Fairbank loop

Midterm elections were today.  I had mailed my ballot in three weeks ago but didn't have high hopes for a favorable outcome.  I didn't want to be distracted by any election results during the day and wanted some diversion.  Once I knew I got no call-in today, I went to the DMV to get a copy of my registration and title, but learned I had to get that from New Jersey since that is where I bought my Ford Escape in 2002.  I asked SteveT if he was in the mood to hike around Fairbank off SR 82.  He had said last week that the trees along the San Pedro River were changing colors and I wanted to see them.

Fairbank is now a historic area and flat, so an easy hike for those who like to stroll.  Fairbank was once a railroad supply point and stage terminal beginning in 1883s.  The San Pedro River flooded in 1890 and again in 1894, and later droughts bankrupted nearby farmers who stopped using the rail.  When the Tombstone mine flooded in 1887, it helped speed up the demise of the nearby rail and stamp mill towns like Charleston and Fairbank.  What is left is now a ghost town and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

We met at 11:15am and drove to the trailhead parking area together with dogs Trace, Minnie and Zeke.  I brought Minnie along because of the river water she had access to, but quickly noticed how tired she got, how quickly she began to pant.  It was only in the upper 70s but that was clearly too much for her.  Hiking to Contention, a mining town abandoned in 1888, was Steve's initial goal but that didn't look like a good decision. It was too warm and dry for an eight-mile o/b hike. I had been here before and not much remains but badly eroded adobe walls and some rusted mining equipment.  I had hiked this route with the Huachuca Hiking Club and we had followed along the river coming back.  Today we started in the parking lot and went north, past the cemetery and old mill before turning northwest to the river.  It was near the river that we saw any flowers still in bloom, all of the yellow variety.

Today was just too much for Minnie and I told Steve that it was better that we just do the loop and stay in the shade.  Trace and Zeke had no trouble, but Minnie and then I started feeling under the weather.  My only excuse was the lack of sleep the night before.  We can do Contention another day, when it's cooler and overcast.

Minnie ran toward the water as soon as she saw it.  The river was flowing gently, with only a few spots deeper than two feet deep.  She not only drank from the river, she lay down, clearly showing relief from the heat.  She walked back and forth, looking for sticks to grab. She didn't want to get out of the water. That's when I knew I would be overtaxing her if we were to go on a few more miles across dry, dull desert to gawk at a few ruins.  I shouldn't have brought her on this hike.

We ended up just walking the 5-mile Fairbank loop, returning to the start via the trail along the river.  The trees were indeed in fall foliage as the sun shined through the leaves. I let the dogs run down for water.  Trace and Zeke had no trouble running up and down the steep embankment.  Minnie needed more encouragement.

We stopped twice for breaks.  The first break was at an old bridge.  The second time was under the bridge of SR82, where I went three years ago to mourn Carol's death of brain cancer.  The dogs splashed in the water while we sat in the shade.  From the bridge was another half-mile to the car. We never saw another person on this hike, but the parking lot was much more crowded when we got back to the car.

Steve and I had a snack in Huachuca City, stopping at Ray's where we tried some pizza.  The old restaurant is long gone and an antique mall is in its place, with a "G's pizza" providing for wings and pizza from 11am-6pm Tuesday-Saturday.  The place has a cozy aura to it.  It's now the only place in town that offers food in the afternoon. Sunny D's, the local breakfast joint, closes at 2pm.

I went home with a 16" pizza for Kevin to try, then got comfortable to watch the election results.  The Republicans got majority of the Senate, which I expected, and the Democrats now control the House.  The next two years are going to be very interesting.