The Hounds Take A Road Trip

I was positive we were going to do one or two things out of three options today. It was the second day in a row sleeping late (6am) because I couldn't get out of my chair last night while spending hours outside looking at the sky. It was 11:45pm before I realized how late it was. Stella was sleeping under the light of the moon that had moved into her spot on the bedroom floor.

Although I was positive we were going to do something today, early ... that didn't mean I knew for sure what we were doing, so I had to decide quickly before 'analysis' set in. In an instant my brain moved from a short bike ride to hiking some trails in Brown Canyon. As I was moving some trekking poles, my small day pack and water into the car ... "ding ding ... ding ding" ... road trip!!!

Stella also woke up late this morning and in fact didn't rise until I was outside drinking my cup of coffee. She likes to sniff the air to see what might be happening in her neighborhood. The birds have never bothered her but that is what she will hear mostly at that time of morning. She takes it slow analyzing what's going on.

When I asked if she was ready to take her walk, she turned toward me quickly and started whining but once she realized I was still drinking that first cup of coffee ... she did what she always does, takes a short nap and waits for me to finish.

Once she saw I was taking things to the car she started getting excited while Heidi was back in the computer room sound to sleep. While I was loading the car I kept thinking about taking the hounds or leaving them at home. Although they would be traveling in air conditioning I have always followed that temperature scale converting outside temps to temps inside a car without AC. Seriously.

New car with AC, what could go wrong? Probably nothing but what if it was 92° and we had a flat tire or a car breakdown. You get the idea. Plus like I have mentioned here in the past, I am not really sure that Heidi enjoys riding anymore like she use to. She does not act like she does. She lays down and sleeps instead of sitting and looking out the window like she use to.

The hounds came  with me today.

We headed toward Tombstone driving through beautiful country. When my map display in the dashboard showed Davis Rd up ahead I knew to make a right turn and head to McNeal. There were no highway signs telling me McNeal was that direction, but it was ... 22 miles away near the Central Highway.

The temp was still in the 80's and that is cool to me. We left town probably around 9am, can't remember now. Many places to pull over to take photos but never in the spot that had the best landscape for the best photos.

This is looking back West.

Luckily while I was out of the car taking photos, neither hound tried to get into the front seats. Once the car stopped they thought it was time to get out like they always do, but this wasn't the area to take a hound break ... too close to the highway. Yes ... that dried bloodhound drool will come off the leather seats easily with a damp cloth without staining the seat.

When the car started moving again ... they both laid down and went back to sleep. Where's the adventure in that?

In my search of real estate before moving, I really liked a piece of property that was for sale near McNeal. The house was built two years ago and had a small guest house to go with it. It sat on 75 acres and 8 miles from this general store in McNeal. I had seriously considered that house and tried to justify in my mind that it would not be too bad driving to Tombstone for groceries and I could buy gas here. I thought the highways I just traveled on would be great for bicycling.

These buildings were familiar to me because I had seen them on Google Satellite View when I followed the road from that property to 'town', as I looked around the area. The general store looked different than the view I saw because it had been freshly painted.

Postal service right across the highway.

But like I said, this move was about convenience, or at least that was one of the things I listed as a 'want'. I had been driving 12-25 miles for groceries the past five years and I was tired of that. It doesn't seem like much but a pain as they say.

We continued north after that short stop for taking photos. We would pass through Elfrida, Sunsites, outside of Pearce heading for I-10.

All of these photos with the car moving were pure luck. There were a few that did not turn out as good and were deleted in the editing room.

I would hold up the camera facing a general direction and snapped the camera without ever taking my eyes off the road. I had no idea what the camera would capture and what it would miss.

Yes, even out in the middle of nowhere, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Store are all present. We passed all of them along the way.

Not sure ... pecan trees ??

Somewhere in my photo library on my computer there is a file called "Local Drives". In a few of those folders are photos exactly like these next few. If you took the mountains out of the background some people would think these photos were taken in southern Indiana on Hwy 57 between Hwy 54 and 67. My friends in Indiana were shocked to know these were taken today in Arizona on Hwy 191.

Some of the tallest, healthiest corn you would ever see in Indiana. In Arizona.

On I-10 heading toward Benson I knew there was a Rest Area that I was going to stop at. It wouldn't be the first time I passed it but the last time I did was the day we arrived during our move cross-country. Then, I was in a hurry to get to the new house and knew the hounds could wait for any breaks until we got there.

Today I wanted to stop. We had driven 110 miles by this time and I thought Heidi at least needed a break. She seems to be peeing more often as she ages. I knew Stella had no interest in peeing nor getting out of the car. She did but the truck noise, highway noise, just this type of atmosphere in general scares her. Heidi headed right over to the pet area with her nose to the ground as I hung on to two dog leashes.

Photos were taken after the hounds were in the car, engine running and AC on.

It was about 17 miles from here to Benson but I had other plans. We would not be on this Interstate much longer.

I saw Exit 306 for Hwy 80 heading south ... down through St. David, a town I mentioned in yesterday's post and toward Tombstone, but I still had other plans.

I wanted to turn right on Hwy 82 and head to Huachuca City. I had read about that town in the book I am reading and didn't realize it was so close to the north part of Ft Huachuca. Originally the town was set up for all of the black soldiers to live assigned to the Army base. Of course now there is the typical gas station/mini marts, run down neighborhoods of house trailers and old homes, a new or new looking RV Sales Lot and I found out coming in from the east side ... a LOT of RV parks on Hwy 82 before the Hwy 90 intersection.

I drove up and down a few streets in the town ... wow ... what an eye opener. In some parts of town you could not imagine anyone being as poor as the residences I was passing. A surprise actually. It didn't take me too long to stop my exploration around the town and get back on Hwy 90 and head to civilization.

By the time we returned home, I could hear thunder from somewhere with bright sunny skies. Heidi sprinted through the house for the patio door to be let out. Stella was more interested standing by the dog food container letting me know that I was 45 minutes late for her lunch. She had not started howling yet but that was only because I started pouring out their lunch kibble BEFORE unloading the car and the water bottles I had taken with me.

Strange how a nice morning road trip leads to a short siesta a few hours long on a Sunday. The hounds take theirs every day after they eat, so everything was normal for them. I could tell that Heidi was happy to get home with her sudden burst of energy. She ran through the house and rolled on the living room rug growling at herself. That's a sign she was happy.

Tomorrow morning I'll be back on the bike right after Stella's walk. There is a fine line on when to start ... either before the school traffic or after the kids have been dropped off at school. I either have to leave way before 7:30 or wait until 8:00am .. I'd rather start early.

It was nice traveling through the Wild West today ... we will do it again sometime.

Lots Of Ideas Not Much Action Today

You know something is wrong when you wake up and the room is filled with more sunshine than usual. Both hounds still sleeping, they have not had breakfast yet as far as I can remember. I don't recall ever waking up during the night nor do I remember a bloodhound nose nudging my arm if it's near the edge of the bed. It's 10 minutes until 7am and we haven't slept this late since we moved here. Not even the hounds.

All three of us jump into the normal routine. The hounds seemed confused since it's me waking them up instead of them waking me up. Once they head down the hallway they begin to realize we are starting our day and breakfast kibble is only a few minutes away. They both trot for the back door to be let outside. As I set the two dishes up to pour out the kibble, Stella lets out a loud bloodhound howl telling me she is happy breakfast is being served. Heidi trots around in excitement trying to get the best position once I set the dog dishes down full of kibble.

It was going to be either hiking or a roadtrip today but I needed coffee first, at least a cup before Stella and I took our two hour late walk. What would it be like, walking at 7:30am instead of 5:30am ... more people out walking their dogs or more bicyclist passing the house? I was almost shocked that we saw no one, no dogs, and only one car leaving the area.

That included a walk to the mailbox that is around the corner and down the block. I thought that was a pain to go that far for mail but it's nothing compared to those people that live outside of town and have the same set up. A cabinet of mailboxes on the side of the road for those that live locally. I get the idea that some of them drive a long ways to their mailboxes.

Instead of just grabbing some water, my cap, camera and heading out to the nearest trail, I was in a state of paralysis. Hiking or a roadtrip? I wanted to do both. Take the hounds or leave them home? Well that is pretty easy to answer. With the temps in the 90's by 10am most every day, if I plan to stop to eat somewhere or go see someplace interesting the dogs can't stay in the car due to the heat. Not all small restaurants allow dogs. So If I even think I might stop somewhere they stay home. The hardest part was trying to decide where to drive to.

Then I started thinking of all the stuff I'd like to buy for hiking in general, things suggested by a couple of readers. Like a First Aid Kit, some trekking poles, some t-shirts ... you know, just things on my mind that do nothing but distract me from doing what I planned on doing. Each time I glanced at the time, 30 minutes had past. The day was passing me by.

Around here if you don't get your outdoor activities finished by 10am, it is going to be too hot, possibly too dangerous to do much outside. I like hot, have no problems with temps 90° and higher but there are days I'd prefer to stay inside and just hang out. That's basically what the hounds and I did, not counting the short trips to the library, post office and the sporting goods store for those hiking items.

After that it was ok ... were do I go? I looked through my book of trails, looked at maps and even thought of going  back to the San Pedro River area. That's it ... I could go late in the afternoon. Yet by 5:30pm, even the hounds stood on the small patio and they did not want to move either. Zero motivation. It was still 90°.

Before I could decide what to do, I was deep into that book I have mentioned a few times Going Back to Bisbee. I couldn't stop reading it. It was not only describing the San Pedro River area, he was giving me a history lesson about the area I walked in just a few days ago. He was going back to 1830 in his paragraphs. I was totally unaware what I was walking through and taking photos of the other day, until I read this book today.

Stella decides even at 5:30pm it's too hot and she wants back inside. Since our move she basically doesn't let me out of her sight, following me from room to room. When I let her back inside she laid down by the door right inside with the AC while I sat outside reading my book. Although as I type this I am in my computer room and she is sleeping in the living room, so I guess it's not as bad as I think it is at times.

As I kept looking at the sky today I realized that some days I do not need to go anywhere ... I can enjoy the mountain views, the cloud changes and wide open skies right from my patio. Each day is still pretty amazing here as well as the night skies. I might have to start a little research on basic telescopes to use at night.

I went back to that book on local hiking trails, each having a detailed description and all hiked by the book author. Between the book I'm reading and the book describing local trails there is one thing in common I keep seeing. Each says the best time to see these specific areas are in September and October. Those are options with cooler temps, less people around but if I can go hiking on the mornings I don't ride a bike ... I can take some of those hikes now instead of waiting.

I wasn't going to do anything when I saw their news but this morning I clicked that link provided by Equifax to see if my information was in their 2017 breach. Within a minute they told me I was. Since I was also involved in the Government OPM breach many years ago, I have lifetime ID protection provided for free. Since I could prove to Equifax that I would have ID protection for the next six months I could chose the option for them to send me a check "up to" $125 ... whatever that means. How will they determine the amount of payment? Information is the same for everyone .. with financial risk different.

By 9:00pm the skies were calling it a day. Heidi had not moved for hours sleeping deep in the dark bedroom on her dog bed. When it comes time to sleep for the night she is still on Eastern time and does not hesitate to get up in the living room and walk back to the bedroom to go to her bed. Thats 5:30pm local time for her calling it a day.

A short note ... the book about this area had a great description on the history of a small town NE of me called St. David, as he was following the development along the San Pedro River. This book was written in 1992 but many things he wrote then are still obvious today. The book is so good that I took the one I was reading back to the library and bought my own copy on Amazon.

Everybody talks about water here in the Wild West ... it's like gold and I don't take my water for granted.

Spur Of Moment Hike To Hereford Bridge

Stella and I could tell today was going to be much different than yesterday. She was ready to take her walk before I could even change into some clothes. Of coarse she and Heidi had to have their breakfast and they did ... at 4am !!!!  So this photo was around 5:30am and Stella was raring to go.

I could tell while walking Stella AND HEIDI !!!! that I was wanting to ride my mountain bike today and I wanted to ride a lot of miles for a long time. I wanted to climb some hills, ride some trails and check out some new roads I had not been down. I got more than that and may really pay for my riding today sometime Saturday morning.

Yes, you see Heidi's name in the sentence above. Only this time she figured out she could walk on the pavement and the dirt and not have to trot away from anyone ... that no one was chasing her. So she walked the pace she used to in the field back in 'the tropics', sniffing as many different scents as she could in that .66 of a mile walk. It was a cool 68° and that might have been a factor in her decision.

When we got back I didn't waste a lot of time changing into some bike shorts (padded seat area) and a bike jersey (keeps you cooler flicking off sweat). I had intended to do a lot of climbing on the "crossroads" where I ride on my road bike. My definition of "crossroads" are the streets that cross Cherokee Rd on the way to Ramsey Canyon Rd. All of them have long slight inclines. I also wanted to take a right turn onto a dirt lane I see people walking their dogs sometimes. .... that was all loose sand, a lot of rocks and a two track for a truck to someone's house. I turned around before getting to their gate.

I ended up riding out to the Brown Canyon house again but only this time I rode their "Natural Loop Trail". At the end of the trail is where I took my first fall. A large rock hiding in the tall grass on the edge of the path knocked the bike out from under me. I wasn't hurt and was able to ride back home.

I also checked out that area that I talked about yesterday and the satellite map was right ... what I thought was a trailhead was blocked by a locked private gate and a stone wall going each direction along the property line. I ended up riding the compressed gravel road to the left  to check out the property that had For Sale signs on it. I rode almost 29 miles for over 2 hours 30 minutes.

When I pulled into the driveway ... a beautiful long snake was laying stretched out by my garage door in the shade. As I backed the bike away, the snake turned around and crawled away quickly ... so quick that I could not find him.

With a ride like that I knew the only place I could replenish all of the burnt up carbohydrates and calories was Papa's 50's Diner. I was going to try something different on their menu this time. The air conditioning felt great as I walked in from 96°.

A nice size salad, meatloaf, mash potatoes, brown gravy was fantastic. But I needed some desert.

Texting my friend in Chicago last night during each of our different baseball games. She was in shock after they blew a 5 run lead in the last two innings of the game, losing by a Grand Slam HR. I wanted t show her that Papa's Diner supported her Cubs all the way out here in SE Arizona.

The desert was hot cherry pie ala' mode ... I didn't expect two scoops of ice cream. I told the waitress it tasted so good that I was tempted to lift the plate to my lips and lick the plate clean.  LOL Stella would have had a string of drool a foot long if she had seen that pie and ice cream.

My plan was drive through and look at Hereford, AZ. The town and area was evacuated in June 2011 when that forest fire, started by accident of course, ripped down the side of the mountains and across the dry fields of brush. My neighbor told me that large embers were blowing onto our rooftops. So I am driving out Hereford Rd., thinking I knew where I was going.

At first I turned left on Ramsey Canyon Rd because I wanted to see the condition of the road and how many miles it was to the base of the mountain or what I found out ... where the pavement road ended and turned to dirt. It was 5.9 miles from Hwy 92. When I turned around and took a left turn on Moson Rd heading south toward Hereford that was my error. I was checking out that road as a potential new place to ride my bike.

I did not realized when Moson Rd and Hereford Rd intersected that I was east of the town. It turned out great though because I ran into, by accident ... the Hereford Bridge Trailhead. I drove through Hereford on Hereford road after driving on the Hereford one lane bridge ... I did not see anything that suggested a town was there.

I had the whole area to myself, I had my cap that I had bought the other day and enough carbs stored up from that pie and ice cream I could have walked all the way back to the San Pedro House. It turned out to be a very short walk to the bridge. The whole hike if you want to call it that ... was no longer than Stella's walk in the morning.

With landscape like this it is still hard to believe this is the state of Arizona.

Although my iPhone was telling me it was 96° at 1:49pm, it didn't feel that bad. The nice thing is that I am not attacked by bugs or gnats or mosquitoes like I would have been on an August afternoon walk through the field with the hounds. When I stood still and just listened ... only the sounds of different birds were all I heard.

I think a lot of the burned trees I saw was from that 2011 fire .. maybe not.

I came to an intersection where I had three choices to chose from ... left right or cross this road and follow that thing that looked like a path. I did that.

I was hearing a bird from above me telling me hello ... I found it in the middle of the photo.

The friend in Chicago told me this looked like I was hiking in the African brush. The grass was taller than I was.

There it was ... out of nowhere. The solid steel ONE LANE Hereford Bridge on Hereford Rd. I took a short break from the sunshine and stood in the shade under the bridge. Some people have asked me about illegal immigrants in the area. On my two hikes, all my bike riding south of town and within 10 miles of the border ... I have never seen any signs of illegal immigrant's traffic.

Another tree that I think was in the June 11 fire.

After that I wanted to check out Best Buy ... no ... not for electronics or cameras ... I had a $25 reward left from my June purchase of a washer and dryer ... they gave me more but what I had left had to be spent by the end of this month or loose it. Online I had found what I call a velcro watch band for my Apple Watch, they call it a nylon watchband. Either way it fastens the way I wanted. They actually had some in the store ... so I walked out with the new band and only had to pay sales tax.

I wanted to check out a store at the mall called Dillards. I was pretty sure what type of store it was but needed to see it. I was happy to see it was very very similar to Macy's back in Indiana. I like buying quality clothes when they are on sale. This place will always have sales and has good quality for clothes and shoes. Even if I do live in t-shirts and cargo shorts.  LOL

It does not feel like a Friday.  If I don't ride tomorrow, deciding in the morning by the way my legs feel, I will definitely go hiking somewhere. I think the iPhone camera is about all I need to take on these hikes for taking photos.

I hate to repeat myself ... but it really was a great day here in the Wild West.