It didn't rain that much afterall yesterday. My rain barrels were mostly empty. But this morning was a bright and sunny, albeit cooler, day. I wanted to explore some trails.
My choice was to go back to where I was last Sunday, the Las Cienegas Conservation Area and find FR 910 that leads east into the Whetstone foothills. This area once all belonged to Empire Ranch, one of the biggest ranches in Arizona in the 1870s.. It's now been divided into several parcels and most now is part of the conservation area. Kevin came along and so did Sara, which meant that we weren't going to get a lot of miles in today but at least we'd be together.
Mount Wrightson was capped in white and glistened in the haze from a distance.
I recognized some of the RVs that were camped out in the same spots as they were last Sunday.
It took us 90 minutes to get to a ridgeline parking area. Here the trails converged into a multiple gathering of trails. Anything east of here became rugged and more suitable for ATVs. Kevin went on one trail, and I went on another one with the dogs. I went 20 minutes out and back and a few more minutes down another steep and rutted trail.
Views here in all directions were spectacular. One couldn't tell if one was still in the foothills or in the Whetstones, although Apache Peak was still a distance away. I felt so remote in these alluvial plains, and there was little sign of human presence except for a plastic bag fluttering from a thornbush branch that once contained Pan Blanco from Mexico.
A lone red-tailed hawk briefly swooped over me, but then disappeared.
"This is one of the top scenic areas in Arizona" said Kevin.
We stopped briefly at a birding spot along Cienega Creek before heading home, stopping at Fry's to gas up. We heard on NPR that an American ship captain who had been held by Somali pirates since Wednesday had been freed by Navy seals who had been monitoring the standoff via satellite and listening devices from a distance. I knew they were just waiting for the right moment to attack. Three Somali pirates were killed and the fourth taken under arrest. At least for the captain's family it's a belated Easter present.
The rest of the day was quiet. We enjoyed a chicken meal at home with three very hungry dogs watching our every move. After the meal I took Sadie on a solo three-mile hike around the neighborhood, getting back just before sunset.
No comments:
Post a Comment