Where Did They Go

Well really not to many places and rather than bore you with a running dialogue on Brenda's flights back and forth to Canada to deal with her medical issues I thought I might just let this blog have a little rest. But all those many trips have not been for naught, she has a date for her knee replacement and they are moving forward on other fronts as well. Should be good as new by summer.

Her riding has been curtailed this year and without my riding partner I have been not doing as much either. Not sure the horses find this to be a problem though.

All that said I have had a few opportunities to dust off my saddles, I took a group of Canadians out and around the Loop through Butterfield Pass and then a couple of days later a smaller group out to Picket Post to circumnavigate the mountain on the new trail we found just after the new year. Then again to Picket Post with another bunch of Canadians while Brenda was back in Canada.

Back in January I mentioned that Mike and Janna had left their motorhome here while they headed north. Well, last week they came back to pick it up and we had a great visit with them. And then we heard another old friend was roaming across Texas heading in our direction.

Rollie's Rig

We met Rollie about 5 years ago in Kerrville, Texas and have crossed trails a time or two since. It was great to be able to lure him into Dogpound South for a visit even though it was only for a few hours.

But even in that few hours we did solve a few of the world's problems

Mike and Janna are roaming Arizona looking at real estate and we looked at a few places around here while they were in the area, but nothing caught their eye so they are on to other spots to continue their search.

Mike, Brenda, Rollie, and Janna with Maya and Emmi out front.

We enjoyed a few happy hours on our patio and a couple of spectacular Arizona sunsets along the way.

Picket Post Again!

Picket Post is one of those rides that gets under your skin. The trails are great and the scenery is second to none. I joined some Canadian friends and a couple of our American hosts out there at the trailhead. They had arrived a day or two earlier so were out on a ride and Blue and I headed out on our own, first stop was the phone booth on the hilltop out of camp. Just to let the rest of the world we made it safely. Here is Joel up there checking his messages.

So this is what the guys who drive trucks for Walmart do on their vacation.

Then we headed out the trail and not to far along we ran into the bunch coming back to camp. Short ride but shook off the trailer legs anyway. Once we got unsaddled we ran down the highway towards Superior where these wagon tracks are cut into the limestone. Must have been a lot of heavy silver ore in those wagons.

Ore wagons cut these into the rock

Always great sunsets here.

The next day we headed off across the highway and up to Happy Camp Canyon. That is ride I first did about a year ago, but it was a lot greener and prettier this year than last. The GPS tells me that this ride is a little less than 13 miles. You go out along a ridge back that gives you great views in all directions.

From these ridge tops you can see for miles

Always good to run into a little water for the ponies on these rides

Joel and his Tennessee Waiting Horse waiting on the rest of us to catch up. 

Heading into Happy Camp Canyon

Kelly and her stud the Huntsman hanging around on the ridge

For the return trip we popped over top of the ridge and dropped into a wash for the return trip. Along the way here is a stock tank with great water for the horses.

After the ride that night Ken and I ran into Superior to try and run down a map of the area and see if we could find a map that showed a trail that made a loop around Picket Post Mountain in its entirety. There is a map but the only one in captivity was taped to the inside of office window on main street. There was a fellow in there sanding the floors and we tried to talk him into giving/selling it to us but he was incorruptible.

But we did get a picture of it with the phone and a little store across the street gave a photo copy of a smaller portion.

With that new information in hand we headed out on a ride of discovery the next day. The first part of the ride was a little bit of bushwhacking Arizona style, looking for gates and discovering fences blocking the trail, but eventually we got through that part and got ourselves down into Arnett Canyon. What a treat that was, it was beautiful down there. Towering cliffs, big sycamore trees, and ample water crossings. And to top it all off a pretty sandy trail so easy on the feet. That was important for Blue as just before we loaded up to come out here he had a visit with the farrier and he is always a little tender for a day or too after that experience.

Arnett Canyon

Ken and Beauty enjoying the crick

More canyon and creek views

Whoa, Blue is leading the ride.

 And when Blue and I lead the ride there is a lot of time for enjoying the scenery, we sure don't see a reason to race through this kind of landscape.

Believe it or not this is what I was looking for.....the other side of the mountain

Here is the littlest Saguaro growing right in that rock. He has made it in a couple of blogs now

Verna, Toni, and Ron and Toni's trail dog Madeline

Although we spent five or six hours on this ride we stopped a bunch of time to enjoy the scenery, eat lunch and do a little pioneering along the trail. I think with all the back and forth we did we were just over 9.5 miles total on the trail and all that to and froing will probably result in it being around 9 miles next time. A little shorter than usual but there is lots to look at and some challenging spots but they are short and sweet.

Sunrise at Picket Post

Same sunrise different angle

The following morning Blue and I packed up and headed home. He was a little foot sore and it seemed the wise thing to do. The others were going to go back around yesterdays loop and try to eliminate the one technical spot on the new trail. Below is a Google Map for those who like that kind of stuff.

Green is the Happy Camp Canyon trail and the Magenta trail is the Picket Post Mountain Loop

And when I got home there was a party about to begin. Brenda had spent the weekend preparing food and drink for a surprise party for her friend Stasia.

Part of the Party People

Brenda and the guest of honour. Hey, it's a Canadian party so we get to spell it how we like.

Now Mike and Janna stopped by on their way home to Montana and I didn't get any pictures but no problem I have their pink motorhome held hostage here so they will be back.

Tis the Season

Although we have no snow here, it is Christmas and we have been doing some Christmasy stuff. Visiting with friends and eating too much seem to be at the top of the list. The weekend before Christmas we jumped on the wagon with our Canadian friends, the Pohl's, and toured the community singing Christmas carols. Not sure that Thunderbird Farms will ever be the same, but it did get some of the more vocal dogs in the neighborhood to hide under their decks with their paws over their ears. The Arizona Hitching Post a local equine newspaper sponsored a contest for the best dressed horse and rider combination and although I don't know the official results there was lots of colorful horses following us around, even a couple decked out like carousel horses.

Carousel Horses complete with poles

Christmas Carollers

Ben and the Beauty's

Christmas Outriders

We enjoyed Christmas dinner with the Pohl's and Ken's daughter and her husband along with some other Canadian friends the Lewis's who we met previously at the Yaha Tinda back in Canada. We had planned on getting some riding in with them while they were down here over Christmas but life happened and that was not to be. But Blue and I have been working on a few things out back in our virtual round pen so all is not lost.

New Years Day we joined a bunch of friends here and took a little spin around the neighborhood.

L to R, CC, Brenda, Paula, Kathy and Crystal

Brenda and Wink

Now there I got a post everyday this year so far.

A Month has Past

So when I left you last we had just come back from a visit to Catalina State Park down near Tucson. Lots of time has passed and we have done lots of stuff so maybe it is time to catch things up a little here.

Brenda had a bunch of medical issues that needed looking after and although she has a doctor here in Maricopa his advice was jump on a plane and get back to Canada. Things would get looked after quicker up there and as we know it is a lot cheaper also. He said that the medical system here really doesn't like folks like us that pay cash as they are able to charge the insurance companies much more than that. Tells me two things, Doctors do have a conscience when it comes to the ordinary Joe and although it looks like the insurance companies are being taken to the cleaners we all know they just pass the cost on to their customers. So back north of the Medicine Line it was for Brenda. She got back just in time for winter to set in and was there for some of the nastiest weather they have had in years, -40 degrees and tons of snow and howling winds. And you know she just loves driving that big old dually diesel around in that weather.

Meanwhile back at Dogpound South I joined some of our friends on a little expedition down to the Chiricahua National Monument and surroundings for a weekend of riding in that area.

My camp site near the Chiricahua's

We rode the National Monument one day and then off into another valley the next. The shot below was from the second day and was taken by my friend Tom Compton after we scrambled up to the hilltop to see what we could see.

I got home from this trip just in time to enjoy a little winter rainstorm here at Dogpound South. We got about an inch and half of rain over a couple of days so it actually had time to soak into the ground a little.

Meanwhile Brenda was still enjoying the comforts of home at Dogpound North.

But at least there was no wind, right Honey!

The following weekend the Rogers, Modahl's and I took a little drive up into north Scottsdale for a ride on the aptly named Brown's Ranch preserve. We left our trailers at the Granite Trailhead off of 136th Street and wandered all over the eastern part of this preserve.

Looking across Brown's Ranch from Cathedral Rock

Even though it was a little cloudy the temperature was good and no rain fell on us.

This a beautiful spot and very close to town. If you live on the north side of Phoenix it is shame not to get out and ride, bike or hike this area.

My riding companions

Well Brenda did eventually get back down to Dogpound South for a while anyways but soon after her return we got the sad news that the girls Grandmother, Mitzi Bryden, had passed away. Brenda decided that she should get home and be with her girls through this time. So with what seems to be a common theme she headed back to Calgary and the weather up there decided to treat her to yet another blizzard and cold temperatures for her entire stay.

Once she again returned to Dogpound South we packed our trailer and headed out this last weekend to ride near Picket Post Mountain east of Apache Junction near the town of Superior. This is a beautiful spot and should be on any trail riders bucket list. It is really the Sonoran Desert at its best. Lots of saguaro's and other vegetation to enjoy along with beautiful mountain scenery as the Arizona Trail winds it way across the State.

Brenda coming along the trail

Picket Post Mountain

Some of our riding companions

Stopping for a well deserved drink

Brenda and her canine crew

Sunrise

Not sure where we are off to next but I will endeavor to let you know when I do.

Where Have we Been

I really have to do this more often, it seems like every blog I write I have to use a different platform. A few months ago I switched from my old trusty PC to a new MAC and that meant I had to leave LiveWriter in the dustbin, and go back to blogger, and now it seems like blogger changes something each and every time I write a post.

When I left you last we were way back in early September and riding the West Country of Alberta with old and new friends up there. It was not to long after that that we loaded our new trailer and headed south. We missed our annual trek up the Boulder River south of Big Timber to visit our friends Mike and Janna. Seems that their calendar was a little out of wack and they were starting winter early there. So that meant we just pointed our rig south and set the cruise. The weather reports kept giving us encouragement to make some miles as snowy weather was following closely on our heels. That was no problem for me as those who know me know that I have a bad case of PDD (Paul Dahl Disorder), but it was not so great for Brenda and her bad knee. We stopped the first night out in Dillon, Montana and the next night we had given the cool weather the slip and slide down the Virgin River Gorge into Logandale, Nevada. Both new stopping places for us, but thanks to our friends we found places to stay with no problems.

Once we roared through the traffic in Phoenix we arrived here at Dogpound South. Much to Brenda's chagrin our house was decorated for Halloween and not with fake spider webs but with the work of a major colony of Black Widow spiders. After a day or so of sweeping, wiping and pressure washing from my very clean orientated wife the decorations were gone. While she was at that I was busy getting the horses settled in and putting some hay up for the winter. Well that and trying to keep the pressure washer from overheating and burning up.

But enough of the clean-up we came south to enjoy the warm weather and do a little riding. We are a little earlier than other years so the weather has been warm, maybe even a little to warm for us northerners but we are suffering through the heat, remember 75F is hot back home, and getting out into the hills for a little riding.

I had an opportunity to join our good friends K & Teresa Rogers, and Dave and Linda Modahl on a day ride in the Rainbow Valley SW of Phoenix. It was a great day ride and a wonderful place to do a little training work.

Making our way through the valley

 We wound our way around the mountain and stopped at a couple of tanks along the way to water our critters. And do a little treasure hunting. Below you can see Earl looking at Dave's treasure and probably thinking "You've got to be kidding me, I don't run on gas".

Our next adventure was up into the pine forests north of Phoenix, I promised not to reveal the location but I sure didn't say I wouldn't share some of the scenery.

Brenda hanging out under the apple tree

Linda and K at the falls

This last weekend we headed off with K and Teresa to Catalina State Park down near Tucson. We had been there before a couple of years ago but had not ridden the trails in the park very much so thought we should give them a try. They have a great Equestrian Campground there, and much to our surprise we had it all to ourselves. A few day riders slipped in and out on both Saturday and Sunday but we never saw another horse on the trails. There were lots of hikers and a bunch of bikers, but all were very courteous and appeared pleased to share the trails with us. K managed to make a couple of little girls days with rides on his beautiful Paint mare, Delta Dawn. We were happy to take some great photos and hopefully be included in some other folks pics also.

Some nice scenery in this part of the country, down along the Canyon Loop

This fellow was watching a Road Runner on the ground, who was probably watching a lizard

Of course no ride in the Tucson area is complete without a photo of some Saguaro's. There are a lot of them down here and they make for beautiful pictures, but something I have never seen before was this Crested Barrel Cactus.

Found along the cutoff from the 50 Year Trail to the Sutherland Trail

And what is a beautiful background without beautiful subjects.

Teresa Rogers and Brenda along the Sutherland Trail

Well that catches you up with our travels and adventures to date and I will try to keep things a little more current from now on.