Walking the San Bernadino National Wildlife Refuge

There are no hiking trails in the refuge, but one can walk the dirt roads.  Trailhead parking is off the Geronimo Trail. Admission from this entrance is free. I  lost phone reception as soon as I drove into the refuge.

I finally got started at 12:37pm.  It was 90F with no clouds in the sky and yes, I was doubting my sanity.  I didn't enjoy the 1.3-mile walk to the pretty parts, but I was determined to walk most of the perimeter and to check out the other two ponds that are fed via the aquifer.

The Vista View at the 0.6-mile mark offers somewhat of a view down into the valley and far into Mexico's Sierra Madre Ocidental ranges.  Someday I hope to get down there.

I returned to the main road, traveled in a SE direction, and then turned on the dirt road leading to the Slaughter Ranch, which borders the refuge.  There are two ponds along the way and both are marked by several mature cottonwoods.

It was here that I saw several bullfrogs leap out of the water, squeaking briefly as they jumped.  Just past the second smaller pond I spooked a flock of white egrets as I headed south toward the border wall. A warm breeze blew during the entire walk.

I never saw another person along this walk.  No USBP vehicle came up to me to check me out, either.  At the border I continued a mile east, walking in the shade of the wall. A lone kestrel shrieked at me, a few vultures flew overhead, and several smaller birds flitted among the wild sunflowers and tall grasses.

I cross the Rio Yaqui, which was barely flowing, and then continued north on a dirt road on the east bank of the Yaqui until I reached the area I was earlier with my class.

I rested by the pond for a half hour, relaxing to the sound of flowing water and the shrieks of several birds.  Red dragonflies entertained me.

My unsocked feet were now hurting from lack of support, but I made it back to the truck in 2:11 hours. It was  2:45 pm.  My next destination was Douglas and a decent Mexican meal.

I stopped at a memorial cross were a migrant was found dead, and later some roadside art.  The city of Agua Prieta, south of Douglas in Sonora, glistened in the midafternoon sun.  Dust was hovering over the city from the winds.  I'm sure this desert offers spectacular lightning storms during the monsoon.

I was hungry and thirsty.  I had consumed three 22-ounce cans of lightly-sweetened ice tea on my drive.

I ended up stopping at two places to eat in Douglas.  My first choice was Asadero el Guero.  I had a green chile chicken burrito but there was little advertised cheese and beans.  I ended up having a filling meal at a smaller and quieter place a few blocks north, at a corner cafe called El Rinconcito del sabor where the entire menu is in Spanish only.  My young server, a polite young man, had as much difficulty with English as I had with Spanish, but an older woman behind the counter acted as our translator.  I had a very filling chicken taco salad.

Both restaurants were in the poor section of town, but both were good.  I took the second burrito home to have for breakfast tomorrow.

I drove home through the sunset, arriving after 7pm back home.  It was a long day. I'm glad I got to spend some time at the refuge, but I would not consider it a destination road trip.

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/san-bernardino

CCMN: San Bernadino National Wildlife Refuge

I looked forward to today's science lab because I had never been to the refuge.  I walked all three dogs for a mile each before getting ready and driving off at 8am.  It's almost an hour drive to get to the Headquarters in McNeal, AZ, a hidden office a half-mile west of US Hwy 191.  It's a pretty drive across an old flood plain studded with cholla, creosote, acacia and ocotillo.  Elevation is just 4170', so lower than Hereford.

I was one of the first classmates to arrive, along with Gordon and Lori, then Kate.  The rest arrived 20 minutes late before we got an interesting lecture by biologist JoeB, who hails from Virginia.  He's very passionate about amphibians and reptiles.

The office is full of live animals he's studying, from endangered fish to a female Gila Monster and Chiricahua Leopard frog tadpoles in various stages of growth.  These animals are kept separate from public view.

The big thing I was looking forward to, however, was visiting the San Bernadino National Wildlife Refuge 30 miles east of Douglas, AZ.  We drove there in convoy from McNeal.  I drove myself as I planned on walking the trails after the official class.  It's a pretty drive, but also a remote location.  We drove through Douglas on 15th Avnue, passing some nice homes on the far east side of town and then the airport. Most of Douglas is sun-burned and low-income, so this was a nice surprise. The last ten miles to the refuge are on rumbling dirt road, the Geronimo Trail.  This road meanders around desert hills studded with ocotillo.   There are some spectacular views along the way. That road ends in New Mexico.

We didn't get there until 11:15am, which only gave us 45 minutes.  We didn't start walking until 11:30pm. We parked at the main pond where young Chiricahua Leopard Frogs live.  The water is clear and is pumped up from the aquifer. Invasive bullfrogs are also in this pond, but they get harvested on a regular basis.  We saw mostly red dragonflies, the Red-Veined Darter.  We saw no frogs or snakes.

"You can tell a bull frog is in the water...they squeal when they are afraid!" said Joe.  I saw that first-hand later.

The borderwall is a quarter-mile from the refuge, but there were no signs of human activity.

It's a pretty area, but I'm sure after hurricane rains this place hops with wildlife.  Water level was too low today to be dramatic.  The refuge is the headwaters for the Rio Yaqui, which flows from north to south into Mexico.

I had to drive out of the refuge after 12pm because Joe had the keys.  I had to park the truck in the official parking lot 1.3 miles from the pond and walk back in to start my hike.

I'll feature that walk in my next post.

Bisbee Loop

 It's been a month since I walked the stairs with Bill.  Today we agreed to 6am in front of the courthouse.  There were many people out in the streets for morning walks, but many were also curious tourists, the most so far on our Sunday walks.  We even came across a couple walking the course in reverse.  The man recognized Bill from a year ago, at a Toastmaster's meeting.

The big theme today was cats.  We saw cats in windows, in yards, in the streets.  We also saw orange flowers everywhere (cosmos flowers?)  Bisbee is colorful year round, but the orange stood out.

It took us 1:53 hours to walk the stairs this time.  We went our separate ways once done, and I went to have breakfast at the Blue Royale.  I've been wanting to try that place out all summer!  The owner is from San Diego and I overheard him talking with visitors from a nearby coastal town.  I had a tasty chicken sandwich and left by 9am, just before the pregame crowd.

Tucson Orthopedic Institute; walking the Loop

 I had to take the day off and see a shoulder specialist at the Tucson Orthopedic Institute (TOI).  The TOI is part of the Tucson Medical Center on Grant Road.  It's a 90-minute drive and I left with 2.5 hours to spare.  It felt weird driving to Tucson without at least one dog, but today's high in Tucson was 90F. I took some cardboard and tin cans to drop off at te recycling station.

I'm glad I allocated over two hours to get to the TO, as finding a parking space is not easy!  The lots around the complex are either for employees, patients, or guests.  I found an open space in the children's section, a short walk from the TOI.  The lobby for the TOI is spacious.  I had to create a patient portal via a tablet. 

I was seen on time.  An aide led me through a maze of hallways and exam rooms before arriving at my scheduled exam room. My BP was 113/84. A scribe was in with the visit, writing down everything we talked about. I had to ask the PA why she was in the room with us, as there was no introduction. 

Prognosis: no surgery needed, but I should start therapy now.  I insisted on therapy closer to Sierra Vista, to avoid a three-hour drive.  The PA, Anthony Knox, agreed.  I was out of there within an hour.

I then made my visit to Tucson a day trip, trying two eateries, photographing some murals, and walking the last of the Loop section along the Tucson Mall.  This is 2.3 miles total, out-and-back  I parked on the east side of the mall, crossed the bridge to get to the north side of the Rillito river, and started walking westward.  It was 3pm and few people were using the multi-use path.  The section near the mall is heavily used by homeless people, the wash is trashed.  

I changed direction on Oracle Road, where SteveT and I last did that section of the Loop on January 23, 2022 and  walked back via the near-empty mall to avoid the drizzle that had started.  This walk was just under an hour.

I stopped in at the Tiki Boba Corner for some delicious Vietnamese Mango-pineapple black tea.  The shop owner, Cherish, remembered my name from my first visit six weeks ago! 

Heavy storms hit Sierra Vista and Hereford, but the parts of Tucson I was in were spared.  The storm moved in from the South and I could see lightning in the South, but I never got wet.  Many streets in the city center were flooded as I drove back home

CCMN: collecting wildflowers at the San Pedro House

 I looked forward to this event all week.

I started walking the dogs at 5:45am.  First Gretchen, then Fritz, then Gretel.  Each dog got a mile around the hood.  It was warm and calm this morning.

I slipped on some gravel while walking Fritz.  I landed on the road but Fritz stayed by my side.  He did not try to pull me.  Luckily no bones were broken, but I scuffed my right knee and elbow and right hip.  Fritz didn't cause this accident.  I think my loose shoes were the culprit this time.

I fed all the dogs, refilled their water, and saw Willie in our front yard!  I'm always happy to see him.  He was a feral kitten I fostered from the Bisbee shelter.  Our dogs scared him and he managed to run out the front door and made his new home across the street next to Lesley's yard.  I left him some food, too.

I left home shortly after 8am.  I wanted to stop by McDs for iced coffee and a sausage McMuffin before heading on to the San Pedro House.  The drive-thru lanes were busy this morning, but I managed to get to the meet-up location with five minutes to spare. We were a group of 15 with two guides.  It was 89F when we started our walk to the river.

There are several people in the class who are disabled and can't walk neither far nor fast. We stopped a lot to talk about the various plants: salt bush, hackberry, San Pedro matchweed, etc. I really enjoyed cutting samples of the plants and then pasting them on flashcards when we got back to the SP House.

The group, however, turned around as it took an hour to walk one mile.  There was very little water in the river, but I continued my walk around the (dry) pond before returning to the group, meeting a startled red fox along the trail.  Too bad my camera was too slow to capture the moment.

I got back to the SP House before most of the group got back and started pasting my plant samples on flashcards, Trevor mentioned that I was doing a good job and wanted to know if I had done this before.  Not since my biology class in 10th grade, when we took a field trip to  Warren Dunes State park in SW Michigan, I said.  I had always enjoyed botany.

I only had eight samples, but it took me until noon to finish pasting them on cards.  I was one of the last to leave, when I noticed a white exoskeleton of a grasshopper on a grass blade.  The grasshopper was next to it, still blinded by its own new exoskeleton

CCMN trip to the Palominas water recharge station

Today's science lab with the CCMN was in nearby Palominas.  The water recharge station is behind the old elementary school.  A 1.7-mile walking loop is on that property.  I've taken the dogs there on winter hikes.

The 3000 acres behind the old school was initially reserved for a housing development, but the land developer went bankrupt. The land is in a flood zone and nearby homes, most with livestock, would flood.  It makes sense that the county took that land and turned it into a recharge area.

The lecture was interesting, but I had trouble today standing in the heat without feeling light-headed.  Was I dehydrated and weak from lack of food?  I don't know, but I felt much better hours later after having lunch in town.

We never did walk down to the river from the recharge station because too many people in the class have mobility issues.  Instead, we drove to E Waters Drive to start our walk to the river, the same area where Susan and I would take our dogs to walk the river.

The field that was charred in the April 3 Williams fire has regrown!  Yellow San Pedro matchweed has now taken over the field!  This field once was taken over by sunflowers.

The group didn't walk much from the river, but I joined Gordon and his wife Lori and Kate for a short walk along the river going north.  All three are passionate birders and were able to identify the Gila woodpecker and yellow tanager simply by their sounds. I need to work on my bird calls!

The river was very low.  The area Susan and I used to visit with Minnie ("Minnie's hole") was no longer full of swimmable water.  A narrow stretch of trickling water is all we have now in the same area Minnie used to swim in three years ago.  Our monsoon this year was very disappointing.