.  It was noon, and the outside temperature was a pleasant 74F.

A young BLM ranger followed me into the parking lot at the Hereford Bridge lot.  At first I thought I had done something wrong.  I was driving 40mph so I know I wasn't speeding.  Was he coming after me to warn me about leashing up the dogs?  It was neither, although the ranger did say he is not going to enforce the leash law since no one else was around.   He just wanted to talk and meet with some of the visitors. We chatted a bit.  He gave me a tip of a trail behind the Morning Star restaurant in Palominas.  I had never heard of the trail there.  "That's all BLM land back there, you can go past the gate.  We just don't want vehicles driving through. Just be careful of hikers coming down from the San Pedro House," he said, "the parking lot was full!"

I had never seen hikers come that far south from the San Pedro House.  Not even I have hiked that path.  That's ten miles over rather boring, flat, exposed terrain.  The best part is walking through the river under the shade of the trees, and that is what I did.  The ranger also confirmed what I suspected:  due to lack of funding, the BLM went from 19 to five employees in this district.  The old station house was torn down several years ago and there's little money to maintain the trail.  That explains the overgrown weeds.

I managed almost four miles, hiking first along the official trail for a mile, then cutting off toward the river where the dogs could frolic in peace.  I always enjoy watching them chase each other in the water.  Even Minnie reverts back to her younger, stick-searching self and Sadie chases after her in a futile attempt to steal said stick.  Even Sweetie and Zeke run through the water with no care in the world.

The weather was ideal.  Warm, with no breeze or clouds.  The leaves are still changing and we haven't had any cold, blustery winds yet to wipe out all the leaves off the trees.  I heard a few hawks and saw a few birds, but not much other wildlife.  What I did see were plenty of locusts along the river bed, some that bravely jumped suicidally into the river and getting swept away by the current.  There are still plenty of those pests, though.

The hike took me just under two hours.  I got back home at 2pm with still so much sunlight.  The dogs didn't bother me at 5pm when they usually get walked.  I could sit comfortably at home and stream a movie in peace.