Ride from Sonoita to Parker Canyon Lake

Hiked to 7 falls and have never seen it so dry.  No flow, just a couple of pools.  Rain the following day may have started the water again though.  On Wednesday, I signed up for a group ride out of....

....Sonoita, just southeast of Tucson and at the entrance to "wine country."  Around 15 cyclists came out and prior to the ride I had been encouraged by seeing a couple of names that ride at an A or B pace.  The ride was supported by a van, driven by a cyclist who crashed and out of commission for awhile.  The van would be available during the ride to shed clothing and then at the lake for lunch.

Alas, it had been promoted as a C pace and the two who can ride faster needed to do a recovery ride so at mile 0.05, I got away.  The area received quite a bit of rain last night, the first in almost 2 months.  The monsoon season really fizzled after a strong start.  A match thrown in the grass would quickly escalate.  

The Rincon Mountains with Mount Wrightson to the west.

I passed a couple of wineries.  Kind of sad looking but the area's 7-9 wineries are on a par with Ohio's in terms of grape production and tasting room quality.  Not Napa or the Central Coast but worth a visit.

The routes to the lake gains around 1500' of elevation so the vegetation begins to change and soon....

....I'm in thick forest of mostly pine.  At mile 29, drop into Parker Canyon and there.....

....find the lake.  Very nice spot at around 5500 elevation. There is a well stocked....

....general store too so I buy a Coke and wait 30 minutes for the others to arrive.

I was told the fishing is very good and there were several boats on the water.  I join the others for lunch but now I am in the super, ultra linger time of around 50 minutes so I thank everyone and head off for another solo effort that takes.....

....me past this neat ranch where there is an extensive network of fencing made from tree limbs.

A system had rolled through out of Baja and so some lingering clouds are on the horizon.  Finished with 58 miles and 3200' of climbing.  The pavement was fantastic with a nice rolling route and a couple of good climbs.  Would do it again.  Also traffic was very light.