Full moon over the San Pedro Valley

I woke up as usual at 4:30am and fed the dogs.  Three dogs reported for chow. Where was Minnie?  I looked in all her usual hiding spots: the shower, the juniper tree by the back fence, the back yard under the north roof trim.  Nothing.  I even checked the back of my Honda to make sure I didn't lock her in there after yesterday's hike (I did that twice, and she refused to get out because it was cooler than the house). Had I left her behind on the Perimeter trail?

I finally found Minnie locked in the guest bathroom.  She must have gone in there overnight to drink some water from the toilet when she saw the bowl lid wide open and pushed the door closed.  It's a narrow bathroom and that is very plausible.  She waddled out with no care in the world.  If she had been suffering, she would have barked or whined or done anything to get my attention.

Fast forward to the late afternoon, and I was ready to walk a bit with the dogs to watch the moon rise.  My left ankle is still feeling the creeps and I knew I didn't want to walk far.  I chose the Perimeter trail along the Miller Canyon trail head.  We were the only ones there at 5:40pm with a sunset of 6:16 and moon rise at 6:26pm.  Perfect for photography.

The sun was already setting low over the mountains.  I knew we didn't have much sunlight left.  With the lingering stratus clouds across the northern sky, though, I predicted a nice color scheme.  We got to the rocky overlook at 5:50pm, still a half-hour before moon rise.  A kettle of vultures flew overhead, with one lone hawk.  It's migratory season for hawks and eagles now, so seeing raptors glide in a thermal is not unusual.

Not wanting to sit around for the moon to rise, I opted to walk north along the Perimeter trail for 1.3 miles.  The grade here is easy, and one never loses the view toward the East.  Elevation begins at around 5023' in the parking lot and reaches 5250' at the green water tank.  (It does go higher in elevation further north).  The dogs stayed close but I kept my eyes out for anyone coming toward me on the trail.

There were grey clouds to the north and a fine layer of haze in the east.  Would a moon rise be worthwhile?  I kept hiking on the trail going north, watching a herd of white-tailed deer hop down the hillside to evade the dogs.  The dogs did not chase them.  A flaming layer of orange-yellow clouds burst to the west at sunset, just as I knew I had to turn around with available sunlight.

And then, right on time, the first moon halo creeped over the mountains.  It was an orange, the perfect color for photography.  Here is where I wished I had any of my Canon  dSLR cameras handy.  The moon rose clearly above the Mule mountains, without any haze. Winds started to blow, which is usual for this time of year.  For the next 20 minutes, hiking back south to where we were parked, I enjoyed the colors, wind, and warmth around me.

We only hiked 2.6 miles, just enough for my ankle to handle.  All the dogs stayed close-by as well.  Sweetie has come a long way in the last three years! Now she at least comes back when I yell for her.

We got back to the Honda past sunset, with the last of the day's rays over the western horizon.  The dogs were panting.  I was happy.  Another day in the southern Arizona desert ended well.