 My flight descends toward Columbus and the color green is kind of a shock to the eyes after months of the wonderful colors of southern AZ. Don't get me wrong, I like green, but it is an abrupt change. I also like blue and the sky was cloudless! Two days ago the forecast was 7 consecutive dry days so that too was grand.  After working in the woods for a couple of hours, doing all kinds of pulling, yanking, shoving type work, I needed a break. I opened the door of the rental and in hopped Stella. We hit Wendys and shared a grilled chicken sandwich. My first day was a good, enjoyable day working in my woods. The next day....  ....it rained lightly most of the day, including while I went to watch my grandson, Anthony play. Standing under an umbrella for an hour isn't much fun and only 4 members of the team came out but hey, I did enjoy watching Anthony run around.  I have paths in the woods but they were severely overgrown in places so I cut back the brush, pulled it into the paths and....  ....got a fire going after dousing the wet wood with gasoline a couple of times. Once the fire gets large enough and hot enough, I rake in the brush. It's a long process but meantime, I.....  ....manage to cut down the first tree. Not very large in diameter but very tall. That evening, Thursday....  ....severe storms roll through and in the morning, still raining. As I drove Tuesday from the airport, I was reminded of what a fantastic network of lonely country roads exists in Ohio, most stitching together small communities. One could ride every day for a year and never ride the same route, especially when you throw in the gravel roads. So many "monster" climbs like Reynolds, Snortin Ridge, Chickencoop, Savage, Revenge (all real road names) and on and on. I miss the variety for cycling but the weather??? I'm really good with southern AZ.
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 I'm headed to Ohio in a few days, for, as usual, working in my woods, visiting my 101 year-old mother, visit grandchildren but mostly working in the woods. I love working and walking around the mainly oak trees. I took a field, planted 2 year-old seedlings, watered them during a rare Ohio drought, sprinkled them with urea nitrogen to spur a second spurt of growth in the springs and now, a real forest exists. Anyway, Amy's sister bought a home and asked me to clean up the front and back yards.  Above is the after picture. I enjoyed working some of the same muscles I'll be using in Ohio so it was a good prep for my visit. In addition to cleaning up the trees, which had become bushes, I removed all the prickly pear cactus and cholla cactus. Yikes, so many cactus spines I had to pull from my hands and arms.  Still cycling quite a bit, getting in 100 miles a week. I found Sunset Road in Marana to have several steep climbs. But HEY! Don't fret as I will be hiking again soon and posting more awesome images. On Sunday....  ...Amy and I, with hiking buddy Katheryn and her husband Jim, drove into the sticks, found a good hill as a background and practiced shooting. All legal in the great state of AZ. Above, they posed, duplicating some movie scene. To be fair, if I had to rate accuracy, Jim was the best, followed by Amy with Katheryn and I tied for last. Amy suggested we pick some grapefruits from her tree and bring them along for target practice. If I had a shotgun I maybe would have hit the fruit but with a hand gun, nope.  On the return to Tucson/Oro Valley we stopped at Charron Vineyard where we had a glass of wine and enjoyed the views. Great day.
 We tried out the new "Fork & Fire" restaurant in Oro Valley Marketplace. The food was good, the views were better. I love looking at the mountains when the sun is setting. The next day....  ....Amy and I visited our friend, Katheryn who lives about as high up the mountains as is allowed and provides great views too. We had arranged for a snake avoidance lesson which began.....  ....with placing a rattlesnake skin in front of Jack. He got several good sniffs and with that.....  ....a rattlesnake was placed in several locations. As Jack approached, a mild shock was given and rather quickly......  .....Jack and Kathryn's dog Sam, wanted nothing to do with a rattlesnake. Part of the lesson included....  ....learning to avoid Colorado River Frogs. Licking one of these will at least make a dog sick and often causes death. Until last year's monsoon, I'd never seen one of these frogs but they were a common siting during last year's monsoon. For each dog, the combination of snake and frog training only took about 20 minutes.
 We begin this report with an update on Jack the Dog. Car rides continue to be a point of stress for our Wheaten Terrier. He sits, staring into a corner, panting. Put the car window down and no response. A friend has the same issue with her dog so it's not unique to the Jackster, He's a very mild mannered, fun loving dog and a great companion.  I've never visited the Titan Missile Museum so we checked it out on Sunday. The above map shows 18 yellow circles, each identifying the former location of the missiles around the Tucson region. There were three other clusters like this in the US.  Our group ($15 per person) descends 55 steps, walk through two thick blast doors and enter.....  ....the control room. Our guide, having worked at a Minuteman site in South Dakota, had a broad, working knowledge of life below ground. Fascinating listen. Then we walked to a floor of the....  ....missile silo and got a good look and explanation of how the missiles would have launched, which thankfully, they never did. All the Titans have been destroyed except for the one, stripped of its fuel and warhead. Good tour, lasts about 45 minutes.
 Amy and I made a first visit at the "Wild Garlic Grill" which was very good. I should have taken the image before we began eating rather than mid way through. The portions were enormous so I had enough left over for two lunches. Next day....  ....I stopped at a gas station during a ride for a break and the quality of the food was not as good as the night before but it was much less expensive. My 51 mile route took me.....  ....to the Camino Del Cerro trail head, also a first visit via the bike. It's a decent climb to the end of the road and looking eastward....  ....I was treated to nice views. I plot my routes depending on the wind direction. I'd rather have a head wind at the start of a ride and then ride the wind, coming home. Typically, mornings begin with ESE winds and switch to WSW winds late morning. I rarely am lucky enough to time it just right where I can ride the wind both directions. Visited the Titan Missile Museum for the first time and will have a brief report up soon.
 Our group of six arrived in the town of Tortilla Flat at 8am and found ample parking. At this hour, the saloon/restaurant and other businesses had not yet opened but soon, finding a parking spot would be a challenge. We got on to a faint social trail and began a fairly steep climb.  What amazing views to the north as we climb higher, getting a look at St. Rt. 88, aka Apache Trail.  We close on the first of several ridges.  Great views!  At a second ridge I note that the "Fragile Arch" is no more. I pointed its foundation to the group and wondered what led to its demise. In the distance, a third ridge to gain but first we would drop, stay to the left of the massive middle formation and then climb....  ....much of it through a narrow ravine.  An opening to our right gave awesome views to the west. Upon gaining the third ridge, we dropped into a bouldery ravine and followed it for awhile before breaking out onto a left face slope.  There was no trail to follow, just moderate bushwhacking, during which I almost stepped on the above, non venomous snake.  Our route followed a reverse C shape and eventually, our destination, Geronimo Head on the left. From this angle, very nondescript but upon reaching it....  ....wow! One could stay here for hours and just gaze on all that is offered for our viewing pleasure.  We drop our packs and take a well deserved break. The main highlight of this hike of course is.....  ....looking down on Battleship Mountain, the yellow colored formation in the center. The ship is climbed on the left but from the other side and then the real fun begins as hikers work their way to the far right. What great fun that is.  As the group lounged, I was thinking about taking a different way back to the aforementioned third ridge where we would find the social trail to lead us to the trail head. Looking at the above image, I could make out a two year old burn area that I thought would provide easier walking so we gathered our things and headed for it.  We stayed high above the boulder filled ravine but eventually had to drop into it and thus began a fun, boulder hopping experience. We got back on the social trail and finished our 5.8 mile, 1900' elevation gain hike. Then....  ....being thirsty and hungry, we entered a restaurant and went....  ....belly up to the bar where I sat directly across from an Ohio license plate, my home state.  Heading back to the parking area, we passed what claims to be a stage coach from the early 1900's. Wow, how uncomfortable must it have been to sit in that.
 I got in a 53 mile ride, took a day off and hopped in with a group of 11 on a route that included my first visit to Sunset Road. Whoa! Three miles of up and down so I spit the bit (legs still kind of fatigued) and waited for the group to return, to renew the 35 mile route.  We had two, unusual days of exceptional wind so I did a short hike, once again, on the Linda Vista trail.  Always nice views of course. The wind finally subsided so I.....  ....carried my bike from my second story condo on a beautiful morning and headed......  ...back to that Sunset Road where I rode to its end. Big hike coming this weekend!
 Friday morning, I spot two coyotes trotting on the road in front of my place, one with a small animal in its mouth. Then they split so I drove along side the one without a meal. He wasn't much disturbed by me briefly shadowing him.  Friday evening, Amy and I attended an outdoor event at Steam Pump Ranch. In the late 1800's, two enterprising friends bought land here. Water was plentiful and close to the surface so they rigged a steam pump to help bring the water to the surface, hence the name. One of the friends was George Pusch and the ridge above is named after him. What a beautiful scene, no matter the time of day but especially when the sun sets.  The performing band was ok but I didn't care for most of the playlist. I recognized all the songs but none were from my top 500 songs of all time. Amy took the above impressive image. Then....  ....Sunday morning we got out for a bike ride. Part of the ride was the long grind up Twin Peaks Road to Dove Mountain. The road name is from the above two peaks on the far right and far left, Panther and Sombrero (also known as Safford Peak). As previously stated, I've been mostly riding although I did hike the nearby Linda Vista trail. In the back of my mind, I've been thinking about an Ohio visit and hooking up with some of the cycling groups that I miss. I'd like to be in decent cycling shape but I'd need to ride much more and add much more climbing, especially short steep hills found in the Catalina Foothills. I got in 440 miles in March but would need an 800 mile month in April to really get in shape. Oh, and drop about 6 pounds, lol.  We ventured west of Marana and gosh, what a booming buildout of residential neighborhoods. A short 3 years ago there was little traffic but not anymore. Above, Amy reaches the top of Rattlesnake Pass. Using a combination of leg workouts and increased cycling, she's become quite strong. Well, that's it for now.
 Yes, I'm still here. Been riding a lot more but I don't take many pics while riding but I did see my first rattlesnake of the year. On the pavement at Dove Mountain but clearly, that's a rattler.  The picture that I bought in Key West arrived so I hung in on my wall and like it. I may take it to Amy's once in awhile, maybe for special occasions. It's an eye stopper that's for sure. Soooo, you are aware how busy my mornings are but the afternoons, especially in the summer, can be a little boring. I interviewed to be a store greeter at Wal Mart but was told I just don't have the personality, true dat. Then, out of the blue....  ....a small/mid size golf company based in Europe, contacted me. As most of you know, I spent almost all of my adult life in the golf industry. It was a very enjoyable career that took me from Tasmania to China (ugh, never again) to Japan to New Zealand, etc... For a segment of that time, I designed and developed golf clubs and related accessories. Yup, hard to believe. I've kept in contact with the foundries and glad I did as I'm back in the product development game. That ought to fill a few afternoons.
 Our group gathers in Sahuarita, consolidates vehicles and heads to a trail head where parking is limited, around a large water tank. We have arrived to hike to Keystone Peak, the high point in the Sierrita Mountains, southwest of Tucson.  Twelve of us pass through a gate and begin hiking, steeply at times, on property of the McGee family who generously allows access. We pass a few homes, then the McGee Ranch Cemetery as we follow a wide, well groomed, dirt road.  As is always the case when climbing in this region, the higher one goes, the more magnificent are the vistas. It's odd that even though we are in such close proximity to Tucson, there are no saguaros, mainly scrub oaks and junipers.  After 1.3 miles we reach Shiloh Pass. At times our ascent had us walking up 21% ramps although it felt steeper. I assured the group that the worst was over and it was but there would be several other steep sections, just not as long as what we endured. Along the road, we could see several abandoned mines.  Our hike continued and at one point, I paused to look back. What a neat sight with the serpentine road.  A few communication towers can be seen but although they appear to be atop this nearby peak, they are on a more distant one.  After 2.7 miles, we reach the abandoned West Star Cabin, built in 1912 to support area mining. It's a pretty site with plenty of shade.  Some of us left the trail to climb to a nearby ridge where we encountered 5 cows and....  ....awesome views to the west which included......  ....Kitt Peak on the left and the Coyote Mountains on the right.  We resumed our hike and soon.....  .....reach a collection of buildings and towers. This is not quite the peak but a good place to take our break. Marc and Lorna....  ....start climbing a tower that was not fenced off nor having any warning signs to discourage. Marc actually made it to a platform while Lorna thought better of it and returned to the group.  We then made a quick ascent of a hill that was slightly higher then where we had taken our break and found a summit registry. Officially, this is the highest point as we marveled at the views.  Mount Wrightson, just right of the pole, Hopkins to the right of Wrightson. We began our descent.  Occasionally we passed other roads and I thought it would make a neat network for our gravel bikes, which are welcome by the McGee family. We finished with 8.5 miles and 1550' of climbing.
 I finally succumbed to the many emails sent out by reps of the TBC, soliciting volunteers. It's good to give back to the cycling community and since this was the first time in 2 years the event was to be conducted, I wanted to do my part. So, up at 4:30am, drive an hour to Sahuarita, arriving at 6am. Cold and dark as I learn my duties.  I kind of got a plum assignment, standing at the first barricade and checking credentials of all drivers attempting to go beyond me, as all 500+ cyclists walked/rode back and forth to to the start line. Unfortunately, someone wasn't thinking when they placed the Porta-Johns directly across from me.  Team cars were allowed through as the event hosted not just amateurs but many pros.  I heard every excuse in the book for why dozens of vehicles ought to get through who were not qualified so I turned them around. I want to assure you that I did not allow this awesome authority to turn me into one of "those people". I remained cheery.  Between the vehicles, cyclists, spectators, things got a little chaotic at times but by 11:00am, my job was done so I turned in my orange vest, clip board and headed to....  ....a birthday party for our hiking friend, Lorna. Amy did a great job of preparing and we all had a good time.
 Whew, the high Thursday was 86. While I was taking a break on a 41 mile ride, I made sure to sit in the shade, behind a column at a gas station. I usually sit on the concrete and for a few minutes, it's not so bad. On the very windy Friday.....  ...I did a short hike via the Linda Vista Trail and almost walked on this guy. Note how well it blends in with its surroundings.  I got close and kind of motioned toward it so it opened its mouth and hissed. I soon left it alone. I've seen lots of pics posted on hiking groups of rattlesnakes so am back to being cautious.
 I played golf on Friday with someone who is a member at Arizona National. I've always wanted to see the course and it is a beautiful layout on the east side. I approach a round of golf with much trepidation. For whatever reason, I become very frustrated while playing even though there should be 0 expectation to play well. I play 1-2 times a year and almost always only 9 holes. But, I once had a 2 handicap so standing over the ball now and having no idea where it may go and then watching errant shots, I just have never been able to reconcile the past me with the current me. So, so frustrating. It's best if I never pick up a golf club again.  But then!!!! Back to what I enjoy. Since I was never all that great at cycling, I don't have a past to haunt me, lol. Amy and I visited Tortolita Preserve which has a 9 mile, single track loop. Nine miles doesn't seem like much but it is an extremely serpentine course that requires constant attention. The Preserve.....  ....also has the largest saguaro I have seen. Looking at it I told Amy, "Something could hide in there and you'd never see it." Just then, a huge owl flew out of it. Circling to the other side....  ....I caught this image of a sun halo, around the cactus.
 Amy and I were invited to hike with some of our favorite hiking buddies, starting at the Cochise Stronghold campground in the Dragoons. Our loop would take us up the Cochise Trail then onto a social trail for the return. As we ascended, the views became very nice.  Many interesting rock formations. After 3 miles of ascending at a moderate grade of 6.8%, we reached....  ....the Stronghold Divide. We continued on the trail for about 1/4 mile before finding a cairn that marked the off ramp and a descent....  ....into a ravine where we follow an obvious, social trail, up to a jumble of boulders where we took a lunch break and enjoyed....  ....awesome views.  Monoliths soared around us including one called, Rockefellow Dome. Some of these are favorites of the rock climbers, who we would encounter later.  Check out the colors on this Rainbow Hedgehog.  Note the rock ball that has fallen between the two vertical slabs, above.  Wow! Check out that view! Lorna wanted to explore a route to a nearby saddle but this modern day "Daniel Boone" explorer had to turn around, thwarted by bushy plants. We got back on the social trail and began the most interesting part of our hike that began with....  ....walking beneath these two boulders and soon.....  ....pausing beneath a rock that appeared to be poised to slide at any time. Amy on the left, Kathryn on the right.  The trail was well marked with cairns, some of which were creatively displayed in a notch.  Bill B, a very knowledgeable guide, reached a point that gave him a good vantage of what was a very, very steep descent. There is more than one route down and we chose the right side of the canyon which followed the base of a wall for a good distance. Meantime, to our left....  ....we watched two climbers ascend, with ropes. That looks like fun, with ropes, of course.  We continued our descent, steeply, finally reaching the road below and then a short walk to our vehicles. We finished with 6 miles and 1500' of climbing. We shared a drink in the parking lot before starting a 2 hour drive home which included.....  ....passing a field having at least a dozen, almost life-size, dinosaurs. The location is known as "Rattlesnake Ranch" and there was a "Welcome" sign out front but our day was already a long one with a ways to go. In AZ, around every corner, you never know what you will see.
 Driving south on Oracle Road, we spotted a cyclist, fixing a flat in the north bound lane. We had a floor pump with us so turned around and offered help. Nice guy from Canada but he ruined his spare tube while installing it and then did the same to one I offered. So, we gave he and his bike a ride to where he was staying. Then....  ....we headed to a wine festival in Oro Valley at the Steampump Ranch. The crowd was huge as the organizer had sold out all available tickets. We arrived at 4pm and stayed for about 90 minutes, visiting the vendors before.....  ....sitting for awhile to chat with hiking buddies Kathryn and Karen. Fun day but back to hiking as another weather system churns our way, making it too windy for riding.
 Willow Springs Road is usually a quiet place to go for a gravel ride but not today. We were passed by dozens of vehicles on their way to "24 Hours at the Old Pueblo" race. Thankfully, a strong wind out of the north blew the dust away from us as each vehicle passed. After riding about 10 miles, we made a left turn and came upon.....  .....this. Participants were in a long line, waiting for the start, which included running 400 yards to their bikes. How fortunate to arrive 15 minutes before the gun sounded as meantime, 6 drones hovered overhead.  A "town" had sprung up to support the race, riders, family & friends. Participants numbered 2000 so at least another 1000 people were there.  There were many encampments scattered in every direction but most were clustered around the food/retail area.  The gun sounds and they're off. Those at the front, run, those at the rear, walk. In the group are solo riders or those who are doing the first 16 mile loop as part of a team. Later I saw the winner of the team event did 24 laps, the solo male did 21 and solo female did 17. While riders were on the course, their teammates, family and friends were.....  ....in town and the celebrating had an early start. The night scene must be especially wild.  We thought this outfit was especially interesting.  Amy posed in front of a metal saguaro.  People checking out the participant list.  Many food and drink options. The line in front of this place was especially long. A pizza business had a trailer with a real, wood fired oven going. It was a lot of fun to walk around but eventually, we got back on our bikes and headed back, finishing with 23 miles.
 I drove to Casa Grande to make my first visit at the CGMP. I took Africa Road to a broad parking lot and began the Spine Trail/Ridge Trail Loop, which was supposed to be 7.5 miles.  The first couple of miles parallels either 1-10 or I-8 so views aren't all that great and the trail is kind of flat and boring. Odd is that twice I encountered a three way trail junction and each of the three incoming trails were named "Spine Trail". I didn't have a gpx track to follow so used my unsound intuition. Eventually....  ....I got on the Ridge Trail which is labeled as "Difficult" but by our standards, the trail would struggle to meet the "Moderate" standard. Also strange, the Ridge trail never came close to the ridge. I wondered why it wasn't named "Foothills Trail".  Mentioning what is an officially difficult hike, Newmann Peak in the distance, on the left, across from Picacho Peak. I must have missed a loop as I returned to the parking lot with only 3.25 miles. All in all, quite lame.  We had some rain move through and behind it the clouds have lingered. Above, the Wilderness and Leviathan domes. I've always wanted to at least hike to the base of them but not yet done that.
 You know it's going to be a scenic hike to a peak when the views are already fabulous at the start. Ok, about the start.... groan. I had simple written directions of drive 7 miles from I19, hang a left on FS39 and 4 miles, we're there. We drove 9 miles, no road, no internet so turned around, drove back to I19 to pick up service and discovered, #39 was at 9.5 miles from I19!!!! We had just missed it.  We (Amy, Marcia and I) arrived about 30 minutes late. Of course the gang had already departed as was the correct choice, at 10 minutes after the appointed time. I was glad that two of the group, Lorna and Marc, had previously hiked the trail so the group would be in good hands.  As we climbed, we gained cell phone service and made contact with the group. They were somewhere around the base of that blocky structure on the left. To the right of that, just peering over a ridge is Atascosa Lookout, our destination.  The average grade of the ascent is 6.5% which isn't much but that is skewed by several "flatish" sections, one of which travels the length of the blocky structure.  The views of course are awesome as we can see well into Mexico. When last I was here, a large trash dump just across the border was burning, obscuring too much of the view but....  ....not today.  We round the afore mentioned structure and begin climbing again. We reach a saddle to begin the final ascent to the Lookout and hey! The gang had been waiting occasionally and we finally caught them.  We all made it. We sat on the foundation of a fire lookout tower that burned in the Murphy fire of 2011. And then, a discussion ensued about....  ....Atascosa Peak, 1 mile distant with about 1000' of additional climbing. I can't say I was all that enthusiastic about hiking to it as the last time I did it....  ....my arms were shredded from shoving through acres of catclaw. Lorna, Marc, Jeff and Dee planned to go and I gave them rudimentary directions which basically is, "Stay on the ridge and climb the cliff bands directly in front of you."  They headed steeply off the corner of the Lookout but Dee soon came back, as did Jeff as he thought the round trip effort would make him late for an obligation later in the day. To Lorna and Marc's credit, they made it and shared that the bushwhacking wasn't bad. On my prior visit, I must have taken a bad line.  Those that remained, lingered a bit longer, admiring the incredible colors and views.  Then, we began the 2.5 mile descent. The trail is easy to follow and soon I found myself out in front, separated from the group. I enjoy the sounds of being in the wilderness so kept out front, pausing occasionally to make sure I could see the others. I can't claim to be a hike leader today, having missed the ascent and everyone could follow the obvious trail on the descent but it was a great hike that I organized, lol.  Bottom left of the image above is a cow pond, currently empty. The cow pond signals I am near to rounding a corner and.....  ....coming into view of the remainder of the hike. Ended with 5.4 miles and 1500' of climbing. Too bad it's a 1:40 drive from home or else I'd schedule the hike again, soon and do the peak. Maybe in a month or two.
 That is a very ominous sight, smoke hanging over the Catalinas. Fortunately, rather than a spreading fire, it was a prescribed burn of wood piles.  Our group of 10, descend from Reddington Road to Tanque Verde canyon. The plan was to go up canyon to a beautiful falls and visit the famous Nudist Beach above the falls. Then we would reverse course. These boulder hopping "hikes" are always great fun. The challenge is not the distance but the route finding and navigating around, under and over boulders and walls that fill the canyon.  We pass the signage that alerts us of what is to come. The morning though is way too cold for naked people to be sunning themselves on the beach.  We reach the falls but the water flow is way down, signaling the snow pack above is almost gone.  To reach the top of the falls a wall on the right side must be climbed. It's a challenge for most, including me. In these situations, I'm always glad I was gifted with long arms and legs.  We reach the beach but part of our party stay on the opposite side, fruitlessly looking for an alternative crossing. Note the size of the boulders. Would hate to be in here during a seismic event! Eventually we regroup and decide to explore a bit farther up canyon. I've never pursued this option, always turning around at the beach.  I was surprised at how much more of the canyon is available for hiking. Eventually we decided to turn around but I'll come back soon and find out how far one can go. The texture and colors of the rock are amazing.  Occasionally we'd encounter small patches of sand but that was rare. Once back at the nudist beach, we discovered....  ....a couple of hula hoops. Lorna, on the left, lacked the moves to keep her hoop above her waist while Hillary was capable. Then it was back to the previously climbed wall for....  ....the descent. When down climbing, we could not see the small ledge nor know how far we have to stretch to reach it. One of my many, many good qualities is caring for my fellow hikers so I was quick to assist anyone who needed help. Yes, if one was to give me a nickname, I certainly qualify for "Mr Considerate." :).  We reached the point where we entered the canyon but continued down canyon as far as we could. First timer, Gina on the right, pointing to some feature. I usually pluck one or two newbies from our wait list to give them the opportunity to check us out. We've found some really enjoyable personalities....ok, a couple of really odd ones too but not many.  We couldn't quite reach the point where the water tumbles over a cliff, creating the Lower Falls, which we visited a few weeks ago. We ran into a guy who told us about a route that bypasses this section and will bring you to the point directly above the falls. That too must be checked out in the future. Finished with 2.4 miles and 500' of climbing. Fun day with a good group.
 A 2 hour drive but it took me north of the Superstitions into an area I had not previously visited. I went through Mesa, got on Bush Highway then St. Rt. 87 and arrived at...  ...a very small parking area in a very remote location. Oh well, I geared up and....  ....began the hike on FS27.  There has been a lot of mining in the area and several remnants of it exist.  The fire of 2020 must have been especially intense in this area as all trees are mere skeletons now.  The road is easy to follow but lots of evidence of erosion from run-off.  At some point, someone maintained the road but at mile 2.6....  ....I ran into this. Too wide to jump and the ditch was much deeper than I am tall. I walked back and forth, plotting, examining and saw there was a way out going forward but the way back was a wall of loose dirt. I looked down canyon and it appeared I could exit the canyon eventually if I got stuck and...  ....looking to the hill above the trench, more loose dirt and really steep. I got about 3/4 of the way up but nothing to grab to pull myself farther. I walked down the road to see another approach and then, checking the time, decided I ought to turn around. OK, could I have found a way up, bushwhacked beyond the trench, probably but it would add too much time.  Looking to the north, I could make out the Mongolian Rim. Bummed I did not arrive at the peak but am aware of an alternative and will be back soon.  Walking back, I noticed several other trenches being formed by water run-off which will soon create obstacles that may not be passable in time. I doubt this road will ever receive the attention it deserves.  The drive allowed me a good look at the Four Peak Wilderness. Beautiful.
 We needed to drive back to Miami to stay at an airport hotel but no reason to arrive early so jumped on the 10am hotel shuttle and headed back to Key West.  A short pier with a lot of birds. Of course, everyone who visits the area just has to....  ...pose at the Southernmost Point in the US!  It seems every block has some point of interest and always....  ...a lot of funky looking people.  At last, it was time to head north but not before Amy drank from a coconut.....our final drink of our visit.
 We visited a park and despite signs stating not to climb on the rocks, we just had to as it reminded us of some boulder fields we have crossed when hiking in AZ.  Miami, of course, has some great restaurants and before visiting one, we posed. Then....  ....we picked up a rental car, got on the "1" and headed south, stopping somewhere for lunch. We arrived....  ....in Key West just as the sun was setting. If you ever thought driving from Miami through the Keys to Key West....DON'T DO IT!!! Brutal drive, bumper to bumper with few places to pass. Just fly into the Key West airport...trust me.  We ate oysters at one restaurant and began walking, stopping in at the very entertaining Sloppy Joes where we.....  ....had another picture taken of us. Yes, we were having a good time. To be clear, I am not drunk despite my appearance. Next morning we....  ....walked miles through Key West and stopped....  ....for lunch. Lots of roosters throughout the city. Our walk included....  ...passing a cruise ship the height of which far exceeds the tallest point in Key West. There were a couple hundred protestors out, protesting the arrival of each of these ships when they arrive. Thousands of passengers disembark, don't stop in restaurants as they eat/drink on board, visit a few retail shops close to the ship but otherwise considered a nuisance. The water depth is only 40' so the ships scrape the bottom. Several liners no longer visit Key West and the locals are working to make them all avoid.  We visited the Hemingway House, the Truman "southern" White House and a variety of other places. We stopped in a few art galleries and then....  ....this caught my eye. It was expensive enough that we were escorted to a room, given wine to drink and I decided I needed it for my wall at home. Can't wait to hang it. More to come but also very glad to say, we have already returned to our beloved, southern AZ and am hiking on Monday. A new destination!
 We arrived in South Miami Beach where my daughter is a big wig at the Royal Palm, an Art Deco type hotel. We had a nice room with good views of the Atlantic. A short walk took us to....  ...the beach! Soon....  ....my daughter picked us up and took us to Key Biscayne while passing one of the many docked cruise ships. We had a fun evening and returned to our hotel....  ...which had nice views of the city, after sunset. Next day, we did some more touring....  ....which included an iguana sighting and a...  ....visit to a light house.  Like both nights, we had a good meal at an upscale restaurant. Well, now for the drive to Key West.
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