I took Gretchen on a 2.75-mile walk at 5am along Hereford Road, under an overcast sky and a cool breeze. But this was just a warm-up as we had Miller Creek on the schedule for 8am.
This walk was Ellen's idea. Her nephew is in town for a week staying with her and Ellen asked me to join them on a morning walk today. I agreed. We met at the upper Miller C anyon parking area and walked downhill along the creek by 8am. I took my RV dogs Sweetie and Gretchen
Despite recent rains, there was little water in the creek. This has me concerned. While this was Reilly's first time along the shaded creek, I have seen this creek before the 2011 fire, after heavy monsoons, and now in a drought. Reilly jumped around the rocks, often with Gretchen following him, totally oblivious to what the creek should look like. He wanted to see the pools that Ellen had talked about. There are three good pools of water to wade in during the height of monsoon season. Today we only found one.
But there wasn't much water in the creek at all. We didn't walk very far because of that. But we still made it fun. It was a pleasant nature walk with the sights, smells and sounds of a struggling creek. Reilly enjoyed the freedom to explore and Gretchen stayed close to him while Sweetie sauntered behind me.
Sweetie was another reason we didn't go far. Lack of water and an increase in heat were other reasons. I took Sweetie off-leash because she was too slow this morning and I wanted her to walk at her pace and not mine. After a short jaunt uphill to a look-out rock that illegal immigrants use, we turned around and walked back to our cars. We completed 2.4 miles in 90 minutes. This was as much as Sweetie could handle at once.
Reilly took very well to the dogs and they took very well to him. We finished our hike with an early lunch at Culvers, and both dogs happily took chicken bits from Reilly. (They also each got a pup cup of custard) This was my one big meal of the day as the heat was getting intense.
Sweetie looked tired all day. Was the hike too much for her? She lay down in the cab on the way home, and then when I got back to the RV, she didn't want to get out. Lesley came by to drop off iced coffee and as I was trying to figure out how to keep the dogs cool, Susan called. She invited me to come over to let the dogs cool down in her shaded garden. I took her up on the offer right away.
The day got hot fast It was only 1:20pm. I didn't want to overstay my welcome, but today Susan wanted me to stay for a while. She was in a good mood. We sat down and chatted, both on her patio and in her living room, and every few hours we walked around her property. Both of my dogs came along every time, and faithful Sweetie followed. The best part was seeing how comfortable Gretchen is around Allie. Those two dogs get along very well. Gretchen incites play with Allie, something she is too timid to do around her own siblings.
It looked like it would rain in the afternoon. Dark clouds to the north looked threatening, but nothing really happened. Watching storms from Susan's home gives one the entire range of the Huachuca mountains. But despite the dark clouds, nothing much happened.
I wanted to get back early enough to get more yard work done, but ended up staying until just after 8pm and by then fatigue set in. When I got back home, I went straight to bed, and Gretchen followed me
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