EXPLORING COCHISE COUNTY, AZ

Wandering through Bisbee, I sometimes feel I am down in Mexico, wandering a small town. Off of the main road through Tombstone Canyon, the narrow, winding, and often steep lanes seem more suited to pedestrians, horses, or burros than to motor vehicles. Many of the yards are walled gardens, often with interesting gates. Lots of visual interest here!

We've settled into a comfortable routine. Odel's able to get out on the greens at a great golf course is a few miles away, down on the Mexico/AZ border in Naco. Turquoise Valley (they also have an RV park there) is the oldest continuously operated golf course in Arizona, 100 years old this year. Aside from that, their claim to fame is the 747 yard "Rattler", the only par 6 in Arizona, the longest golf hole in the state.

My brother-in-law Frank and his friend Ron both like to hike, so we four sat down together - over beers - early on and made a list of all the hikes we wanted to do while we are visiting Bisbee and, next month, Tucson.

Our first hike was one of my favorites in this area, Joe's Canyon in Coronado National Monument. The last time we did this hike was March 11, this past winter, and the scenery was SO different, brown and dry.

Look at the grasses in this picture, taken a couple of days ago. For southern Arizona, this is green and lush!

We had a great day for a hike, sunny, 70's, with a little breeze. The temperatures here in Bisbee this time of year encourage hiking, and the cooling nightime temperatures are encouraging the few patches of aspen on the high mountaintops to turn gold.

The photos below were taken on that same hike. The view was from high on the trail, along the ridgetop, looking to the south into Mexico. The grasshopper is a "painted grasshopper" - good name, huh? Intricately colored, it looked fake sitting in Ron's hand.

Today we did another hike, in the Huachuca Mountains. The Sawmill trail is on the grounds of Ft. Huachuca, built in 1877 and in continuous use since then. Civilians are required to stop for a vehicle pass before entering the base, and to show ID - then we drove on to Garden Canyon and the Sawmill Trail. We were surprised to see WATER everywhere - streams crossed the road and our trail several times. The other thing we saw in abundance: butterflies! On the ground, fluttering past us as we hiked, even high up in the tree tops.

Several readers wrote to me about Weight Watcher's when I mentioned on the blog that I was back on their program. Yes, I am a lifetime member, heading to a meeting in Sierra Vista tomorrow to pick up the materials (I borrowed the "points" slide rule gadget and other stuff from my sister, but really need my own again) and get motivated. It is just too embarrassing to have to use a rubber band to fasten the waistband of my jeans!