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.