I'm getting a bit behind, so just a brief writeup on the day. This was planned to be our longest leg of the tour, if it hadn't been for our mishap last week getting past Fort Huachuca. A bit long, but not difficult. After 30 flat miles we reached the base of Mount Graham, had a bit of a climb over a low saddle in the range, and then coasted much of the rest of the way to Safford.
Weather conditions were perfect - almost windless all day, with a high of about 75. Very comfortable, except when climbing the south face of the saddle.
We planned an early start to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with daylight, showing up for our motel breakfast (at the Arizona Sunset Inn, a nice place and a real bargain) right when it opened at 6:30. It didn't work though - many things held us up, primarily a notification from our credit card's fraud protection unit of a possibly fraudulent charge that took quite awhile to work through - and we didn't leave town until just before 10.
I was surprised by the agricultural diversity north of Willcox - we passed fields of pumpkin, cotton, corn, and apple and fruit orchards - but it all died out about fifteen miles from town and the rest of the ride to the mountains was through empty landscape on empty roads.
The ride from the top of the saddle to highway 181 was glorious - a 1500' descent over 10 miles through a dramatic old western mountain landscape. It's a ride I'd love to repeat. The rest of the way into town wasn't that pleasant though - a crap shoulder much of the way, with too much traffic for it to make sense to venture out into the smoother lane.
Safford has an interesting mix of eating establishments - there are a number to choose from, but nearly all are low-budget fast food places. We ended up in a nice Mexican Restaurant: Casa Manana, voted #1 on the Salsa Trail, whatever that is. Mexican last night, Mexican tonight, likely Mexican again tomorrow night in Duncan.
At a car show by the high school, a beautiful Ford Model A. A loud speaker broadcasts Little Brown Jug, which catches my ear and pushes El Paso to the background for awhile.
Leaving Willcox behind. It looks flat, but not really - we're climbing about six feet per mile. For the first 15 miles today we gained a total of 100 feet.
I was surprised at how far this pack of little guys chased me - that's their home in the distance. They kept up with me at 18 mph, until I finally stopped and shouted them back. I was surprised that they could move that fast on those tiny legs. They probably thought likewise of me and my tiny wheels.
A familiar face pedals past, with Mount Graham in the distance. There's a choice in how to call this range. It's the Pinaleno Range, with Mount Graham as the highest point; but some call the whole range Mount Graham, and the high point simply 'High Peak'. Either way, you're looking at it.
Lunch break beside Fort Grant Road. We decided to stop and fuel up before the big climb of the day, over a low saddle of the Onaleno Range. It was a pleasant place to sit, in the shade of these majestic cottonwoods growing along a dry wash. Sorry the photo is so dark and shady, but then that's why we're here.
Fort Grant, at the base of Mount Graham. Today, it is a prison so we weren't tempted to bike over for a closer look. The shadow above it looks to me like a stealth bomber, keeping watch over the inmates. It originally was a military fort though, situated here at the base of the mountain as a more secure place to provide protection for the settlers from the Apaches, who view this as their homeland and the mountain as a sacred site.
Approaching the Pinaleno Range (Mount Graham) on Highway 266. Our road passes over a low saddle in the range, after snaking around the left side of the rise directly ahead.
Dropping on Highway 266 across the north slope of Mount Graham. The north side is more interesting than the south - more rugged, with more interesting desert vegetation. From the saddle we descended about 2500', passing through progressively drier vegetation zones until finally bottoming out in the basin.
This is a cholla of some sort - buckhorn or stag horn I think, but I'm not really sure. They are very common on the lower slopes of the mountain, along with prickly pear and yucca. Some of these are very large, almost treelike.
