What a difference in weather from a week ago

 It looks like our weather down here in Arizona has improved dramatically. Last Sunday it was snowing here in our RV Park and the propane heater got a real workout. I felt chilly all day so wore a hat. Benno thought that was funny.

Today we reached a high of 19C/66F that we thought was perfect weather to do a bit of hiking and exploring. Not wanting to drive too far, we turned right toward Tombstone from our park along the Hwy 82 until we made a left turn onto a dirt road called: In Balance Range, but is actually the N Kellar Rd (very close to the old town of Fairbanks) that took us to a parking lot on the right side of the road from which a trailhead starts. Right next to the gate and fence stood a sign outlining the trail to the ruins of a former Spanish military fortress called Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate. It’s a 3 mile hike with view of the mountains and towards the San Pedro River, which is partially dried out at this time of year. 

The hike is quite easy on a bare winding hard dirt trail through the Sonoran desert with gentle slopes and through some washes. However, I found some interesting vegetation of prickly bushes, yellow blooming cactus and red coloured cactus. After two thirds of the hike it merges onto the old railroad bed for a while up to a sign “Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate” and from there veering again onto a dirt trail for another quarter of a mile to the fortress.

Abundant Railway Bridge over a wash

There is not much left of the fortress nowadays and if it weren’t for the signs you might miss it completely. 

It was built in 1776 by Hugo Oconor (an Irish man) for King of Spain Charles III. It was never finished because of Apaches attacks, lack of crops and corruption. The fortress was abandoned in 1780 but the US Army used it for a short time in 1878. Hugo Oconor later established another presidio (fort) and named the settlement San Agustin de Toixon that was later modified to its present spelling of Tucson! 

We encountered one person on a bicycle (it could be an electric bike) going the opposite direction and noticed traces from horses on the sand. It was a nice outing and I’m sure our dogs enjoyed the walk as much as we did, it was a fantastic trail.

This is all there was of the San Pedro River further down on Hwy 82

There were several horse trailers at Fairbanks that have come from Tucson

Thanks for dropping in again.