I was sitting at the computer and reading the local news when I got yet another call to work today. (As expected, the new semester is proving to be busy!) I was planning a daytrip to the Whitewater Draw in McNeal to watch sandhill cranes in the nearby ponds and to explore the Sulphur Valley backroads. It's a 45-mile drive one way to McNeal; a 90-mile drive if going via Wilcox.
I'm going to have to take a raincheck for this now.
Every winter those graceful birds flock to Cochise County and wade around the shallow ponds and playas. The annual four-day Sandhill Crane festival takes place in Willcox over the MLK weekend. It gets booked weeks in advance when fanatical birders (there is no other adjective that precedes "birder!") from around the North American continent come down to watch those birds and pay a hefty fee of $100 for a guided tour of the Willcox Playa. I am not a birder. I am a naturalist and I love watching all forms of wildlife.
But there are other less costly areas to watch those birds, like the Whitewater Draw in McNeal further south.
I've yet to go there to watch those birds. The last time I went searching for cranes was off the Texas Coast last February, and those were the whooping cranes. Getting up two hours before sunrise to get to Willcox or McNeal just doesn't appeal to me. Especially right now, with these freezing overnight temperatures. BRR! Even the dogs would rather hold in their morning pee than be forced out the backporch at 4:30am for their natural morning ritual.
The nice thing about this frost is the drive to Bisbee. Heavy fog lingers over the San Pedro River. Sometimes the morning fog hides the mountains. Dead roadside grasses limp with the added weight of ice on their seedheads. Remaining cottonwood tree leaves hang tightly with the fine sheet of ice over them.
This is not the time to be illegally crossing into the US, yet the Border Patrol still picks up quite a few along the route I take into town. At this time of year one can't see the white-and-green vans parked off dirt roads until the headlights reflect the vehicles. The illegals look cold and dirty and many seem relieved to be heading for a warm meal and a shower before they get sent back to Mexico to try to come into this country yet again.
So, I have yet again another exciting day in the school. And maybe for the rest of the week. I may not be able to plan one last mid-week hike before my college resumes next week. Weather is expected to warm back into the upper 60s by this weekend, which may also melt the top layers of snow on the nearby peaks, only to melt and create a hard crust on the snow when it refreezes 0vernight.
Other hikes I'd like to do before my winter schedule overwhelms me is a hike up Coronado Peak (6.2 miles r/t) and Tempural Gulch, a more strenuous hike of 12 miles r/t in the Santa Ritas.
And of course there is still the self-imposed requirement to hike up Miller Peak once a month this year. This was my one resolution for 2009: to hike up this summit every month this year and see the transitions the peak makes with each climb. There are at least seven ways to bag this peak, the shortest route being up the eastern slopes of Lyle Canyon, a steep 9.2-mile attempt. Other routes are the southern route up the Crest Trail (10m), Carr Peak (12m), and from four other trails on the western slopes.
Kevin's heading to Tucson this Saturday for the annual Gun Show. Funny, that's one thing that will get him to drive 75 miles to the Old Pueblo now; hiking mountain tops no longer appeals to him. He's shopping for a rifle scope.
One of these days I'm going to shop for a new Canon lens. My camera also desperately needs a professional cleaning. I dropped it lens first into some dirt a few weeks ago and the smudges are obvious in my photos now.
I'm going to have to take a raincheck for this now.
Every winter those graceful birds flock to Cochise County and wade around the shallow ponds and playas. The annual four-day Sandhill Crane festival takes place in Willcox over the MLK weekend. It gets booked weeks in advance when fanatical birders (there is no other adjective that precedes "birder!") from around the North American continent come down to watch those birds and pay a hefty fee of $100 for a guided tour of the Willcox Playa. I am not a birder. I am a naturalist and I love watching all forms of wildlife.
But there are other less costly areas to watch those birds, like the Whitewater Draw in McNeal further south.
I've yet to go there to watch those birds. The last time I went searching for cranes was off the Texas Coast last February, and those were the whooping cranes. Getting up two hours before sunrise to get to Willcox or McNeal just doesn't appeal to me. Especially right now, with these freezing overnight temperatures. BRR! Even the dogs would rather hold in their morning pee than be forced out the backporch at 4:30am for their natural morning ritual.
The nice thing about this frost is the drive to Bisbee. Heavy fog lingers over the San Pedro River. Sometimes the morning fog hides the mountains. Dead roadside grasses limp with the added weight of ice on their seedheads. Remaining cottonwood tree leaves hang tightly with the fine sheet of ice over them.
This is not the time to be illegally crossing into the US, yet the Border Patrol still picks up quite a few along the route I take into town. At this time of year one can't see the white-and-green vans parked off dirt roads until the headlights reflect the vehicles. The illegals look cold and dirty and many seem relieved to be heading for a warm meal and a shower before they get sent back to Mexico to try to come into this country yet again.
So, I have yet again another exciting day in the school. And maybe for the rest of the week. I may not be able to plan one last mid-week hike before my college resumes next week. Weather is expected to warm back into the upper 60s by this weekend, which may also melt the top layers of snow on the nearby peaks, only to melt and create a hard crust on the snow when it refreezes 0vernight.
Other hikes I'd like to do before my winter schedule overwhelms me is a hike up Coronado Peak (6.2 miles r/t) and Tempural Gulch, a more strenuous hike of 12 miles r/t in the Santa Ritas.
And of course there is still the self-imposed requirement to hike up Miller Peak once a month this year. This was my one resolution for 2009: to hike up this summit every month this year and see the transitions the peak makes with each climb. There are at least seven ways to bag this peak, the shortest route being up the eastern slopes of Lyle Canyon, a steep 9.2-mile attempt. Other routes are the southern route up the Crest Trail (10m), Carr Peak (12m), and from four other trails on the western slopes.
Kevin's heading to Tucson this Saturday for the annual Gun Show. Funny, that's one thing that will get him to drive 75 miles to the Old Pueblo now; hiking mountain tops no longer appeals to him. He's shopping for a rifle scope.
One of these days I'm going to shop for a new Canon lens. My camera also desperately needs a professional cleaning. I dropped it lens first into some dirt a few weeks ago and the smudges are obvious in my photos now.
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