Walking the Loop with Hansel; an evening in Tucson

 Yesterday's long hike to Chiva Falls did not tire me out as much as I thought it would. While I did not get up for a sunrise walk with the dogs, I did get up at 9am to walk Wolfie, Gretchen and Sweetie.

Today's big event was a 6pm Yelp event in Tucson at Borderlands Brewing, my first social event since the pandemic.  To make the drive there worthwhile, I took Hansel along to walk more of the Loop, starting at the Los Ninos park walking east along the Julian Wash to Sanderling Drive.

I didn't leave until 1pm, getting to the trailhead at 2:30pm and warmer-than-expected temperatures.  It was in the mid 80s, and this section had no shade nor much scenery.  The heat was intense for both Hansel and me.

This part of the Loop is perhaps the least scenic of all sections.  The Julian Wash is the least scenic of all sections due to the low-income section, the industry, and lack of scenery.  Walking in hot temperatures does not make this any easy, though.

The path parallels I-10, passes Davis-Monthan AFB and a cement factory.  I only met three other cyclists as I walked along barren stretches.  A new housing area is coming up just south of the AFB.

I didn't carry a pack.  I should have. I was hoping there would be some water in the wash, but the only water was at the two county parks where Hansel could drink water from the toilet.  He was thirsty but was a champ.  We walked 7.15 miles in 2:16 hours.  

Construction in El Centro required good navigation skills.  I'm glad I only walked the time I had, because it took me 35 minutes to drive nine miles! I made sure that when I left him alone in the truck to attend the Yelp event, that he was well taken care of with water while I was gone for the 90 minutes.

I arrived at the brewery at 5:25pm, parked on Toole Avenue, and had enough time to walk around the block and admire the many murals.  Borderlands Brewing is located in the Art district, with murals by Joe Pagac and Ignacio Garcia.  Both men do beautiful work and their art is worth admiring.

I got to Borderlands at  5:40pm, one of two early birds.  I was paired with Matthew, a Yelper for 12 years who recently flew to Munich to attend Oktoberfest.  We were soon followed by others and we all ended up sitting next to each other for the beer and taco flights that Borderlands offered us for free.    I'm a wheat beer drinker, but the four different beers were all very good except the La Miche, which tasted like salty pasta water.  Everyone quickly left after the event.

I used the early autumn evening to walk with Hansel around El Centro.  It was a quiet evening on Congress Avenue.  This evening walk added another three miles to the day's total of 11.15 miles.