Dragonfly Trail - Silver City, NM

After researching it on the Internet I decided to hike the Dragonfly Trail before leaving town.  It is four miles and no real dramatic up and downs except to the stream bed where the petrogliphs are located. 

Not being in the shape I was after spending three months hiking and working in Montana, I must admit I felt fairly tired after the hike but it was worth it. I always find historic issues of interest and imagine myself back in the time the event or issue occurred. Of course those people many years ago didn't miss what they never had as I try to put myself in their shoes, or moccasins, in this case.

The trail.

The reason for the hike.

I am not sure what this is.

Westward Ho!

I left Silver City and headed west towards Tucson on Thursday.  It felt good to get to a lower elevation and breathe normally.  The air at 6000 feet is a little thin to one who is not used to it.  

I decided to try getting into the RV park at Davis Monthan AFB and lucked out.  It is a first come, first serve base and usually full.  They had six spaces open so I was able to get one and I took it for a week with the option of extending.  I always feel secure on a military base plus it feels comfortable and has everything I need tax free.

F-4 Phantom.  The stars show four migs shot down over VietNam by the pilot.  I worked directly with these aircrafts in VietNam in photo reconnaissance and intelligence.  

This is the U-2.  Used for photo reconnaissance.  When I was in the USAF  I used to process the film from their missions in a clean lab environment.  A speck of dust could ruin the whole mission.

The weather is wonderful and even a little warm. Yesterday it hit 79 degrees but today, Saturday, it is supposed to stay in the mid seventies.  Dexter and I are going for a long drive today just to see the areas around Tucson, especially the Oro Valley north of the city. 

I don't plan to do anything that would cause me to leave Dex in the truck so he gets to go with me, which he really enjoys.  I bought a little twelve volt fan for him last summer for those times when I do leave him in the truck for short periods but not when it gets too warm.  He is twelve years old now and could get overheated quickly so I don't want to take the chance, especially down here in this bright sunshine.

Too Many People

So....what is the big deal with Oro Valley, Arizona?  I read all about this area and had a completely different vision of what it was before I saw it with my own eyes.

I drove forever with about a million other people up the one road leading north through that area and all I saw was more people and malls and businesses. I don't get it.  It must be cooler and probably nice once in the many neighborhoods of houses I could see from the highway.  Three lanes of highway going nowhere and we are all going there at the same time!  Houses and people everywhere!

I then drove all over Tucson and it wasn't very interesting either.  Just another big city with nothing more than warm weather to offer.  One of my favorite small cities is still San Antonio, Texas.  I am still keeping my eyes open for an opportunity to have a winter homebase in the Hill Country.

I didn't take a bunch of pictures of folks I saw around town that cause me to take another look because they are probably just fine folks....and I am living in another generation. 

I even went to church today, Sunday, at the chapel on the base.  I was disappointed that the minister was wearing jeans and acting like some of the people I see on Facebook!  There were young folks playing musical instruments and dressed like they just got out of bed....even wearing flipflops.  What has happened to respect!  This is God's house.....show a little respect please.  This service was called Evangelical and the Gospel service was at 11am......maybe I went to the wrong service!

I need to get a grip on my attitude.....starting to sound too grumpy and judgmental and I know that is not a healthy thing.  I just need to take everything "one day at a time"......right?

Other Thoughts

Today the wind blew very hard all day and it was cooler than normal.  I just hung around the rig and read and relaxed and planned a nice evening meal.

I saw a recipe on Facebook on how to cook cabbage so I decided to make grilled cabbage and grilled chicken breasts.  I have to brag that I made a really good meal! I slathered the chicken with mayo and mesquite seasoning and garlic powder and Parmesan/Asiago cheese and the cabbage with butter and all the same seasonings with bacon and wrapped in foil and it was wonderful!

One of the best things about being on the road is that grilling seems to be the norm when thinking of cooking dinner.  I have a three burner stove and an oven and a microwave but the grill always seems to do the best job.  I cooked on the propane grill tonight but I also have a little Weber and charcoal and it is best with steaks.  I seem to do a lot of "foil" meals.....put a bunch of stuff in tin foil with some olive oil and spices and cook it over the grill. You can't go wrong.

Driving South to Nogales

Since it didn't work out too well going north I decided to drive south to the Mexico border.  I did stop at two beautiful old missions on the way....both date back hundreds of years.  I think some of the most beautiful old missions are in California although San Antonio has some very nice missions too.

I made a loop and my return from Nogales was on the east side of the mountain range through Patagonia and Sonoita.  The terrain was completely different and more grassland than sagebrush.  Sonoita is a beautiful area but a little isolated.

When I leave here I am heading north to Wickenberg and on over to Prescott Valley.  Prescott is at 5200 feet and will be much cooler or even cold at this time of year.  I will keep you posted.

Happy Trails.......