Saturday, March 3 we met up with the Muleteam again. The plan was to meet at the marina at Parker Canyon Lake. They were driving from Bisbee so we had a shorter drive from Sierra Vista. Also, we could cut through Fort Huachuca for a shorter dive. I had not driven all the way though the fort before and I was a little nervous. But we drove through Ft. Huachuca without any problems. It saved us some time and we got to Parker Lake much earlier than anyone else.
It was close to 11 by the time everyone got there and we started the hike. There were eight people and one dog and we started off on a slow pace around the lake.
The water was low and we could take a few shortcuts. There was one high rocky ledge that caused some concern for some people but everyone made it across. We hiked to a spot that was usually an island, but because of the low water it was a peninsula, and we stopped and had lunch.
One of the hikers, Doug, turned around after lunch. He said the second half was harder. (When we were done, I thought the second half was easier.) When we started hiking, we could see Doug hiking on the other side of the lake. He had taken the low road and came to a dead end at the edge of the water. Rather than go back to the trail, he climbed up the rocks to reach the trail above him. We could see him and we stood there and watched. We gave Doug a round of applause when he reached the trail.
We kept going and the way around the lake was pretty easy hiking. Karla and I got ahead of the other hikers and stopped and waited. When they caught up, it turned out that one of the hikers, Brad, had tripped and scraped himself. We got out our first aid kit and patched him up. The rest of the hike was uneventful and we made it back to the marina.
After the hike, everyone drove to AZ Hops & Vines in Sonoita. Karla tried a couple of their wines and I got some sangria. We sat at a picnic table out back and talked with the other hikers. Everyone left and Karla and I made another stop at the Meading Room. We got a flight mead and cider and some snacks. When we went outside to the yard, we saw Alex Wilkerson and talked with him for a bit. We had missed Alex’s set and Worlds Clyde was playing. Karla and I found a place to sit and tried the mead and ciders. The mead an cider was good, and also very sweet.
From there we drove to Bisbee. It took a little time to find a place to park. Then we walked to the Central School. They were having a art sale. It was busy and crowded and there was a lot of art. We made our way around and saw a few things we liked. Karla picked out an impressionistic girl that we bought. We thought about some others, but one was fine.
After I put our art in the truck, we wandered around Bisbee looking for some food. The Bisbee Table was really busy and there we no open spots at the bar.
Outside the Table was the Lazy KJ Ranch food truck. It wasn’t too busy so we placed an order for ribs and a quesadilla. It took longer than I thought it would to get our food.
But we got our food and took it to Old Bisbee Brewery. Surprisingly it was quiet and there was no one at the bar. We got some drinks and talked with the server. Karla ate her quesadilla and I had a few bites. We also ate some of the ribs but I saved most of them. We drove back to Cactus Point and didn’t stay up long before going to bed.