Morning walk 11:10AM: weather 58°, sunny with high clouds. Red Flag Warning is up for today, which I learned means there is a high fire hazard due to high winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation. I still had to wear gloves for the first part of the walk because of chilled fingers, but it warmed up a little bit towards the end. I got lost doing a bit of a different route, but I didn’t add much to my distance - still 1.8 miles. I need to increase that to 2 miles going forward, and hope to get to 3 miles by the end of the month.

AML is apparently having a bad reaction to the low humidity. Her sinuses are bloody and irritated from the lack of moisture, it seems. We bought a humidifier, but I think we have to get a larger one for the house. We’ve never lived for any period of time in an area with such low humidity, so it’s a bit of a revelation. Once reason we chose not to go to Florida for this snowbird experiment was because of high humidity. We may have to re-think that, or find a location with decent enough winter weather that isn’t desert.

We took a ride yesterday to scout out a little more of the region. We went to the San Pedro River National Conservation Area, a haven for birders. The river’s riparian zone is apparently attracts hundreds of species of birds on migratory paths. The river itse;f at the moment is dry, but we brought some lunch with us and sat at the San Pedro House and ate it. There are a few trails there to try out. One is perfect at about 2 miles. But I have to mention that it is dry and dusty here. You can smell and taste it. Walking a trail kicks up a lot of dust.

We also took a road through a slightly northern section of the conservation area. It’s a road from SV to Tombstone, but we didn’t go as far as Tombstone. That’s for another day. But I did discover another trail that leads to the original site of the Clanton ranch, the same Clanton family from the OK Corrall shootout. I might venture up there a bit as well.

Almost have the CT125 ready to ride. The mirror mount came and is installed. I’ve spent hours pouring over maps and now have the US Forest Service Vehicle Maps and an app called Avenza. There are not quite as many rides locally as I’d imagined, but the Coronado National Forest has a number of forest roads and is only maybe 20 minutes away. There are also a number of nice campgrounds around, and when the weather at night gets a little warmer, I’m gonna try some motocamping. AML and I also did some research on local places for day trips and overnights. Saguaro National Park is first on the list.

A pulled pork sandwich is served in a paper tray alongside a portion of coleslaw, with a plastic fork and a paper towel underneath.A suburban house with decorative elements on the garage door and a black car parked in the driveway, set under a blue sky.A desert landscape features gravel ground, cacti, decorative rocks, and two houses in the background.A suburban house is surrounded by trees and desert landscaping under a clear blue sky.A cactus with numerous yellow fruits is growing in a dry, rocky landscape.