Super Blue Moon hike up Juniper Flats in Bisbee

Distance: 6.83 miles

Elevation: 1287'

Significance: views of sunset and moon rise 

This is a hike that Ellen, Janet, Travis and I talked about when we last hiked up Carr Peak.  I made it a Meet-Up so others could join.  Ellen brought TomR and BrendaH along; what a nice surprise!  I haven't hiked with Brenda in years.  Travis had to cancel in the last minute when his mother was rushed to the ER on Monday,  RyanD showed up. KimG showed up, but turned around just past the mile mark. We were a group of six.  Gretel was my dog companion.  This was Tom's and Brenda's first time up this road.

The road is well-graded and wide, with nice views in all directions, but the first mile in 90F heat and a steep grade was rough!

Sunset was at 6:47pm with moon rise at 6:59pm.  I allotted 25 minutes per mile.  We started at 5:30pm but even us faster hikers (Janet, Ryan and I) were still a 1/4 mile from the destination.  (Next time I will allot 30 minutes per mile.)

There were heavy, dark clouds moving in near the peak, with lightning to our north.  These clouds also partially obstructed our views to the West, but there was some color after sunset.  And, more surprising, the red moon was visible despite the clouds over the horizon.

I carried a backpack with water, but slinging it over my right side only made for some discomfort.  My broken, bruised arm did ok as long as I stayed on level ground, but that backpack was not easy to carry over one shoulder.

We made it to the second set of radio towers just in time to see the red moon rise.  Janet saw it first.  I had wanted to take the group to a rocky hilltop north of the radio towers, but opted mot to due to the storm.  One can see the lights of Cananea, Sonora and Agua Prieta as well from the hill. 

We had good views from where we sat, although my Motorola takes awful night shots and did the moon no justice.  Even Tom, Ellen and Brenda got to see it when they caught up to us.

Now we had lightning all around us.  A few stray raindrops fell on us, but nothing significant.  The breeze kicked in briefly, but our walk back down was quiet and calm.  Gretel ran up ahead but stayed close. Janet took off first.  I walked back with Ryan as we studied the cloud formations.  A dragon was swallowing the moon at one point.

We walked past two other small groups parked near vistas to see the moon, but it was otherwise a quiet walk back.

We got back to the cars  in 3:15 hours. We all waited for everyone to get back to their cars.  We chatted some more in the parking lot before heading home.  I stopped at Fry's for more raw meat for the dogs and didn't get home until 10pm.

. 

Photo by JanetH

CCMN: Copper Queen mine tour

Today was the first tour for the CCMN class and we went into the Copper Queen mine to look at the rock and mineral make-up

I've been inside the mine as a tourist years ago.  My first husband Tim and I did the standard hard-hat tour via the mine train back in 1986.  This time we took a private tour with the mine tour manager, Douglas Graeme.  The emphasis was on the geologic make-up of the rock.  It was dark and stuffy, but I enjoy hearing about rocks, even when I can't identify rhyolite from sedimentary rock.

Several people had difficulty walking up the narrow stairs on this tour.  We got to see things tourists don't get to see, such as the natural caves within the mine.  This is the part I like! A black light flashlight also helps one see minerals in the rock that one can't see with the naked eye (fluorite, calcite are just two such minerals)

The tour lasted an hour.  We had 20 minutes before meeting again at the Mining museum in Bisbee, a short walk from the mine.  I went down to the Smoothie shop before joining my classmates on the steps of the museum.

The curator here is the sister of the Copper Queen mine manager, Douglas, who gave us a quick 45-minute tour of the small museum (Owned by the Smithsonian).  The mine was Bisbee's main economy until the mines closed in the 1970s.  Graduates from Bisbee High School had their diplomas etched in thin copper instead of treated paper as late as the 1940s.

I enjoyed both tours, but was glad to get home ad out of the heat.

Carr Peak with Gretel, Ellen, Janet, and Travis

Ellen and I talked about bagging Carr  today several weeks ago.  It was a free weekend day for her.  I made this a Meet-Up hike and Janet and Travis signed up.  We were a group of four that started promptly at 6am/6:25am.

The frontal storm of Hurricane Hilary had blown through at 1:40am for about 12 minutes.  We got high winds and heavy rain that kept me awake.  The storm clouds provided for a dramatic sun rise. The road up the trail head was damp but not flooded.  It was 57F at the start with an overcast sky.

We were a group that stayed together for the entire hike, stopping a lot to take photographs.  So many more wildflowers had popped open since my last hike three weeks ago.  The higher we got, the more colors we saw.  Fleabane among the manzanitas greeted us near the trailhead, switching to verbana, sunflowers, Perry's penstemons near the peak.  

This was Travis' first time up the peak and he stopped a lot in awe.  I remember when I first hiked up Carr in the early 1990s!  The views still inspire me every single time.

Gretel behaved nicely.  She chased something 3-4 times but always came back.

There were few butterflies this time, but many more flowers.  And there was no wind on the peak.

It took us two hours to reach the peak.  We took our photos, ate snacks, and were back at the cars in 4:13 hours.  The sun came out briefly on our way down through the aspen grove, but quickly went back behind clouds.

Meanwhile, southern California is under extreme watch for Hurricane Hilary, which is forecasted to travel north toward Palm Springs and then into Nevada tomorrow morning.  Southern California hasn't seen a Hurricane in 84 years.

We had a small lunch at Nivana's where we discussed future hikes.  I'm slowly getting back into shape.

The Cochise County Master Naturalist course

 I finally bit the bullet and signed up for the Cochise County Master Naturalist course, or CCMN. It meets twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursday, from 1730-2030 hours in Bisbee, at the former grade school I once worked at when I first retired from the army.  It's a non-credit course, but with this course and 20 hours of volunteer work after graduation in December, I will be able to call myself a certified naturalist.  A naturalist has a passion for human-animal-earth relationships but isn't necessary a master of knowledge in any one field.   I fit that description.

The school closed in 2010. The building still belongs to the school district, but gets assistance from the county.  Parts of the school are used by the Bisbee science lab now.  The playground and eight acres are now under the science lab.

I remember when this was full of screaming kids. The playground still has the swing and monkey bars and basketball court.  Weeds are growing over the court.  Plants are growing under the old canopy.

The best part about this building is the views south into Mexico.  I will always cherish watching the sunsets from the old school. At night the lights of Naco and the lights along the border are obvious.

We will have Saturday field trips with the CCMN.  I'm looking forward to them, especially to the places I haven't yet been to, such as the San Bernadino wildlife refuge east of Douglas, AZ.  That refuge stradles the border with Mexico. 

Sweetie officially in Fospice

Susan texted me to let me know she was low on dog food for Sweetie.  This was a perfect excuse to make a visit her way to see Sweetie, drop off more food, and talk.

I was low on canned food as well, so I made a stop in town, as well as a stop at Culver's for some chocolate-strawberry parfait custard.  It's one of my favorite flavors and one of Susan's as well. 

I ended up staying with her for five hours, walking the dogs in the shady parts of her yard, admiring her garden bounty (My own little garden failed this year due to the extreme heat ).  I even had a small meal there.  But the biggest discussion was about Sweetie.

Susan initiated this.  It was simply her asking me if Sweetie could stay with her indefinitely.  I would continue to provide the food and medicine and she would provide the comfort and security.  Sweetie feels comfortable at Susan's place, where she is in a quiet home with no other dogs attacking her.  Allie and Sweetie are both old dogs and get along; any other conflicts the two dogs worked out themselves.  She didn't say it but I could tell Susan has fallen for Sweetie.

I did not debate this.  Sweetie has been with Susan since the morning of my wrist surgery in June. I agree that Susan can provide a better home for Sweetie in many ways.  But I have also gotten attached to my warrior princess, now that she's frail, in pain, and slowly fading away.  She is my last part of Kevin.  When Sweetie goes, I'm not sure how I will feel.

The Galliprant Sweetie is on is helping her mobility.  Sweetie is now back to walking with Susan and Allie on short walks around her acreage and down her dirt road.  She is not limping as badly as earlier this year before the doctor put her on Galliprant.  She seems to enjoy her walks again, tapping her two front legs with excitement when she sees Susan hold her collar before putting it on her.  Putting that collar on means she's going for a walk.

Skies were getting grey and it rained in the mountains during my stay.  It even drizzled on my little plot when I first got home.  But it was not a significant rain at all.  It was another disappointing monsoon, if anything.  We haven't gotten much rain at all.

August full moon

 I didn't lead a hike for the full moon due to the forecasted overcast.  I just did my own walk with Fritz and Gretel along the maintenance road.

My error was starting too late.  The sun set at 7:17pm and the moon rose at 7:54pm, more than 30 minutes later.  This big gap in time usually does not provide much color for photographers after sunset when the moon is the focus.  I was right.

I got to my usual parking area at 7:13pm. There was only a very subtle pastel color at sunset, below dense clouds that let no light through.  It went from sunset to dark rather quickly.  Several horses were standing by the wired fence.  Gretel barked, but both horses were silent

I focused on the main dirt road going east, then turned north on the smaller ATV trail.  By now it was getting too dark to see detail.  Both dogs were ahead of me, running on the road, when I see a small rattle snake ahead of me on the trail.  It looked dead, but raised its head to let me know it was a bit annoyed with our presence.  I called both dogs back, both who were oblivious to any dangers, and instead went back to the main road to continue walking east.

An adult javelina rushed out of the brush parallel to me.  It stayed away.  I'm sure the dogs would have chased it off, but they were on the other side of the field .  But as soon as we got back on the main road, both took off again to chase something else, and by now there was very little daylight left.

They were chasing something, and I had to go after the dogs.