Roadtrip 2019

I will be leaving Monday morning for Chicagoland, or as we Hoosiers say, "The Region," that smelly, industrial part of Northwest Indiana (NWI) consumed by steel mill and power plants along southern Lake Michigan, and flanked on the west by impatient Chicagoans driving rusty Fords and Chevys.  It will be my first summer in ten years back there.  My last summer in NWI was with a young Sadie in 2009, meeting my first grandson Ethan for the first time and then traveling toward Montana to explore most of the Lewis and Clark trail.  In fact, that six-week road trip was the premise for starting this blog.  It was the start of my post-military traveling life.  It's been 11 years and I have no regrets.

I had wanted to make the drive to NWI a five-day endeavor, stopping in Lafayette, AR and Lake of the Ozarks, MO for day hikes.  Hiking the Ha Ha Tonka trail in Missouri has been on my bucket list for a while.  Alas, the constant floods in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri-Illinois this May have made me have to change my plans.  The Mississippi and Missouri rivers haven't seen this kind of flooding since 1993.  Farmers have had to postpone crop planting this year, river towns have had to evacuate and tornado/flood damage has forced towns to close parks, trails and roads.

My nephew Ulrich reports from Little Rock that that town is getting flooded.  At least his home is on high ground in the central-west part of town, and he's still safe.  Friends in Missouri (St James, Columbia and St Louis) all report constant tornado activity this past week.  So, instead of hiking congested trails in the Ozarks, dodging traffic and litter-strewn roads (Missourians like to litter), I've  decided to change my route.  I will travel to Albuquerque and Raton, NM; Trinidad, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, CO; and Cheyenne, WY, hugging the Rocky Mountain foothills, hiking trails near the cities and chilling in the evening at a brewpub.  Colorado and Wyoming had snow last week and temperatures are rather cool for this time of year.  But at least it won't be humid and bug-infested.  Hiking will be more enjoyable as long as I'm not dodging tornadoes or wildfires. I may even stop in Denver, a town I've yet to experience.

It's driving across the north-central Plains, across Nebraska and Iowa, that may be a challenge for me. Both have had tornadoes these past two weeks, and add to that flooded rivers and driving will be cautionary.  I've already lived through two nighttime tornadoes while on the road and it's a horrifying event as one never knows where the funnel cloud is.  One tornado was as I was leaving Sioux Falls, IA and heading toward Yankton, SD. Once I leave Cheyenne I'll be putting the pedal to the metal on those scenic backroads to get to NWI.  Heck, even Dyer, IN, right on the Illinois-Indiana state line and not too far from Crown Point, had a confirmed tornado touch down on Memorial Day.

I never make concrete plans when I travel because weather always trumps my plans, but these aforementioned towns are on my itinerary for now.  There are several air force bases I can camp at for a few bucks a night along the way.  While hiking trails may not be the best, I can always walk through old railroad and river towns and take in some frontier history.  If I drive through Nebraska I want to see the famed Sand Hills. I'll go where the clear skies take me.  I always enjoy any town I stay at.  That's why I always look forward to my summer road trips.  It's a beautiful country!

Joe's Canyon, Coronado National Memorial

Distance: 5.1 miles (6.1 if you hike up to Montezuma's peak)
Elevation:  5231' - 6864'
Significance: Scenic vistas, Spanish colonial history
Take the daily park shuttle to Montezuma's Pass and hike back, taking a one-mile diversion to the actual border
https://www.arizonahighways.com/explore/hiking/joes-canyon-trail

Summer vacation has officially started and the official Memorial Day weekend has begun.  Why travel anywhere when we live in a tourist destination? 

I met KimG, TheresaD, HollyW at the Visitor's Center at the Coronado National Memorial.  This is a small patch of land that borders the international border.  Spanish Conquistador Coronado and his band allegedly traveled nearby, using the San Pedro River as a water source, on his way north looking for the Seven Cities of Gold.  I don't hike here very often because dogs are not allowed on the trail, but today I made an exception.  This is a trail that KimG had recommended.  I had last done this in 2003 with Kevin and 18" of snow.

We took the 8:30am shuttle from the Visitor's center to the parking lot at Montezuma Pass, a six-mile meandering drive up a dirt road.  Vanessa, a young blonde park intern with spiky hair, was the driver and also historian, who gave us an overview of the area.  We were all eager to get started and listened restlessly.   One other man was in the shuttle and took off on the hike.  We never saw him again.

This was Kim's and Theresa's first time on this trail.  Both were excited about the scenery.  Weather was in the mid 70s and breezy.  We really lucked out, because it can get hot and dry in May.  Our unseasonably cold weather continues.  It was dry, though.  The only flowers we saw were the red flowers of the ocotillo.  A few agave were also in bloom, but the trail was void of any color.

We bypassed the actual peak from where one can view south into Mexico.  The half-mile hike to the overlook is worth hiking to, but everyone wanted to get the official border.  Hikers attempting the 800-mile Arizona trail have to hike this one-mile detour to official get started.

The border here is a mere barbed wire.  That wire isn't very obvious as one hikes down the trail, but the white border marker does stand out.  The marker has been repainted with silver.  Security is provided by sensors and the ever-lurking eye of the surveillance blimp above Fort Huachuca.  US Border Patrol regularly drive around the area.

We sat at the border for a good 30 minutes.  A bench has been installed just north of the marker to sit and enjoy the view.  Theresa brought her binoculars and looked south through the lenses, telling us that a man was looking back at us.  There was a small ranch south of the border and we could see some tractors and other equipment in the yard.  Other than a few isolated buildings, there is not much habitation here.  Fifteen years ago this was a popular smuggling route.  Today we saw no evidence of border crossers.  Gone were abandoned backpacks, rusty tuna cans, sun-bleached Electrolyte bottles.

The hike back up to the ridgeline was all uphill.  Once we got to the ridgeline, it was all downhill back to the visitor's center.  My phone ran out of battery juice a mile from the finish line, as the trail narrowed and got steeper as we carefully maneuvered down the rocky trail.

 
We finished off the day drinking coffee at the local Brews Brothers in Hereford.  We sat there for another 90 minutes chatting in the cool air.  I paid the price for this jolt of caffeine because later I couldn't fall asleep.  I finally got tired at 4:15am and fell asleep.  Needless to say, I skipped the sunrise.

Along the SPRNCA trail from Hereford Bridge going north

The cold weather continued into Monday.  I cancelled a sunrise hike due to the wind, promising myself to hike four miles after work. I wore a sweater to work to keep warm since the school is now on AC.  The sky was heavily overcast and it was a mere 51F when I drove to work.  It's normally in the mid 60s now.

It even rained mid-day and the mountains were shrouded in heavy fog.  This is so unusual for May.  While I don't like the cold and wind, I know the mountains need this moisture.  I'm sure the animals don't mind cooler over hotter weather, either.

I knew I wanted to get a good hike in today.  The cool weather is perfect forh hiking with dogs. Susan had to stick to a shorter hike due to some home maintenance, but Bill was up to the challenge.  I told him it was two miles to a wide wash going north from the Hereford Bridge on the San Pedro River National Conservation Area trail  (SPRNCA, or simply the San Pedro River trail) and then .3 on the wash to the river.  I wanted to start along the water for the dogs' sake, explore the banks, and then return via the official trail to gain speed and time.  He was up for the challenge.  We met at 4pm at the Hereford Bridge and started our walk going north.  The cloud cover had mostly dissipated, but it was still cool at 65F.

We stayed along the river but walked the shore, avoiding the water.  We walked as far as we could before resorting to bushwhacking, which was just over a mile from the start.  The tall grass was dead and pokey and I'm sure not very comfortable for the dogs, but I could tell that other humans had been here as I followed a faint trail of stomped grass.  We crossed the field from the water to the trail and continued north on the trail.

We got to the wash at 3.65 miles in under two hours.  It seemed longer than that.  The dogs were happy to see water again.  I was curious to see how the river  here had changed.  My last time to this spot was well over five years ago, with Sammy in the pack.

The river at this point on the south end was stagnant.  I'm assuming another beaver dam was holding up the water.  Green algae formed near the shore, but the water was flowing north at this point.  Cottonwoods provide thick shade from the sun. I'd taken Sara and Sammy here to this rocky shore to let them in the water, but neither dog was enthusiastic about water like Zeke, Minnie and Sweetie are.  Domino was also right in the water, racing through the shallow parts, but panicking when his paws couldn't grip onto a snag in the water.

Domino and Sweetie had a bit of an altercation.  If Sweetie were human, she'd be one of those humorless, aloof, grumpy people who easily gets flustered when dealing with people.  Sweetie snarled at Domino to show Domino she didn't appreciate his nipping on her.  At one point both dogs had their teeth in the other dog's back.

We didn't stay long.  It was already past 5:30pm and I wanted to get back before dark.  I am curious how the river continues at this point.  The river snakes north, deeply and quietly, and is heavily shaded by dense cottonwoods. Perhaps that will be my next plan.
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We took the official trail going back, walking at a steady pace.  Even Minnie stayed with us, panting all the way.  She definitely got her share of exercise today.  We had hiked 6.95 miles by the time we were done, finishing in the cool shade of a sinking sun.  Bill seemed excited about getting out again for some mileage.  His dog Domino also seems to have enjoyed the challenge.

Thompson Ridge

Overcast skies were forecasted today and highs were in the mid 70s.  I slept in again, getting up past sunrise.  The dogs were also napping, as if they were just waiting for me to make the first move.

The bird was still alive and chirping when I got to the kitchen to make coffee.  I looked at it carefully.  It's missing the right eye and the left eye is swollen (punctured?).  I watched it move around in the cage.  I'm certain it is blind and can only see shades of light.  What kind of life could this sparrow have?  I gave it some water through a dropper, but it did not want to eat.   I will do the best I can to feed and tend to it, but I worry if I can sustain this.  The bird doesn't seem to even know why I'm pushing a dropper to its beak. It took some water, but refused any mushed dog food.  Despite its lack of vision, the little bird chirps with delight.  I placed its cage on the back patio where it could hear other birds.

It was a slow day for me.  I stayed inside to read and write a bit, but mostly I just wanted to relax.  Winds were picking up so I gave up hiking up Carr Peak.  Instead, I opted for the closer and shorter Thompson Ridge in Ash Canyon, a 3.2-mile o/b hike up an old mining road, with 1600' elevation gain in 1.5 miles.

The dogs were excited to get going.  We were the only car at the trailhead.  The only sign of life was a distant CFN fire truck parked at the intersection of Ash and Lutz Canyon.

The area was dry.  No sign of recent rains.  The only flowers I saw were a few bunches of Indian Paintbrush in shaded areas under the scrub oaks.

It took me 46 minutes to get to the ridge, even with a short stop for Minnie who doesn't do well outside of water.  Winds were getting stronger the higher I got.  The horizon was a medium grey and I could see the dust in the air.  The ridge would have to be my final destination as this 30mph wind could knock the dogs off a narrow trail.

We drank water and then went back down the switchbacks.   The winds were too strong on the ridge and I could tell even the dogs were not liking this. To extend the walk a bit, I took the dogs down the dry Ash Creek to the hidden spring.  The spring was buried in the 2011 flash floods and is not easy to get to because of snags across the wash.  Once one sees horse tail growing along the banks, one is certain to be close.  Today I also spotted the first Columbines of the season.

I let the dogs refresh themselves before resuming our walk up to the main road.  The springs are located near an old campsite that now sports a "No Trespassing" sign.  How is that even legal, being in the national forest?  I used to take Sara and Sammy to the springs all the time, but the flood of 2011 has changed the character of the creek.

It was now 5:30pm.  We had been in the canyon two hours. ATVers were now coming in and it was time to leave.  The last thing I did was stop in the road to make sure a large Sonoran gopher snake made it safely into the grass.

Cruelties of nature

It felt good to sleep in after a week of 0400 reveilles.  I didn't even get up till 8am to make coffee.  The dogs didn't balk.  I had plenty to do in the kitchen alone.  My plan was to take the dogs down to the river later in the afternoon, after taking Zeke and Minnie to a local vaccine clinic at Jem's Feed off Moson Avenue nearby.  I usually take the dogs into town at the Tractor Supply Company when they hold the twice-monthly vaccine clinics on Sundays.  This feed store is locally owned and very popular with the neighborhood.  There were even chairs for people to sit in!  Dr Moffutt was doing the exams.  She's one of my favorite veterinarians at the Sierra Animal Hospital.  The only thing I didn't like was the rabies vaccine was done on carbon paper (that's so 20th century!)

 Susan ended up joining me for a short 1.8-mile stroll north of the Hereford bridge at 5pm.

The unmarked trail here is very obvious for the first mile.  Then the river bends sharply to the west and the flora becomes dense.  This is where we turn around, as Susan doesn't like bushwhacking through the tall grass.

Today we walked on the east shore, then crossed over to the west shore when we saw cattle grazing nearby.  We are lucky we did, as two angry bulls came running toward the river, but then turned around to rejoin their herd.  We spotted a dead baby Great Horned Owl and later a broken egg on the trail.

 

We met a couple from Bisbee walking the trail as we were heading back to our cars.  We seldom see people here walking to look at birds, but apparently they also walk the river quite often, just to get away from townlife.

Today's river walk was short and sweet.  To make up for the short mileage, I went out again at 11pm with Zeke for another 2.6 miles around the neighborhood.  (I totally forgot about the full moon rising earlier.) I was a block away when I heard something in the road make a sound.  What was it?  I couldn't tell because it was in a deep shadow.  I had to use my flashlight app to shine on it.  It was a little sparrow.  What was it doing out at night in the middle of the road?  It tried to fly off, but it let me capture it.  I took it home, placed it in a hamster cage I keep for such emergencies, and continued my walk.  It wasn't until later that I noticed its injured eyes.

   

Mother's Day and Rain!

We finally got the much-hyped storm yesterday.  Finally!

Rain fell early.  By sunrise the rain came in rhythm.  It continued at a gentle pace until it stopped shortly after 9am.  I took that opportunity to walk the dogs down the maintenance road for two hours.  More rain was coming from Sonora, with a dark cloud slowly moving from Naco.  I could see and hear distant thunder and lightning.  I gave myself two miles at a quick pace before more rain fell.  Minnie is scared of thunder and lightning and I wanted the pack back safely in the car.

It was still warm and muggy in the morning.  The dogs were excited to get out, and I was just as excited to get back home before the second, more intense, volley came just before 10am.  This rain lasted for six steady hours, soaking the yard and rehydrating dog shit I didn't realize was hiding in the tall, dead grass of our back yard.  It's as if the dogs have been hiding their poop all this time.  When the rain finally ended after 3pm, I gave up all hope of hiking up Carr Peak and instead focused on the back yard.  My goodness, there was so much rehydrated dog shit hiding in tall, dead grass that I started wondering if I was dragging shit back onto the patio instead of mud all this time.  I try to do a good job de-shitting the back yard every day, but my discovery kept me busy for an hour.  I also used this chance to pull more weeds from the same area.

Temperatures cooled 20 degrees by the early evening.  This is so unusual for May, one of our hottest and driest months.  I stayed in the rest of the day to avoid puddled, muddy trails. 

Eric called me in the early evening to wish me a happy Mom's Day and we chatted another 25 minutes.  He revealed that he and an old high school friend, Derek, are seriously thinking of opening a brewpub somewhere, but want to research where they can do so without breaking the bank.  What town isn't already saturated with breweries and brewpubs? Derek is already the head brewer at Goshen Brewery in Indiana (an hour southeast of South Bend).  I do wish both men well.  I would love to be their favorite customer!

This morning was ten degrees colder than previous mornings this past month.  It was a chilly 48F and I wore a second layer as I paced the pack three miles before heading for the high school.  This is the last full week of school.  Seniors graduate on the 17th. The BLM/CFN stock pond where I let the dogs refresh themselves after a walk didn't look any fuller from yesterday's rain. It still smelled damp from sage and creosote.  Rain was forecasted at 30% and the sky was clear.  By 1pm the sky was mostly cloudy.   

Temperatures will slowly rise again to the upper 80s this week, and nighttime lows will return to the mid 50s.  Meanwhile, northern Indiana and the Southeast are getting more than their share of rain.  Texas alone got enough rain in four days this past weekend than they normally get all month.

Doris Day, a popular actor of the 1950s and 60s died earlier today at her home in Carmel, CA.  She was 97 years old.  She lived the last five years in seclusion, taking no interviews.  She was a big lover of animals and lobbied for more humane animal shelters in California, which she accomplished.  I even thought of her this past March when I hiked in nearby Garland Ranch Regional Park with Zeke. 

Walking the river and seeing black hawks

I slept in today.  I missed the sunrise.  Zeke jumped into bed, nearly smothering Kevin and that was at 5:30am when the sun was already up.  Zeke is a loveable dog, but he has no concept of respecting our personal space.  All the other dogs walk around us when we are in bed.  Not Zeke.  He jumps into bed like a loaded fur bomb and prefers landing right on top of you.

My Mother's Day present came today.  Kevin had ordered it last month from a new upstarter,  Gear Bubble.  He got me a personalized coffee mug that was nicely packed in a styrofoam cube.  I was touched.  But then I noticed the misspelling of "and."  But there was more: both Proper names were not capitalized.  And then the glaring grammar mistake with "If some other woman was my Mom..."   (It should read "If some other woman WERE my Mom...") really drove me nuts. I went to the website to write a review but couldn't find where to post one, although there were hundreds of other five-star reviews.  My comment on the company's Facebook page never posted, either.  This mug had the potential of being a great five-star gift if the grammar and spelling had been perfect.

I missed the club hike and opted to stay in, drink coffee in bed and write more reviews for Amazon.  I'm so far behind with posting reviews, I'm surprised Amazon hasn't dropped me from their Vine program.  However, clouds started moving into the area and it got cooler, meaning perfect weather for a hike down the river.  When Susan contacted me asking me if I wanted to go walk with her, I jumped on the chance.  We met at 3pm by the B&B and walked south.  I wanted to show her  the tree shrine and Chevy carcass.  She had never been down the river this far south, and she really liked what she saw.

There is no designated trail here.  We walked through the stream, walked on the eastern ridge and followed a faint social trail (this river is popular with illegals coming up from Mexico).  Fallen trees, snags, dead grass line the route.  In the monsoon season these grasses will grow five feet tall; a perfect cover for those sneaking across the border which is six miles to the south.

Clouds continued to move in.  It got windier and cooler. It even looked like we could get rained on.  Our feet were already wet from the water, what  was a little more rain?  That last half mile, however, was along the dry creek bed.  This area is notoriously dry.

I took her on the route I did on Thursday, but we turned around at the upturned Chevy, making this hike a half-mile shorter than Thursday's.

Susan told me that this walk was more fun than expected.  She had wanted to hike somewhere else, but today's hike was very enjoyable.  Like me, she appreciates discovering new things along a route.  It could be an oddly-shaped tree, a unique flower, a colorful bird.  We spotted a camouflaged carpet shoe strewn in the grass. the same kind we saw up river last week.  It looks like something an illegal border crosser would wear to erase its footprints.

Today's big discovery was watching what we are sure was a pair of nesting black hawks.  At first we thought they were turkey vultures, but the shriek was unlike that of a vulture.  Susan then said grey hawk, which are rather rare she said.  We then settled for black hawk, as the birds had distinctive white bands on their tails. They seemed bothered by our presence.  We couldn't see a nest but that doesn't mean there wasn't one in the area.  Both flew overhead shrieking.  The shriek was not that of the red-tailed hawk.  We watched them for quite a while.  They watched us, too.  I took photos of the birds but my cellphone can't capture that detail.  I took a 4:40 minute video, but am unsure if I can post that here.

Susan then spotted a tanager. (I never did see it.)  I spotted some yellow monkeyflower (they like wet grounds and grow near water sources) and a headless swallowtail butterfly.

The walk was almost two hours for the 3.75 miles.  We came back to our cars with a dark grey band of clouds over the mountains.  Would it actually rain?  Virga clouds to our north were raining, but the water was evaporating before it hit the ground.

We both agreed that today's walk was an eventful one.  I got home and read up on black hawks.  They are native to central and south America, but travel through a narrow band up into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  They like to nest in cottonwoods near rivers. They like to eat crabs, but frogs and rodents are also eaten.

It never rained over us, although I could smell it via the damp aroma of sage and creosote.  At 9:30pm I drove to the gas station to get beer and saw lightning toward the northwest (Tucson).  The road was wet, too.  A waxing gibbous  quarter moon shined in a near cloudless sky.

Rain for tomorrow is still forecasted at 60%.  Depending on how heavy the rain is, I'm tempted to hike up Carr peak.  I need to hike the peak before the end of the month.  I hope to see more wildflowers now.

https://tetonraptorcenter.org/our-work/education/all-about-raptors/hawks/common-black-hawk

https://www.raptor.umn.edu/learn-about-raptors/raptors-north-america/common-black-hawk 

The common black hawk’s preferred habitat is coastal lowlands of mixed savannah, dunes, ponds, lagoons, and grasslands. It can also be seen along wooded streams and even in hilly deserts, such as in Arizona, sometimes up to 5,000 or 6,000 feet. 

Hazy walk along the river

We had an unexpected overcast day that cooled the 80F high to a more tolerant 70F.  This made taking the dogs out for their daily walk more enjoyable for everyone, because this morning I skipped the sunrise walk in return for simply chilling and writing reviews.  I'm sure I missed a colorful sunrise.

Susan was busy with her Car Club meeting in the afternoon and couldn't accompany me along the San Pedro river.  I wanted to explore a beaver dam that she said was north of our usual route.  I didn't get started with the walk until almost 3:30pm, but that still gave us two hours of good sunlight.  I parked along what we call the "Killsite," the rather nondescript Lehner Kill site, and walked the perimeter loop south, then east and reached the river at the 1.6-mile mark.  This is what the dogs always look forward to: water and shade.  Even Minnie waddles faster when she smells the river.  Once at the river, the route goes north.

All the dogs were walking well today, even Minnie who is slowly stiffening with arthritis.  Sadie, too, has a lumber in her hind legs and follows next to me.  She no longer runs into the river with the other two (Zeke and Sweetie), and she's now the last one to follow the others in a chase.  My Sadie is now an old dog, and takes each day as it comes.

I came across no one on today's walk.  A maintenance man at the San Pedro B&B waved at me, as he always does, and I reciprocated.  I stayed high along the trail  for as long as possible while the three dogs splashed in the water.  Sadie didn't go into the water until I did, too.

I ended up walking with the dogs in the water for a good mile, walking north until the river takes a sharp left turn.  Large cottonwoods cluster along this bend; tall green grass line the river banks. Here is where the beaver dam is.  It's not noticeable from the surface as there are no piles of logs.  One knows it's there because the river suddenly widens and deepens.  I made this dam my resting spot, sitting down on a rock while the dogs splashed around.  Minnie pulled desperately on protruding roots,  Sadie walked around to drink, Zeke munched on grass, and Sweetie opted to chase after a female mallard.  The mallard flew off quaking, but kept coming back.  She must have been protecting a nest, because this chase repeated at least three times.  Does Sweetie ever tire?

We truly are blessed to have a water source so close to us.  This water is so unlike the rest of southern Arizona. I was at a remote site, not visible from the official trail to the west.  The Cottonwoods and ash trees this year are already suffering from a moth infestation.  One can see the dark moth nests weaved like teardrop sacks on the thinner branches. We haven't had any measurable rain in a few weeks and the river is dropping in elevation.  White salt lines are now appearing on the banks, evidence of fertilizer flowing from Mexico.  We desperately need more rain soon.  May and June can get hot and dry and when strong winds blow up from Sonora, we can get perfect conditions for fast-moving fires.

Today I was entertained by a few red Vermillion flycatchers.  They flitted about along the banks but never came too close.  The bright red plumage of the males sticks out from the dull green.  Hawks and ravens also flew overhead.  Stink bugs were the only animals on the ground.  They'd raise their hind legs when we got too close.

I walked just over five miles today, walking at a slower-than-normal pace.  The sun set behind a haze of clouds but once again I didn't go outside to witness it.