Parker Canyon Lake hike

Since it was a bright sunny warm day we went down to the Parker Canyon Lake State Park in the Coronado National Forest for a 5.2 mile hike around the lake. It was a great day to be there, not too warm, very sunny, cool breeze.  Skye thought it was heaven, she finally had a day off leash and a lake to swim in all day long since the trail goes all around the lake shore.  Her coat is a mess tonight, but here at least it dries quickly.  

The lake is about 30 miles south of Sonoita and so close to Mexico that my phone got a “Welcome to Verizon Mexico” message.  It’s probably 6 miles to the border.  This was our third time hiking this lake, it’s a pleasant hike and it’s great for a water dog.  Callahan loved it too.

Not much else happened today.  All the adjacent campsites were empty when we got home.  While sitting in the sun we saw two bicyclists loaded for the road come around and may have picked a spot just down the road about a half hour before sunset.  And a small white van came in across the road from us.  Lots of small white vans out here.

Lots of ducks of many species 

Sunset

Gardner Canyon, Sonoita AZ

Because it was a warm sunny day we decided to hike in Gardner Canyon.  That’s about a dozen miles from camp and if it weren’t for the washboard road it would have been a quick drive.  But no, it took an hour.  It was worth it!  So out here you go on a Forest Service Road and it’s a slightly beat up gravel road that goes for miles, then turn off to another FS road that’s rougher, turn off again to even rougher yet.  So out here maybe 7 miles from the last vestige of human occupation, a ranch, we find a bicyclist sitting by the side of the road with a Golden Retriever at her side.  Carlene rolls down the window to say hello and I roll down Skye’s back seat window for the same.  Very soon the woman asks if Skye can come out to greet her dog and conversation ensues.  She asks where we’re from and when we say  Vermont she looks taken aback and says she is too.  Town?  She used to live in Richmond, now in Waterbury Ctr.  A couple minutes later we realize we know each other by name through the many mutual friends we have.  I know at least one reader will recognize Tami Bass.  Her 10 yr old dog, Parsha, runs along on bike rides with her up to about 6 miles, so they were out on the Arizona Trail for the morning.  She is out here for a few months, much like we are.  After a good long chat we went along our way and did our hike on the AZ Trail southbound starting about a mile from where we had met Tami.

When we got back to the truck we met the rancher who was replacing a water trough and tending the road at the gate.  Turns out he is also the Patagonia Fire Chief and a half dozen other things in the area.  He told us of 2 fatalities up there recently, guys who overturned their UTV out on the forest roads.  A couple UTVs had passed us while we were talking with Tami.

This trail has some history with it, gold mining in the area in the late 1800s.  You see frequent signs of mining and water supply along the trail.  This part of the AZT follows the water supply route in the mountains.  It also primarily followed the contours for a couple miles with only modest grades.  We made a 5 mile round trip.  It was in the 70s so it we still felt well exercised.  Skye has not needed any playtime this evening!

Sunrise today.  Much better than today’s sunset, which I didn’t bother to photograph

Skye loves to rip these yuccas

With Tami & Parsha

Near a tunnel

The sign Carlene was reading in the previous photo

Skye “let me by!”

Looking over towards camp

Hot day, gimme shade

Cattle in the road on the way back to camp

Hanging out at camp

There’s something on the breeze 

Sniff, sniff

Empire Ranch, Sonoita, AZ

 Just a 120 mile ride today to get to our other favorite boondocking place.  The Empire Ranch is about 30 minutes south of Tucson’s southern fringe.  It was a 60,000 acre ranch which is now BLM land and leased out for ranching.  This is more desert grassland than where we were before.  And more rolling hills.  We often see antelope here and a wide variety of birds.  Carlene identified a Ladder Back Woodpecker this afternoon and we saw what we think was a Ferrougenous Hawk.  

There was a fire in the grass sometime in the past year, many hills are burnt off.  That leaves just the bare rock and scattered yucca.

Mt Wrightson on our west usually has snow, but not this year.  Unless something appears in the morning sun.

A final morning look at Mt Graham

I-10 west of Wilcox

I-10 between Wilcox and Benson

The Chiricahuas from Benson

And our new views

Here I am,

Another day, another view

Roper Lake State Park, Safford AZ

This was a shorts and T shirt afternoon!   Yup, shorts.  

We spent the morning doing a little packing.  It was only 15 miles from our Haeckel Rd. camp to the state park and we never had a lot of gear outside anyway.  Then a walk out to the west and south from camp just to wander about a bit.  Couldn’t check in until noon at the earliest anyway. 

After lunch we headed to the park.  Did our tank dump, refilled the fresh water, took showers 😁 and then walked around the park meeting people and dogs.  One woman has a golden resembling Skye very much.  We talked with her a couple times. Cathleen lives in Mesa AZ with Lucylu. She camps in a little Scamp camper.  That’s a 10’ camper behind a compact car.  She told us about a women’s group she belongs to called Sisters on the Fly, about 10,000 women who camp and do all sorts of activities. 

Another couple in their 70s from Gilbert AZ, south side of Phoenix, have a small car and a tent.  They were in a cabin today but they travel extensively and often use the tent quite happily.  They’ve been to Vt and all but a couple of states.

This evening it is still warm, 64°, although I’m back to flannel shirt & jeans.  But sitting outdoors until 7:30 feels awful nice.  Some locals are saying it is very unusual weather for early February.

Off to boondock south of Tucson tomorrow.  Only 185 miles.

Jernigan Road

Bright sunny day, forecast for 77° so we went back south near where we went a couple days ago.  this time we parked as far down the road as we could so we would be able to go farther along a different fork of the road.  The first mile was identical to FR 663 two days ago, then we took a right instead of left at the fork in the road.  Ended up being a 5.25 mile hike up to 5000’ elevation.  Several new views, no javelina but I did see a rabbit.  Or at least a rabbit’s tail a few times.  I have a video of where it was, but he even hid from the camera while running.  Even in this sparse countryside they can hide pretty well.

Up farther we came by a couple of water tanks with cattle troughs.  Skye often wants to take a dip.  I’m sure the ranchers would prefer she didn’t.  And some are heavy with algae that we really do not want her swimming in.  We had one of each today, and she did take a dip in one.  We didn’t see it but she came back to us all happy, smiling and wet legs.  It was shallow.

Apparently there are some deer here

If you look in the shadow, center screen, you’ll see that Skye has figured out about staying a bit cooler on these warm days.

There weren’t any glaciers here to place these rocks.  So I wonder how it came to rest like this!

A relaxing drink