Midterm elections and a day in Tucson

I wanted to cheer my friend Steve up by taking him to Tucson with Trace.  He's been in a depression for a while and he's usually good company.  This also made a great distraction for me by avoiding anything political.

The goal was to eat at Luke's Italian Beef diner, stop somewhere for beer, and try out a coffee or tea shop on the drive home.  We did a bit more than that and it was all so well played out.

I told Steve I would pick him up around 10-ish after walking some dogs down by the river.  Instead, Fritz and Wolfie took off up Kino Road going north to fencefight with several lifestock guard dogs.  I've never seen them so aggressive.  When I got up to them they both ignored me, and they fought me on the leash on the walk back to the house.  Between those two dogs I'm pulling on 200 pounds.  Once I separated them, though, with Fritz going inside, Wolfie was his usual chill self.

It was a chilly 47F at 7am.  Fall is definitely here.

I finally got going at 10:45 and got to Steve's place at 11:15am.  I was a little late.

Steve was quiet today.  He's normally a talker but he stated right away he's been missing his wife and son, both now deceased. I try to keep him from thinking about them and change the topic to him and his physical health.

We arrived at the Luke's Italian Beef place at 1:20pm and the place was busy.  I really liked my grilled chicken sandwich.  We both ate our entire meals.  We then stopped for two beers each at the Hop Shop and then I suggested we take the dogs to a nearby dog park since both had been so patient sitting by us.  The dog park turned out to be the highlight of our Tucson visit.

Yelp has the Smiling Dog Ranch dog park as the highest rated dog park in Tucson.  I had heard good things about the place and had always wanted to visit.  We ended up staying an hour talking to other people and their dogs.  The park is long enough that dogs can actually run at full speed for a distance.  There are mesquite trees for shade and two water stations and plenty of pooper scoopers. There is even a small agility station near the parking lot entrance.

Hansel behaved and both he and Trace ran around with the others.  We stayed until Trace started limping. I was very proud of Hansel and his behavior.  Even Steve was happy with the place and said he would come back..  Since he doesn't hike anymore, letting the dogs run in a big dog park is a good alternative.  We left after an hour.  Time really flew!

Our last stop was a visit at a coffee shop Revolutionary Grounds on Speedway.  We arrived at the start of their Open Mic night, where the female musician did a fine job with the vocals.  We sat outside as we reminisced about the day.  Steve's mood was much happier now.  The coffee was very good, too.

I gassed up at a Shell Station on Alvernon for $3.59 (It is $4.17 at the Sierra Vista Fry's Foods) before the 90 minute drive back to town.

It wasn't until I dropped off Steve that I turned on the radio to listen to election results.  I didn't watch the Kornacki cam until I had finished a two-mile walk with Hansel when I got home.

And OMG, talk about a blue wave.  It was a blue tsunami.  The Carolinas flipped blue. Democrats James Talarico from TX and Abdul El-Sayed won (narrowly) in Michigan. Senator Collins from Maine lost her incumbuntcy.  Even Arizona was hit by a blue wave.

Not all results were in by the time I went to bed at 1:30am.

Halloween weekend and the Pineapple Express

Southern California and Arizona were forecasted to have a wet Halloween weekend.  That proved to be true.  It all began on Thursday when the clouds became dense and grey. By mid evening Thursday it began to rain and then storm.

And then came the lightning.  I was quite surprised to see lightning this late in the year.  Gretel jumped up on me as I sat in my IKEA chair. The dogs heard the distant thunder before I did and their behavior showed me that a storm was coming overnight.

Friday was wet most of the day.  I was at the middle school all week and use my planning period to walk around campus to get my steps in.  I did most of my walking inside the gym.  The mountain peaks were shrouded in fog.

I didn't walk the dogs for three days because of the rain.  On Halloween I took Gretchen out for 2.5 miles around the 'hood in the morning and then it began to rain in the late afternoon.  I don't get any trick-or-treaters here in the country, but I did think about checking out Bisbee, but then it began to rain by 7pm, right when most of the adults in costume like to walk around the old part of town.  It was a warm rain.

The big rain came today, Sunday.  Rain was forecasted for 9am for most of the day.  I had to get up at sunrise to take Hansel and Zana to the river for a three-mile romp.  Skies were already dark, especially to my Northwest (where Steve lives).

The river was running low despite all the recent rain.  That surprised me.  Wildflowers have all gone dormant and the tall grass along the river is dying off.  I took the dogs off-trail when I saw an older couple approach me.  This added some mileage.

It began to drizzle lightly on my ten-mile drive home.  Two hours later it began to rain and this rain persisted all day.  The mountains by now were completely hidden by clouds. A flash flood warning was issued at noon for the rest of the day.  Northern Arizona around Prescott and Sedona received five inches today.

I love being home when it rains.  This way I can monitor the dogs, keep the mud outside, and keep them busy.  I was outside planting the last of my potted plants into the soil whenever there was a lull in the rain.  This will be the last plants I put in the ground this year.  We have another month before deep frost hits.  This will give the plants time to establish good roots.

It was a good rain over three days.  This rain is part of the super El Nino predicted for the Southwest and El Nino delivered.  In four days the storm will be over Chicagoland.

Garden Canyon with Gretel and Zana

Distance: 8.8 miles

Elevation: 1460'

Significance: autumn colors, running creek, solitude.

It was another great weekend to get out with nature.

I had planned on hiking with the Bisbee Muleteam yesterday, but just before I was ready to leave at 8:15am, five dogs decided to dart outside and bark at whatever.  Gretchen was the only dog inside.  So instead of Bisbee, I had a three-mile walk with her around the 'hood.  She was past due her own walk and when all the other dogs ran outside, I jumped on the opportunity to walk alone with her without all the canine drama that comes when the other dogs feel left out..

Then I did my second favorite thing: I spent a few hours in my cactus garden.  I planted some of my seed-grown shrubs into the soil, sowed a few milkweed seeds for next year, and got a few more dead branches removed.  My cactus garden will grow in nicely in a few more years when these shrubs and cacti reach maturity.

Then I took Fritz, Gretel, and Hansel down to the Lehner Killsite trailhead for 2.5 miles right before sunset.  I had to drive into town to gas up because the fuel light came on, so that delayed my time with the anxious pups.

I finished the day with a solo walk with Wolfie under a near full moon.

That left Zana as the only dog that didn't get a long walk on Saturday, so she was  #1 for today.

The original plan today was to explore McClure Canyon on Fort Huachuca with Zana and whatever other dog I could get outside.  The lucky dog was Gretel.

We didn't leave the house until 10am and didn't start the hike until 10:50am.   It was 64F; perfect for hiking. I was the only car in the area.  I thought that odd. I expected people to be walking the canyon road and enjoying the fall colors.

The mistake I made was starting off on the wrong forest road (fire break).  It was a pretty hike but nothing looked familiar.  The road started out steep, then descended, and ended up curving right back to Garden Canyon road.  I had walked a loop in one mile and 21 minutes.  Oh well, I thought, I might as well do Garden Canyon instead.  I guess it had been too long since I was in McClure canyon that I completely forgot how to get there.  DUH.  I should have done my homework!

Two things I noticed right away:  the trees hadn't hit their autumn prime yet, and there was a lot of water along the road.  This was great for the dogs who were able to dip into the creek whenever they wanted to.  Heavy rains this summer also eroded parts of the road, leaving deep ruts.

Gretel and Zana stay together whenever I walk with them.  I don't have to worry about them chasing wildlife or running off on me.  Their recall is good.  Today I noticed how both of them would stop and stare into the treeline.  Were they tracking a scent, did they smell a bear nearby?  I never saw anything.  Bears had been noticed in Huachuca canyon and the military post has closed that canyon off to recreational use.

We were now walking the length of Garden Canyon road as it slowly meandered uphill.  There were still colorful flowers out, and a few red maples, but nothing yet I would consider in prime fall color.  I'm guessing the pop is still two weeks away.  Fall colors in the Huachucas usually don't peak until mid November, but the heavy rains we got this summer may hasten the seasonal change.

I met one solo mountain biker on today's hike.  The solitude was appreciated.  It was just me and the dogs for the entire experience.

We kept a steady pace.  I stopped only once for water near where the old Boy Scout hut once stood.  We were almost 1000' higher in elevation and I still didn't see popping fall colors.  I did see water trickling in the lavaic rock further up the road.

It took us two hours to hike the five miles to the boundary gate.  Scotia canyon is on the other side of the gate and the Peterson peak trail is off that road. We rested a bit at the gate.  The dogs got their snack, I ate some candy and we were soon on our return hike.  I waved and smiled at the trail camera hoisted on the pinyon pine at the gate.

We finally came across other people as we approached the parking area.  I noticed the elderly couple first.  I called the dogs back to give the people their space/  I should have put both back on their leashes but I think some fatigue made me not think of that because the elderly couple was also with a younger couple and three small dogs off leash.

Gretel did run toward one of the dogs.  Luckily the couple scooped up their dog and Gretel came right back to me, but not before the younger man scolded me for having my dogs off-leash.  Their dogs were off leash as well and started running after me and the dogs as I opened the dogs to let them in the Honda.  I gently reminded the irate man that we were all wrong for having our dogs off leash but that yes, Gretel was the aggressor.. 

The scuffle lasted just a few seconds and could have been completely avoided had I leashed both dogs as we neared the parking lot.  I normally do that anyway at trailheads as a courtesy.

Both Gretel and Zana were Zenning out on the drive home.  I stopped by Fry's for food (I was out of raw chicken) and a few meals for me and then stayed home for the rest of the day.

It was a perfect weather day for a long hike.  I hope to do the real McClure next weekend.

Ash Canyon Ridge Loop hike with Zana, DougB, JimA and Tatiana

This hike was led by DougB from the Huachuca Hiking Club. The write-up reminded me of a hike I did solo with Sadie back in 2015 and I wanted to do it again. It was described as steep, bushwhacky and not an "easy Tuesday Hike." 

I had Hansel and Zana inside before leaving for the trailhead at 7:10am. I only wanted to bring one dog, not two, so I had to distract Hansel with a raw chicken leg.. Zana darted outside while Hansel was busy eating  the chicken leg.  He was so busy eating it, he never noticed that Zana and I had left quickly. I have to use raw chicken to distract the dogs every time I leave the house with one dog.

We had a high wind advisory again today, but the wind wasn't as bad as yesterday's gusts. It was breezy, yes, with a slight chill, but nothing that was a mission stopper. The breeze was 11mph at the start of the hike at 7:40am and 44F.

I was running a few minutes late again. Doug's hike description was right on, so it was easy to see where the hike would be. The hill where we started the hike was visible from Ash Canyon road, a near-perfect cone driving up from the east.. I parked in a turn-off but didn't see any other vehicles. 

I was ready to  walk down the road a bit to look for the others when Doug, Jim and Tatiana came walking down the road  They had parked higher up on Ash Canyon Road and walked down another 0.3 miles where I was parked. We all walked together from here. 

The start of the steep climb was another half mile down the road before we started up the steep ridge and bushwhacked,  This was 1.73 miles to the high point of this hike. The higher we got, the easier the social trail  was visible, but the high and thick Lovegrass and Feathergrass made the trail hard to find.  Doug had done this hike before and knew what to look for. 

We came across some migrant trash but nothing that looked fresh. 

 I kept a steady pace. I was worried I would get out of breath like I did last weekend, but today everything was easier. Everyone was going uphill very slowly due to the many rocks and boulders. The former boulders acted as steps as we gained elevation, traveling across high desert terrain of manzanitas, prickly pear, yuccas, agave and autumn sunflowers.

 

 

The grade varied greatly, from 9% to 46% in short sections. Sunflowers dotted the hills here. The highest point was 7367' as we sat on some warm mine tailings with an abandoned mine behind us, ate our lunch, and took in the views.  We could see far south into Mexico.  We could see the trails around us like the Bob Thompson switchback and the Lutz trail to the Crest Trail.

I could see the mining camp that Sadie and I discovered on our hike, and faint section of the now-abandoned South Fork of Ash Creek trail. The ascent took us 2:30 hours. We now had to descend.

The second section of this hike was the descent to the South Fort creek. We moved slowly through manzanitas and sandy, loose terrain.. I found the old trail and somehow got ahead of the others but waited for them at the second mine. Here we found an abandoned ore cart. 

Once we got to the creek, the hiking went easier and faster. Terrain was now desert riparian with tall pines to shade us. There was water in the creek for Zana to cool off in. Our pace increased and even Zana was revitalized. 

We walked right into the mining camp from years before. I recognized the stone wall, some crushed up metal, and later on the slide waterfall. I was now in familiar territory and it was all downhill from here. 

 

The South Fork trail has become more overgrown since my last hike here, but Doug was able to guide us through the more difficult-to-follow sections. We were soon within view of Ash canyon road, but that last half mile was on a badly-rutted  mining trail. Watching our steps was crucial to avoid slipping.

JimA had parked his truck at the trailhead. Here is where I said good-bye to the group, thanked Doug for a fine hike, and walked the 0.3 miles with Zana to my Honda. I was back on the rutted road before Jim. We all went home from here. 

Zana went straight to the water bucket when I got home, Hansel sniffed her down, and the other four dogs who were in the backyard did the same to Zana when I let them back inside. 

Doug had spoken so much about Tatiana over the years and we finally got to meet. She is a strong hiker, loves dogs, and hails from Ukraine. She is a retired USArmy intelligence officer with Russian/Ukrainian language. We didn't speak about the current war in Ukraine with Russia, but I'd love to know about her life another time. She had been in Ukraine visiting family earlier this year. Zana and Tatiana hit it off right away.

A windy autumn day

A high wind advisory was in effect at 8am through Saturday morning. I was busy inside and didn't walk the dogs to the river in the morning. 

 I did take Gretel solo to the Brown Canyon Ranch House and walked the Duck pond loop for 2.25 miles.

 The parking lot was empty. We had the entire area to ourselves. Gretel does great when she's solo with me, walking up front but never going out of eye sight. She will stop and look back at me to make sure I'm safe and awaits further instruction.

The trail had been recently maintained for both hikers and cyclists. The pond had also been trimmed of its reeds that can quickly take over. There was water in the pond. Recent rains elsewhere had also brought water to the smaller drainages in the area.  

The shocking part was coming back to the ranch house and seeing only one cottonwood still standing.  All the others have died off in the last 20 years.  One tree was felled earlier this year and was recently cut down and chopped into pieces. This pond was once enveloped by the trees and provided shade for birds.

The jackpot for me were the wild senna shrubs along the maintenance road. I had noticed them last year but the seed pods were already open and empty. This time I picked as many as I could fit inside the paper envelope I had brought with me just for seed collection. I will grow these seeds inside and hopefully a few plants will germinate and eventually grow in my yard with soil amendment.

There were also many Mexican sunflowers along the road. Goldfinches love to pick the seeds from these flowers. 

The wind wasn't as strong as predicted, but it did bring with it a chill. A flannel shirt took care of the chill. I stopped by my old lot and picked up a few pal fronds, checked the main, and then drove off to Bisbee. By now it was 4pm and I was hungry. I had a quick dinner at the Guadalajara diner by Safeway, stopped at the new Arctic Circle for a cheeseburger for tomorrow, and then drove home. Gretel was my shotgun rider the whole time and took her job seriously. 

I stopped by the San Pedro River at 5:20pm. The sun was setting and the dust was visible in the air. We walked a road south toward the former Bouchay house (which burned to the ground five years ago), but had to turn around at the 0.3 mile mark due to flooding and a downed cottonwood. That tree was felled in a previous windstorm as the leaves were dead. The road was also badly rutted from heavy vehicle traffic. So Gretel got a good three miles today. I fed her separately before letting the other dogs back inside for the night.

A cooling trend is coming

October provides some of the best weather for outdoor activities here in SE Arizona. I had planned on taking three dogs down to the river to explore any visible changes to the flora and water level. I took Gretel, Hansel and Wolfie, who were all due a good run. We didn't even start until 11am. It was sunny and 73F.

 The dogs clearly enjoyed their romp. These three dogs together stay together, so I have no worries of them taking off somewhere. They ran ahead of me and I stopped and took a lot of photos. 

 The trees along the river are still very green, but a few cottonwoods have a few yellowing canopies at closer examination, but not distinctive enough yet to stand out. The trail to the

river was very passable. It wasn't as muddy as I thought it would be since last week's rain.

 Creosote have gone to seed, the desert marigolds are still in bloom, and the Christmas cholla I've discovered is all along the route. The red blooms are what make it stand out. It grows in relation to other evergreens and without its red blooms is hard to distinguish. 

 The water level was normal. It was muddy and flowing. The grasses along the river were still quite green.

 I was back home by 1pm. I had a 4:30pm appointment at the Carnett Clinic as a follow-up to the Losartan medication I'm now on. I used these three hours as chill time.

 I told the nurse that the medication has made me feel more fatigued and that I have trouble breathing while hiking elevation. She now wants me to get a bloodtest for iron deficiency. I hope that is all I have. I've had iron deficiencies in the past so this isn't shocking. The clinic was empty. I was the only patient in the building. 

 Once I left, I walked around the area looking at seeds to collect. There were some beautiful specimens of Yellow Bird of Paradise that I collected. The neighborhood wasn't the nicest, but there were plenty of seeds to collect in the alleys. Lots here are small and older.

 I stopped at Food City for a quick Taco Tuesday special at the Delicatessen. I took Steve there last week and he enjoyed the meal. Each street taco is a mere $1.25 and three fill me up. 

 While at the delicatessen, a young woman in line next to me, with two small girls came up to me and asked me if I used to teach at Lowell Middle School in Bisbee (back in the fall of 2008) and I said yes. I didn't recognize her at first, but she did recognize me, so we had a quick conversation about our lives since then.

 Her name is Sara. Sara is now 30 years old with two daughters, aged 10 and 5. She never graduated from Bisbee High School in 2012 but she is finishing GED courses and wants to pursue phlebotomy. Since I was just at a clinic (and got my flu shot) I chimed right in: any kind of medical degree or training will keep you employable. We reminisced. I asked about several students I had that semester, both good and bad. She remembered David B, who is now a locally-known heroin dealer and serving his second stint in prison. His father and grandfather are both ex-felons. She also remembered Cisco, a troubled boy living with his Grandma with no direction. And she is also in contact with AlexP, who is now in New York City as a struggling actor and working side gigs as a secret customer. I didn't want to interrupt her time with her children, so I bid fairwell, told her girls to listen to their mom, and departed the store feeling overwhelmed that a young person could still remember me from sight 18 years later. "Youre' looking good!" said Sara. I wish I could agree with her.

Carr Peak, the aspens and the wildflowers

I had this hike scheduled via Heylo ( the Sierra Vista hikers no longer use MeetUp because of the rising cost) Monday night because weather promised to be cloudy with rain in the afternoon.  Another hiker in Tucson posted photos of his hike up Carr Peak last Sunday so I had to act fast.  Our aspens' leaves don't stay yellow for long because of the Brown Spot Virus that kills the leaves fast.

At 4am I was awakened by thunder and lightning and heavy rain.  This is from TS Rachel.  She wasn't due in our area until the afternoon, but obviously she changed her mind.  By the time I left the house (after another 30-minute breakout with Gretchen) the rain had stopped and the clouds were beginning to dissipate.

We started out as a group of four men and me with Hansel. Oscar is the only one I knew from the April hike up Carr with Helen. Juan is a friend of Oscar.  Michael dropped out after only a half mile because his water bladder had leaked and he had no water on him. Owen is not a heylo member but the son of a friend of a member who did not hike so I picked him up from Jo2Go. Owen also asked me not to post his photo on social media.

We met at 7am, rode up Carr Canyon Road in three vehicles, and began at 7:35am.  The road up Carr Canyon is horribly rutted now.  I had to be careful not to damage my undercarriage.

Owen hails from Colorado and loves hiking the high ridges of the state.  As soon as we started on the trail, he took off.  We didn't see him again until we were 2.5 miles up the trail.  He ended up going back up with us and hiked a total of eight miles.

I had advertised this hike as a wildflower hike and there were many asters all along the hike.  The 1/3-mile section going up Carr was covered in goldeneyes. The original seeds were dropped by the Forest Service after our 2011 fires, mixed with straw mulch. They have now taking over from the red autumn sage.  

Our heavy and frequent rains have caused many of the post-fire pines to finally grow.  Some of the 4-footers are now over six feet tall in this past year.  We also walked through thicker and taller grasses all along the way.  The upper regions really needed all this moisture to thrive.

We encountered one fallen snag early on, felled from our high winds last month.  This was up the Sawmill Springs trail.

We also ended up walking through the yellow aspen grove.  The aspens popped yellow earlier this week and the yellow was visible when I drove home from the high school Friday afternoon.  I love the smell of yellow aspen leaves.  The Columbine flowers, however, were absent.

We could see rain falling over the Mule mountains as we ascended but those clouds stayed to our East.  I never took my red EMS raincoat off, though, as it also acts as a windguard.

There was water trickling from the Springs and higher up from the waterfall springs.  Hansel had his water breaks and that put a stress off  me.  He was never overheated and seemed to really like the hike and would whine when we were stopped for two long.

I enjoyed the company but I had trouble keeping my breathing regulated and had to stop often.  This slowed us all down.  I ended up taking 2:20 hours to make it to the top!  I wonder if my shortness of breath is because of the BP medication?

We didn't meet anyone until our descent.  We met NicoleM as she was going up.  This is the second time we have met on the trail.   Another couple with two dogs was also near the peak as we left.  Hansel was well-behaved the entire time and didn't even go off the trail.

We stayed on the peak for 20 minutes.  Hansel had his can of food, I had my water.

I had no trouble going down. We were back at our cars by noon and all four of us ate at The Bit where Owen and Juan continued to talk about technical climbs in Colorado.  They had met as strangers this morning and departed as friends.  

This was my second time at the Bit and had another great meal.  Hansel stayed in the Honda in the shade because even the patio was crowded.  It was 63F so he was fine.

I wanted to walk Gretchen for two miles but turned around at the half-mile mark because a second round of rain was coming off the mountains.

I fell asleep early and missed the second big rain storm within 24 hours.