 A creative means of decorating a mailbox for fall.  During a ride, I ascended Houghton Road until it ends at the base of the mountains. It's steeper than the image portrays.  OK, so I've heard about the 4th Avenue Street Fair for many years but avoided going to check it out but I was persuaded to by a friend. After parking in one of the garages, we walked about 100 yards and hit our first bar. One of the oldest in Tucson with lots of information about the capture of John Dillinger and his gang in 1934.  We moved on and entered the south side where "The Hut", a Tiki bar is on the left side adorned with a huge figure that once was above a miniature golf course. The transport to this location was quite difficult.  The event was well attended and if you're into people watching, downtown Tucson is the place to be. We passed many dozens of booths but all we purchased was a wine bottle cork having an Ohio State logo. On our return....  ....we stopped at The Hut and enjoyed live music in a beautiful setting while also meeting.....  .....Stevie Nicks....well an impersonator.  The long walk back to the car required that we pass way too many other bars so of course we stopped one more time.
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 Riding again through Oro Valley. Some views are slightly impacted with an abundance of power and phone lines.  Rode through Oro Valley Marketplace, past a huge tree and arts & crafts fair.  A creative use of a saguaro cactus!  Closing on Saddlebrook, north of the town of Catalina, lots of great views. Finished with 45 miles. Given this awesome stretch of above normal temps in the upper 70s and lower 80s, I should be riding longer.  Ohio friends sometimes comment the only green grass is on the golf courses but no! Lots of green grass elsewhere.  And then, I descended Fort Lowell Road on the east side, hit a bump and my ear bud popped out, landing somewhere in this thicket. Only later did I read that in such situations, I should turn up the volume and the noise would lead me. Rats, didn't think of that at the time.  One of my favorite restaurants is Harvest, sitting on the patio. Unfortunately, a coffee shop is being build which will have some impact on the news and with extra noise too.  A wonderful evening to sit on my patio!
 A 45 mile ride through Oro Valley and farther southwest to check out.....  ....newly refurbished Rattlesnake Pass! Climbing over that had become sketchy with multiple new developments on this side of the mountain, increased traffic and not much of a berm, Now, a big improvement for both cyclists and drivers.  I put up my tree, deciding to place it on the patio rather than inside, so others can enjoy it too.  A recovery ride day often includes Woodland Road where there is always something worthwhile to see. This miniature horse ambled over to check me out.  This home keeps sheep in the front yard to keep the grass trimmed while simultaneously feeding them.  An evening watching the setting sun impact the colors of the Catalinas. We can never get enough of these sunsets either looking at the setting sun or what it does to our mountains.  Good heavens! Obviously Pima County road crews have no workers who are cyclists. They solve the problem of road gaps by filling with asphalt, which mounds, causing speed bumps. There are now many dozens of these in the vicinity of my home. Arrggghhh.
 I was encouraged by a friend to accompany her to a section of Tucson I'd not previously visited. We wandered in and out of various buildings, each containing an eclectic selection of antiques and novelty houseware. One place had a stack of wood doors from gosh, I don't know, the 1930's? Who would buy that? Many comparable items.  And so, our cold snap ended....  ....it's been an amazing run of days stretching now into December.  Christmas displays are popping up including the continuation of....  ....this famous fellow who stands for most of the year, enduring several costume changes. Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc...  This one says it all. Pretty funny!  A Pilgrams hat kept this Halloween skeleton in service. I think the hat is called a capotain.  Thanksgiving morning as I stop by Sabino Canyon to find the parking lots packed. Out of town visitors love coming here for the hiking or riding the tram up SC Road.  I was invited to attend Thanksgiving dinner in Chandler. It's on the southeast side of Phoenix and a convenient drive. It was a beautiful setting and we dined outside! I'm certain I've never eaten outside for Thanksgiving and it was quite pleasant. I was one of twenty. I got my ass kicked at ping pong by the family champ but the table was like playing on a mattress and so, the "home field" advantage was too much for me to overcome, lol.
 Mostly, systems coming out of CA, pass to our north. Winds get spun up and a few clouds but rarely precipitation.  It appeared we were going to have a few days of below normal temps so rather than wait it out for warmer weather, I departed for a ride. Yuck! Low 50's and cloudy.  Beautiful entrance to the lodge at Ventana Canyon Resort. Drastic difference to....  ....a visit to a 7 Eleven the following morning. The guy on the right, Gary, has been walking here, most mornings to enjoy borrowing the WSJ to sit outside and read, for 28 years! He has a nice wood working shop at his home where currently, he is making 7 bars for a new, golf simulator business. Interesting guy.  Oh! We did receive some rain!  And with the clouds, amazing sunrises and sunsets.  Another ride and this time, to check out a newly paved road. Off Kolb Road, which is a circuitous climb of 2 miles.  And just like that, snow in Mount Lemmon. About 4" fell but with the return of warmer temps, it won't last long except on the north facing slopes where it can linger for awhile.
 I got a late start for a group ride so had to go solo. Traditionally, the ride starts from a long closed restaurant off I-10, beneath the above signage. But...  ...hey, a new, Mexican restaurant is set to open soon. Also interesting.....  ...we can combine nicely paved Marsh Station Road with recently repaved, Old Sonoita Road, making for a 37 mile route. I'd be interested to see how the county selects roads for repavement. This road was bypassed by #83 and hardly anyone drives it.  The road does emerge on #83 just above one of my favorite wineries!!! Alas, probably should not combine a ride with wine and thankfully, it was too early for the winery to be open.  On the return, I passed with interesting ranch entrance.  Another beautiful sunrise as I switch into hiking mode. I rarely hike and I can't fathom why that is the case. I look at our beautiful mountains, having peaks and destinations, almost all of which I've visited and have no desire to revisit but....  ....Gibbon Mountain got put on my radar and thought I should do an exploratory hike. I chose a day that.....  ...was rather cloudy with threatening rain. I drove about 7 miles up Catalina Highway and parked (I'll have more details after I complete the hike), to begin the hike. Beautiful fall colors at this higher elevation.  About the first 1 mile follows a trail to the above saddle. From that point, it's all off trail. I began the off trail portion but it began to rain. I turned around and it rained harder, soaking me by the time I returned. fortunately I had a change of clothes. Finished with 2.3 miles and intrigued enough to finish the hike. The peak sits across the canyon from Thimble Peak and would be a cool perspective.
 I took this pic from someone's social media post of Humphrey's Peak, outside Flagstaff. Thought it impressive with snow well down from the 12,600' peak, the highest in AZ. I've climbed it twice, once with snow covering a portion of the trail on the upper slope. Not sure I'll do it again. Portions of the trail are not fun to hike.  Meantime, back here in southern AZ, we enjoy what turned out to be a relatively brief fall. By that I mean, 3-4 weeks of high temps in the 80s, overnight lows in the upper 50's to low 60s. The Thanksgiving displays are out but of course, no where in abundance of the Halloween displays.  Always something to see on the out and back, 3 miles of Woodland Rd.  Saguaro East NP is expanding its parking, a necessary improvement. Of course, the saguaros are carefully removed and replanted later.  Ahhh, the evening view from my patio.  If you ever find yourself in Casa Grande, you simply must stop at BeDillons Restaurant & Cactus Garden. Amazing decor. I went there recently to show it to someone and it's worth the drive.  Then, back on the bike with the Cactus Cycling Club where we had a lengthy pause for a train.  Another day I rode through Oro Valley where land is being cleared for an apartment building. Some renters are going to have great views!  And of course, on my return from Saddlebrook, a 43 mile ride, I paused along OV Country Club for one of better views.
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