Christmas Eve hike up Carr Peak with Ellen and Zana

 Ellen arranged this a few days ago.  I had planned on bagging Carr while on winter break, and when she asked me if I wanted to do it today, I jumped on the chance to have good company.  We agreed to meet at 8am.

The alarm got me up at 4:45am.  I got up to open the back patio door and saw rain coming down!  Oh my, what a surprise.  Precipitation was measured at 24% for later.  An hour the rain stopped enough and we didn't let any more rain stop us.  This rain is coming from the heavy storm blasting southern California right now.  We may get more overnight.

I took Zana on today's hike.  She was excited to get out.

I arrived at the Lower Carr Canyon road parking area first.  Another woman had pulled up to hike the Perimeter trail.  She said after cooking the food and cleaning the house and waiting for her four kids to arrive later today, she needed a break for a hike.  Her husband doesn't help her with the preparations.  She looked a good 15 years younger than me and admitted that she is an avid hiker.  We wished each other a good hike and merry christmas.  So many women go through that holiday stress because of lack of help from the family.  I'm glad I don't have to deal with that.

Ellen arrived ten minutes later and we dove up to the Old Sawmill trailhead.  Skies were looking damp to the south and west.  We  started at 8:45am to 46F.  A golden pickup was also in the same parking area, and with fresh dog poop nearby, we knew other people were ahead of us with a dog.  Zana added her own poop to the pile.

I'm glad I hiked today.  It's not too often that I can hike Carr Peak this late in the year with no snow.  There was some water in the Sawmill Sprin.gs tub and smaller rock depressions with water for Zana to drink out of.

There were no colors today, as expected.  But the browns and greens and greys were more pronounced  today from the rain.

We made it to the top in two hours.  Zana got her can of dogfood and I had some water, and we both agreed we needed to start the descent fast as we saw the rain come in from the west.  It began to drizzle right after our selfie but it stayed a gentle drizzle all the way back to our cars.

The hike took us 3:33 hours.  We had a lunch at Culver's at 1:15pm and afterwards I stopped at Frys to replenish my chicken.  It wasn't until I was back home at 3pm that my thighs felt sore. 

Phoenix and its Roosevelt Row

 A day trip to Phoeni was on the agenda today.  I decided to drive to the capital to renew my certification rather than renew it online like I did last time.  I wanted an excuse to see parts of Phoenix I was unfamiliar with.

I planned on leaving at 9:00am but four dogs broke out the front door when an elderly man came by to drop off an opened DMV letter to my address about a suspended driver's license.  His wife opened it thinking it was for her as she was expecting something from the DMV.  He had put it on my porch chair without a note.  My dogs' fierce barking got me curious, and when I went outside to check on the men, four dogs broke loose and quickly ran down Kino Road.  I'm sure their escape scared him, but he was also apologetic/  I was curious what letter I got from the DMV.

It turns out it wasn't for me, but for a Kristopher Riley who apparently was the grandson of the owner of my house over two years ago.  Riley made local headlines when he stole a vehicle in early 2017 and got law enforcement to start a high-speed chase when he was just 20 years old.  I first became aware of Riley when in late October I had gotten three separate solicitations from three different criminal defense lawyers wanting to defend Riley in my mailbox.  I then did some public searches on him to get a better understanding. of who he is  He still has a facebook page.  He's gotten quite a few tattoos on his face and neck since his 2017 arrest.

The  elderly man who dropped off that DMV letter did the right thing by forwarding it to me physically, not knowing that I was not the one addressed in that letter.

I calmed down after the breakout.  Hansel came back right away and jumped into the car.  He was the one I had planned on taking with me today anyway.  Zana and Gretel came back a few minutes later.  Only Gretchen took a little longer, as she always does because she has no recall and likes to fence fight with Kim's dogs.  Once I started my car to go after her, though, the sound of the engine enticed her to come toward me and hop into the vehicle.  This seems to be the only way I can lure her back to me.

I finally got on the road at 9:30am, with an estimated arrival time in Phoenix at 1:05pm.  Traffic through the bridge repair work offMarshall Road was minimal, but there was another slow-down in Tucson near the Kino Sports Complex, and then again south of Gilbert with a three-car accident off the median.

I finally arrived at the Arizona Building near the state Capitol at 1:20pm and registered to wait at 1:26. I was out of there before 2pm. Hansel waited in the car for just over 30 minutes under cloudy skies.  After my certification renewal I took him to walk around the Wesley Bolin War Memorial across the street.  It's part of the State Capital Plaza.

The Wesley Bolin War Memorial covers all the wars in which Arizonans took part.  This includes the Navajo Code Talkers, women pioneers, Law enforcement and fire fighters.  There's even a Canine War memorial that Hansel barked at several times.  I walked around the entire complex to read the plaques before heading toward Roosevelt Row.  It was now 3pm and 81F.

I started my visit here at the Sana Sana Cerveceria with its dog-friendly patio. It's a new brewery that opened last year. Everyone here spoke excited Spanish.  Hansel wanted to get to know a MinPinX better, but kept him on a short leash.  I had one Mexican Lager and then started my walk west on Roosevelt.

I was at the edge of the ASU campus.  While I saw a lot of art, most of it is what I would not consider high-quality.  I like realistic murals, not popart, and there was a lot of that.  But there were also some good murals which I will feature here. There were also nice ceramic flower pots and trash bins. After a few blocks, I was in a historic district with old brick homes and native plants.

But there were also many homeless sleeping in the streets.  They didn't threaten me, but Hansel wanted to sniff them all down.  My main complaint is the trash they leave behind: food containers, dirty clothes, cardboard. 

I soon followed the art and got off Roosevelt and landed on Grant.  There was more art here.  And more homeless the closer I got to downtown.  I used my Strava app to get me back to Roosevelt.

I finished the 6.5-mile walk with a visit to the Greenwood Brewery at dusk where I stopped in five years ago.  I recharged my phone here, sampled too beers, and finished off with a late meal at the Il Bosco pizzaria a block over.  The Neopolitan pizza was very tasty.

I finally got on the road back home at 8:30pm and at home by 3:10pm.  Four dogs were still in the back yard (so that Gretchen wouldn't be attacked) and were glad I was back home.

Miller Canyon to Hohenstein Mine

This was Margot's idea.  She wanted another challenging and steep hike of no more than five miles.  We agreed to meet at 9am in the Upper Miler Canyon parking lot.  I like these late starts this time of year so that I have time to get ready and give the dogs some attention.

The dogs got me up early again at 4:30 so I made coffee and waited for it to get light enough for .a sunrise hike with Gretchen.  We went to  the mailboxes and back for two miles.  Heard a couple of Great Horned Owls on a post on my way out.  This is the first time I've heard them in this area!  Both were gone when we walked past the post a second time.  The other excitement was seeing three juvenile coyotes cross the street about a quarter mile east of us.  Gretchen noticed but didn't get agitated.

I chose Zana as my canine partner for Miller Canyon.  She was overdue a walk and gladly came alone. She did so well staying by my side.  There were many recreationists out this morning, making both parking lots crowded, but we only came across a trail runner and three guys while on the trail.

Steve came along but just to sit in Margot's car and read and to join us for lunch at the Angry German restaurant.  He looked really tired again.

Margot has a steady pace and seldom stops to rest.  The incline up this canyon is also steady, as it's uphill all the way and we were in the shade all the way going to the mine.  No water in the creek, but Zana enjoyed her hike

The mine is at 2.5 miles from the trailhead, but Margot wanted to turn around at the two-hour mark, just 0.3 miles away up the last switchback.  We had gained almost 1700' elevation. She and Steve had errands to do today and she needed to get back

The last of the fall colors were visible.

The sun was up on the way back once we got near the orchard.

Our post-hike meal was at the Angry German.  I had a chicken Rahmschnitzel.

Thompson Saddle with Margot and Gretel

 

Cold Moon

Today was the official full moon, aka The Cold Moon.  We have had a bright sky for the past two days and tonight it came to a head.  Margot and I had planned a moon hike, but then had to cancel when she remembered a 4:30 conference call.  Moon rise was at 4:58pm.

I took Gretchen out to walk the road east in the evening.  And yes, the moon was bright.  I didn't even use my phone's flashlight.  She is still limping so I only went out for a mile.

A dead coyote lay on the road, just a lot over from mine.  It was a young one, perhaps one of two I've seen prancing around at night.  Whoever hit it left it on the side of the road.  Speed limit here is 25mph and I've seen cars drive 30+.  I think the driver purposefully hit the animal.  I moved the coyote off the road and a good 10 feet in the embankment.  An outline of the animal remained on the road.

Gretchen did not seem interested in the dead coyote/

Carr Peak with Margot and Hansel

This was my last day of Thanksgiving vacation and it ended with a bang.

My alarm got me up at 4:30am for coffee.  My early start gave me plenty of time to avoid rushing and forgetting something.

The hardest part of leaving the house is getting out the door without six dogs running after me. When I go to the backyard, whatever dog is the last one back inside is the one who goes on a walk with me.  The dogs know this and now all of them hesitate to run inside.  I was aiming for either Zana or Hansel and Hansel won.

We left the house at 8:15am and I got to the top of Carr Canyon Road at 9:01am  Steve was also there but had left Trace back at his RV.  Hansel ran up to Steve and was happy.  He was cautious around Margot (Steve's daughter who is visiting Steve for a month) but warmed up to her by the end of the hike.

Steve did not hike with us.  He stayed in Margot's VW and napped throughout our five-hour  hike.  He looked tired.

Margot and I took off at 9:15am from the Ramsey Vista trailhead.  This trailhead is a mile further up the road from Sawmill springs and does not have any water.  Sawmill springs has a spring a half-mile up the trail.   I usually hike up Sawmill but today this trail was a nice change. The start is not as steep.

It was a typical late November landscape for a sky island in southeastern Arizona: There were no colors besides greys and brown.  No flowers.  Everything is past their prime.  The aspens are bald but the aroma remains. There was no water in the upper waterfall. I didn't see any butterflies or significant birds besides ravens, either.  It was cool and breezy and overcast. but not cold and windy, and the top was actually mild.  The sun came out on our descent.

There was also no snow or ice on the road or on the trail from the November 20 storm.  There was only a small patch of ice on the north slope of the upper aspen grove.

We hiked at a steady pace.  We only met one other hiker on the way up who passed us by in the last half-mile.  He left the peak shortly after we arrived.  We had the peak to ourselves for a quick snack and view time.  We began our descent shortly after noon. This 9200' peak was Margot's highest elevation gain hike; she is training for a volcano hike in the Caribbean for New Year's Eve

All three of us had a late lunch at La Casita's in town.  I was very hungry by now.  There were no leftovers from any of us.

Hansel enjoyed his romp today.  He seemed to have enjoyed his hike.  He napped the rest of the evening and was too exhausted to bully the other dogs.

 

The day after Thanksgiving (and a little walk on The Loop)

My original plan was to drive to Tucson in the morning and get my education certification renewed.  The Tucson office of the ADOE is only open Thursdays from noon to 4pm, and on Fridays from 8am to noon.  I packed my Honda full of alu cans to recycle and took Gretchen with me.  It was her turn for a solo walk and away from the bullies who attack her.  This way I knew she was safe and she seems comfortable with just me around.

But...I never made it to the office on time and the recycling yard was closed until Monday.  So now I had a car full of rattling cans and a restless dog that needed to get walked.  I had to make my drive to Tucson worth it with some Yelp reviews.

I was driving north through the Barrio Viejo neighborhood on Stone Avenue when I saw a pictoresque new pizzeria "with beer garden" and a dog-friendly patio.  I had to try this Ugly but Honest Pizza out!  I lucked out with a parking spot right up front.  This location used to be a gas station.

The prices were a tad high.  A small veggie pizza and an hibiscus ale and tip came to $40.  Yikes.  But the pizza was good.

Gretchen behaved until she saw dogs passing by our corner table.  Luckily her leash was tied to an iron wrought pike.  Her lunging toward the dogs worried a table of diners nearby but they soon relaxed.  I, however, was once again reminded of why she is not my favorite road tripping buddy. She has no decorum and poor recall.

She did better once we left the pizzeria.  It took some driving, but I settled on a short walk on the Loop off the Flowing Wells park on the city's north end.  From there I got on a connector trail leading off the Canada del Oro trail.  This is not a scenic section and too close to I-10.  With no water, I only managed to get 4.6 miles in r/t as I didn't want to get Gretchen too thirsty.  She had her water bowl in the car.  Had I known that the Thorneydale parking area was only another half mile away from Orange Grove Road, I could have pushed it.  That will be for another day now.

Gretchen did well on the walk except when she spotted rabbits nearby.  She looked tired so when my next stop ended up being an unplanned stop at Amelia's Mexican restaurant off Oracle Road, I let her rest in the car under a shade tree.  It was 4:45pm by then and it was going to be dark soon anyway.

Amelia's Mexican restaurant has two locations and both are rated in the top ten Mexican restaurant in Tucson.  When I walked in, I soon learned why.  Everything was top-notch!  From service, to decor to food and value. I was glad I managed a seat at the bar as the tables around me all filled up within 20 minutes.   Now I must try out the other location on Grant Avenue, on the east side of Tucson.  I can do that over my Christmas break.

My last stop in Tucson was a stop at the Mosaic Brewing, the former Dillinger Brewing on Oracle Road.  Dillinger sold its site to Mosaic two years ago and today was my first stop at the new business.  Only one man was at the bar so I brought Gretchen in and we sat at the other side of the long bar.  I also got to charge my phone off a wall outlet. On Fridays all flights are $8 so I had a flight of four very tasty beers: Mange Milkshake IPA, Coffee Stout, Vanilla Porter and a Pineapple American Wheat Ale..

Gretchen lay down during the entire visit.  We left after an hour and had an uneventful drive all the way home.  This time no traffic slow down, either.

I must admit, while my original mission in Tucson was not accomplished, I got to try two very good restaurants and drink some tasty beer.

Thanksgiving 2025

This is the 4th year I've spent with Ellen and her parents.  This year she brought her friend Rob, the same man she dated five year ago but he ended up going with someone else until recently.  They reconnected two months ago.

So I had to plan the day.  Once it warmed up enough, I took Fritz and Wolfie down to the river.  It was their turn for a private walk and they do well together.  It was a quick out and back because I also had to check on the old lot and do a bit more weeding there until my trash bin was full. 

I got back home with an hour to get ready.  I showered and got to Ellen's place at 1:30pm.

Ellen's dad is so much healthier now.  At 71 years old, he talked at length about the new Keto Diet he's been on.  He's lost weight, lowered his blood sugar and feels more energized.  I should try the Keto Diet!  Becky, the mom, was more quiet this year 

After dinner Rob, Ellen and I walked the neighborhood to check out the homes already decorated for Christmas.  Only four homes were decorated, but walking that mile-long block after a meal was a good way to get digestion going.  In another week the neighborhood will be lighted up.

I was back home by 7pm to entertain the dogs. 

Walking the Loop with Zana

Today was my big recycling run to Tucson.  I was past due as the tin cans and cardboard were piling up.  It took me almost an hour to to fill up the CRV.  There wasn't much room for Zana but it was her turn for a private walk and she does well in public.

A dense fog started the morning.  I got done packing the car as the fog finally burned off at 9am and I could see the area mountains.  Zana was not happy with the crowded conditions and whined for most of the drive.

I took the slower route via Sonoita to avoid highway construction on I-10. I noticed many new homes on the east side of Sonoita, including cattle farms.  When did they come here?  And I also noticed a new trailhead to the Arizona Trail, the Oak Tree Canyon trailhead.  I really need to check that out.  It's been a few year since I explored the Santa Ritas.  I need to get back there.

It took me two hours to get to Tucson and it seemed to take almost as long to unpack the car of the cans and cardboard.  It was just before noon and in the upper 60s.  I could finally take off my lined flannel jacket.

Tucson has so many good restaurants.  I will always enjoy a good Mexican meal.  Since I had Zana with me and it was warm in town, I opted for a drive-thru restaurant off 22nd Street, the Coronado Blue.  I had a chicken taco platter for $13 and it was good!  Everything was fresh.  That meal kept me full the rest of the day and I still wanted to try other places while I was in town.

The Arnette Creek Watering Hole is in the same plaza as the Coronado Blue.  This used to be the dog-friendly Tucson Tap Room, but it closed and a new family took over last year. They do not allow dogs. What a shame as it looked nice through the window.  The Tap Room had over 30 taps of beer but it's now a full bar with cocktails.

The Tucson Tap House, my next stop, didn't open until 2pm.  It was 1:40pm by then and I didn't feel like waiting.  I'd been driving around most of the morning and Zana and I needed to walk.

I finally settled on a short section of the Loop.  I parked off Campbell and walked west, toward the Tucson Mall.  It was now after 2pm and the sun was dropping, providing more shade for us.  I let her walk offleash in the wash for a mile but finished the second mile along the path were walking was faster.  There weren't too many walkers today, but I did see two walking teams of police patrolling.  That is the first time I've seen cops on the Loop.  There was a lot of trash in the wash and on the path due to lack of any trash cans.

I rested at the turn-around off Oracle Drive, drinking some water before starting the return walk.  Zana looked tired, too.  We were now entirely in the shade.

I stopped at the Trader Joe's where we had parked.  I had always liked shopping at Trader Joe's when we lived in Pacific Grove, CA.  I bought some craft beer and organic chicken legs for Zana, but she refused to eat.  Was the car making her car sick?  She wouldn't touch the chicken until we pulled into my driveway at 10pm.

I made two more quick stops at other places:  Momo's Mexican where I took a bean burrito to go, and lastly at Raspados el Paraiso before heading home.  I ordered a small strawberry crema.

The highway construction that I avoided driving to Tucson I got to meet full-on on the drive home, as traffic slowed and then completely stopped just west of Marshall Station Road.  It slowed me down another 20 minutes.  There was no construction in the westbound lane.

The last mild weekend

Weather this weekend was near perfect.  On Saturday I took Hansel and Gretel down to the river, and today I did the same with Fritz and Wolfie. We never got any rain from the storms off California, but for an hour it looked like some rain would fall close to the mountains.

But all that will change on Wednesday when another bout of rain is expected, and with it, cooler temperatures,

Today I met another dog walker at the Ramsey Road trailhead and he confirmed that my little secret trailhead was indeed a trailhead.  He was walking his border collie going south.  I may do that sometime just to explore the terrain,  I like the isolation of the Ramsey Road area as I can let the dogs run free without bothering anyone.

The cottonwoods are now turning colors, but it's going to be another two weeks for the trees to go bare.  

Tonight I also did a solo walk with Zana so she could also get some exercise.  It was a calm 57F when I started at 8:30pm and dropped down to 53F when I finished.  She is a very good walker and stayed close-by

The only dog that didn't get walked was Gretchen as she was recovering from a bite wound one of the other dogs gave her a few days ago.  And today when I got back from the river, she had a few more gashes on her shoulders and legs.  I suspect it is Zana. but I've seen the other dogs attack her, too.  I will keep her separated from the other dogs when I'm at work.

Glance Conglomerate, a walk around Bisbee-Warren

This 4-mile walk was sponsored by Jay from the Bisbee Muleteam hiking club.  He called it a "rock walk" and stressed that this would be a slow walk with a few talks about the local geology.  We were to meet at 9:20am in the Hitching Post parking lot in Warren.

The dogs got me up early with some howling, which prompted me to chase them outside for a bit so that I could grab Gretel for her turn around the 'hood. It was a chilly morning at 51F.  We got 3.4 miles in.

We were back home shortly after 7am, which gave me time to enjoy a cup of coffee and feed the dogs.  Hansel and I left the house at 8:40am for the urban walk

We were a group of 17 people and two dogs.  Hansel noticed the female Golden Retriever and started whining because he wanted to check her out.  She was well-behaved.  I asked her owner if Hansel could meet her, but she ended up lunging at Hansel.  The meet-and-greet was thus cut short and I kept my distance from the other dog for the rest of the walk.  I didn't blame the other dog or her owner.  Dogs can be weird like that.

Hansel ended up whining during the entire walk.  He hates being on leash but we were in the town and I don't let any of my dogs walk offleash in a town.  That's reserved for isolated trails.  I'm sure his whining also was partly to the warming temperatures.  Were his paws hot, was he thirsty?  I ended up walking either ahead or behind the group to calm him down, or stop to give him water.  I couldn't even listen to Jay's geology story of the region because I had to placate Hansel. 

I did get to see a new part of Warren and photograph a few skeletons.  I never did get to talk much with the others, though.  Hansel was not comfortable and he was my primary concern.

Jay led us toward the mining propery near Patio Peak.  Our last narrative was here, but by now Hansel was whining so much that I broke away and let him walk offleash on a side trail so that he could sniff and pee before I turned around and joined a few others who were on their solo walk back to their cars.

When the rear guard made it back to the Hitching Post parking lot, the few people who went inside never came back out despite the pizza place not opening until 2pm and it was just past noon.

Hungry and thirsty, I stopped by the Ballpark Brewing Company for two beers and a burger and drove home.  That's when I realized how exhausted I felt.  Hansel crashed the rest of the day.   

Fall break

Today is my last day off.  I had ten days, starting October 4th, to just stay home and spend time with the dogs and work on my garden.  As usual, I only got half of my plans completed.

The week started out peaceful.  We had a full moon on the 7th, but that night it was overcast after some rain.  The nights were in the mid 60s, calm wind, and made for great evening walks.  My goal was to walk every dog over my break several times for four miles at a time, with the evening walks being the longer ones.

The National Weather Service and several local weather forecasts were warning of havy rains coming our way by later in the week, thanks to residual rains from Tropical Storm Priscilla. It looked like a direct hit with rains starting Saturday.  I was hoping for long, lingering rains for at least three days.

Wednesday came and it started with a morning walk with Gretchen.  I noticed tapeworms in her feces (oh lovely!) so after the walk  I drove straight to the closest feed store for dewormer, stopped at my old lot to do some weed pulling and ended up talking to Robin next door.  The weeds in my old back yard are getting tall and I can't seem to get ahead.  I had a late lunch at a new chicken restaurant before stopping by Fry's Foods to stock up on food for the dogs.  In case the main road was flooded and I was stranded at home for two days.  I bought 30 pounds of chicken meat for them.  It was the only time I stopped in town for groceries this week.

Rain began to fall late that evening so I called the dogs inside and shut the back patio door.  But that rain never amounted to more than an overnight drizzle. 

Two things I failed at getting done was fixing both vehicles.  I didn't have the strength to remove my truck's battery, and on Thursday I drove over to Steve's place to have him try to fix my passenger side window again.  The fuse that controls the window is either corroded or loose.  He couldn't fix it, either, so I will need to have that professionally fixed next week.

To thank him for his efforts, we had lunch in Benson at a food truck spot that I had never tried before:  El Asdero.  My chicken burrito was delicious and one of the employees gave our dogs Hansel and Trace meat scraps which both dogs wolfed down.  From there we went to the Mescal Bar five miles west off the interstate for some beer and conversation.  We sat inside at first, but then moved outside in the back patio where the chainlink fence around the property is covered in grape vines.

I never considered planting grape vines around my fence, but that will be my goal for next year.  The vines that I planted this year, Japanese Honeysuckle and American wisteria, have adapted to their new location but didn't grow as fast as I expected.  Most of the chain-link fence is still exposed and I have no backyard privacy.  I don't feel comfortable having my Crazy Kim neighbor be able to walk by and see the back yard.

As for my vegetable garden...I must have chosen a spot too shady for good growth this year.  Neither my peppers nor tomatoes gave me much of a harvest, and only one bean plant produced any beans!  I'm moving the garden to a sunnier area next to my mesquite grove.

Tropical Storm Priscilla made arrived in Arizona off Baja California on Thursday, but traveled farther west than forecasted.  Western and northern Arizona were hit with strong rains and floods.  We got some drizzle, but nothing to get hysterical about.  Rain for our area kept getting delayed and I found myself staying home in anticipation of heavy rains all weekend.

We finally got the rain Sunday afternoon.  I walked Gretchen again, by now tapeworm free, and as soon as I made it back home, it began to rain. It was 2:15pm.  It was a steady tropical rain without the thunder and lightning that lasted into the evening..  Again I called the dogs in and closed the back patio door for the night.

Today, Monday, I woke up to a grey sunrise.  Storm clouds were low over the mountains.  It was drizzling, and soon that drizzle became a steady rain.  I don't mind walking a dog in a light drizzle, but I do mind steady rain.

The rain ended just before noon.  I had a few hours to get two days worth of planting in.  This is what I had been hoping for all week!  If only this rain came a day earlier.  I tore out two dead plants and replaced them with Justicia.  I put in a foot gate around my cactus garden, planted a few small annuals and pulled out more ragweed.  I still have quite a bit of ragweed to get rid of.  Oh, how I hate that weed.. 

So thus ends a quiet but peaceful week.  The one thing I didn't do is go on a long hike, but that's because my Honda's passenger window won't roll up. I really need to get up Carr Peak again for the fall foliage.

The end of summer

Monsoon this year was good.  While the vines I planted along the chain-link fence didn't grow with vigor, I am happy with the overall results of my desert garden.  The javelina munching on my fat prickly pear were the one nuisance.

The final weekend of summer ended up being a rainy one. I planned my chores around the weather.

On Saturday I was eager to see the flow of the San Pedro River.  I took Fritz and Wolfie on the 4-mile walk.  It's become my favorite path  to the river in part because of the views, and second, because of the isolation.  I started late, at 4:30pm,  as the path was already shaded by the mountains.

The river was muddy, but flowing from the overnight rain.  The Big Wash had some overflow at the confluence.  Both dogs enjoyed the wet refreshment, but the flashflood had swelled over the riverbanks, making walking along the water treacherous.  The river was flowing back to normal today but left mud behind.

I didn't stay long as I don't like being at the river at dusk.

One thing I did notice was the lack of new wildflowers.  Didn't see neither flowers nor other wildlife.

Sunrise walk with Hansel around the Brown Canyon nature trail

Today was Hansel's day for a solo hike with me.  I chose the nearby nature trail.  Sunrise was at 6:03 and I got to the trailhead at 6:05.  I caught the sun rise between some tall trees along the maintenance road that leads to the Brown Ranch.

I was the third vehicle in the parking lot.  We stayed on the road until we hit the first path.  Here I let Hansel off leash as no one was around.  The sun was now rising and casting its reddish glow on the sunflowers growing in the meadow. I found other flowers as well.

tbc

Hansel gets his vaccines

My goal today was to drive to Tucson to get Hansel's vaccines.  His rabies expired on the 7th and I didn't want to wait another week for the mobile vaccine clinic in town.  I always enjoy a day trip to the Old Pueblo anyway.

I took Gretchen on a two-mile walk at sunrise, stopped at the JROTC car wash in town at 9:30am, where a young gal asked to pet Hansel.  I said ok, but Hansel appeared nervous when that arm reached into the car.  He looked at me questionably and I told him I  will no longer allow strangers to pet him; my bad.

We finally made it to the ABC vaccine clinic on Btoadway at 11:30am.  Again I was told there was a two-hour wait but this time I was prepared.

I dropped off my box of recycables at the 7820 Broadway location since the original location on 1st Street is now closed, then had lunch at a Sauce Pizza and Wine restaurant near the vaccine place.  The patio is dog friendly and we sat in the warm shade. The 90F did not make it conducive to walking so I kept activity in the heat at a minimum.

Ten minutes after getting back to the waiting area,  I was called in with Hansel.  I had waited 2:10 hours.  He weighed in at 80 pounds, four pounds heavier than last year

The vet tech was a young blond man who seemed uneasy around Hansel.  He tried to take Hansel's temperature through his ear and Hansel wanted nothing of it and growled and lunged at him, digging his toes in my thighs. This caused the young man to drop the thermometer. Oh my, he was not happy and I was surprised at Hansel's reaction.  

The man came back with a muzzle that I had to keep tight around the snout which made Hansel even more unhappy when we entered the vet's office.  Another vet tech told the blond vet tech to step outside, that she will take over. 

The DVM was an old man in his 80s with large age spots on his hands.  He stayed seated the entire time as I helped hold Hansel around his neck.  The vet tech threw a towel over Hansel's head and we both said encouraging words to Hansel.  Good god, and I have to do this every year?!  He is due a booster shot for lepto in 30 days.  I'm just going to give Hansel that shot myself.

When I stepped out of the exam room, the blond man was leaning against the wall and asked me how it went.  As good as expected, I guess.  There was no screaming, no biting, no blood loss.

To give Hansel a treat for the stress, I stopped at a new dog ice cream parlor a mile away, Bark and Berry.  I heard about it through Yelp.  It opened in March.  It's a small shop in a strip mall near three other dog-related businesses.

We were treated like royalty as soon as we walked in.  The owner, Luna, knows dogs very well. She got Hansel to sit for a few photos. She only makes four flavors: bacon, salmon, pumpkin and prime rib.  No chicken, so I chose a scoop of prime rib with dried salmon sprinkles and then let us in the off-leash area where she took his photo and sent me the pics to my phone.

I didn't stay long as two other dogs came in so I moved outside in the shaded area to write a quick review.  Luna came outside to give us water.  Hansel still seemed stressed.

So now what?  Too hot to hike and no other places to visit in town, I simply drove back to Sierra Vista.  

I noticed a temporary cross memorial where my former student Mia Hirsch was killed by a drunk driver by MM293.5 on June 21st.

I stopped at MM302 off SR90 to walk Hansel two miles off leash at 5:30pm before resuming our drive home.  Now the sun had set behind the shrouded Whetstone mountains

San Pedro River

Tropical Storm Lorena, which was forecasted to hit SE Arizona yesterday and drop two days of gentle rain over us, never materialized.  The once F1 Hurricane stalled over Baja California and then dissipated. 

Fritz was overdue on a hike so he was my first choice for dog partner on my walk to the San Pedro River this morning.  Gretel rushed out the back door so she was Fritz's companion.  Those two dogs are my best protectors.  I feel safe with those two by my side.

Both dogs take protecting me seriously, so it was no surprise that neither dog took off once we got started at 7:20am.  The sky was mostly cloudy and it was still in the 70s.  A young coyote had crossed the road as I neared the trailhead, but once on the trail, the only animal I saw was a frightened white-tailed deer right ahead of me on the trail.  I distracted the dogs to prevent them from chasing it.

The trail was a bit overgrown now.  The catclaw acacia is in bloom, and so is the creosote and turpentine bush.  I wish I could grow creosote and turpentine bush on my property!  I enjoy the scent of both plants as I brush past them,  But here near the river the soil contains more bicarbonate, which compacts the soil and makes it more alkaline.  The higher alkalinity is visible in the whiter soil color.  Even with the heavy rains we have had in the past ten days, the soil does not loosen.

I enjoyed the green all around me.  While I didn't see any animal life closer to the river (I was looking for box turtles), the denser and greener foilage was a challenge.  The trail was harder to follow the closer to the river we got.

The Big Wash was damp but passible.  And once to the river I was glad to see it flowing.  Yet just south of the conjunction, the river was stagnant and green.  I avoided that area and took the dogs north a bit to the logjam.

Fritz and Gretel romped here for a bit, jumping chest-deep in the water and chasing each other.  We didn't stay long here as I wanted to get back home before the heat set in.  The mountains in all directions had clouds shrouding the peaks. Fort Huachuca's surveillance balloon was up so that means no stormy weather.

Fritz and Gretel managed four miles this morning.  The next two dogs up are Hansel and Gretchen.

Sheelite Canyon

Ellen lured me out of the house today with a hike up Sheelite canyon to the overlook.  I had originally planned on staying home and getting more planting in.  I'm glad now I got out of the house twice this long weekend.  I took Hansel and Zana.

Weatherwise it was ideal weather. It was overcast and cool, with low-lying rain clouds.  This kept the dogs refreshed.

The canyon was lush with plenty of wildflowers, but water was not as plentiful as I had expected.  The various pool were full, but nothing was flowing.  The dogs didn't mind, as they will lay in anything wet.

We hiked up the steep canyon at a steady pace. The steep, narrow canyon is challenging due to the many blowdowns and boulders.  The trail is hard to follow due to the many blowdowns and boulders in the drainage.  I have to follow Ellen, as I have no sense of direction, nor do I recognize the turn-off to the overlook.  Ellen noted that there were more blowdowns since our last hike here last fall.

Hansel and Zana stayed close, following the trail most of the time and coming back when I called them.  A few times they acted like they caught the scent of something.  I watched them closely, as twice we caught the scent of either bear or skunk and the dogs froze.  The only noises we heard were from birds.

It began to drizzle an hour into our hike, but that drizzle was most likely a low-lying cloud.  When we got to the overlook the tops of the peaks were shrouded. We saw some sun to the south.

We rested here for a bit, eating a snack.  I felt the sweat on my back once I took my backpack off.  I had my old red Marmot raincoat that I put on to keep warm, but it went off again once we resumed our walk back. 

We never came across anyone else on this hike.  There was one more vehicle  next to Ellen's Radar (the name of her Toyota Cruiser) when we returned to our vehicles.

We finished off the hike with a late lunch at Culver's.  Each dog got their pup cup as we sat on the patio.

I'm glad Ellen coaxed me into hiking with her.  My ankles were sore the rest of the day, but I appreciate the challenge, and I'm sure both Hansel and Zana are glad for another day in the mountains.

 

Garden Canyon

Walking this canyon was KimG's idea.  She texted me yesterday morning early to ask if I wanted to walk the canyon with her.  I had some errands to run in the morning so we settled for today.  I invited Steve so we were a group of three with two dogs.

I left the house at 7:25am for the drive to Fort Huachuca. I got to the trailhead at 8am for the 8:30am meetup.  Steve came in right behind me and we parked where several other cars were/  Most of them were for cyclists riding the potholed road.  KimG drove up at 8:32am.

I was surprised the canyon wasn't more lush after the rain we have had.  The road showed recent signs of a flashflood, but the creek along the road was trickling, and as we walked up the road we were disappointed in the few flowers.  Kim is a butterfly specialist and was looking for the varied butterflies in the canyon.  She was also looking for the purple-white Basketflower. I was just happy to see any flowers this morning 

Hansel and Trace got along very well today, chasing each other up and down the road.  Trace at first was apprehensive of Hansel, but by the end of the hike they were best buds.  When Steve took a break at the two-mile mark and then walked back to ther cars, Hansel whined for his friend and kept looking back to see if Trace would show up. On our return walk he ran ahead to meet Steve and his friend Trace.

We only came across another woman and her two dogs on this hike.  We met another couple on our return walk

Kim and I made the petroglyph site our turn-around point.  I was fine with that as it was getting warm and sunny.  By now we were seeing many Basketflowers and several species of milkweed.  I was also developing an allergy to something.  When we got back to the cars I took a Claritin pill with my iced tea.

The walk was just over four miles.

We had a late lunch at Urbano's.  Kim had never been to this place.  It's an upscale bar-bistro and every time I stop in, I see something new. The patio is dog friendly which is why Kim picked this place. It was a good decision.

We all had a a rice bowl with chicken.  The dogs rested and were well-behaved, but the Claritin I took at the trailhead was now making me drowsy.  I got home at 1:30pm

I needed to nap a bit before tackling some gardening but I never did snooze.  Storm clouds were billowing from the southeast.  At 4:45pm my phone alerted me to a dangerous dust storm coming my way.  I'm glad I was at home as it came quickly.  I closed the patio door and made sure all the dogs were inside. Twenty minutes after the wind began, the rain came, and it came down hard

The storm was a nice surprise.  Chances of rain were 15% all day but that proved to be wrong.  I still need to plant some more  trees but that can now wait until tomorrow afternoon