Climbing Picacho Peak

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!!👽💚

Didn't sleep well last night.  Woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep till around 5 o'clock, but finally dozed off.  Up again at 7:30 to take Yuma for this desert walk.

Had a partial breakfast and it was 10 o'clock and no sign of Anthony.  Hope he didn't get fired for the mishap yesterday.  I do have to say this place is very busy.  Lots of trucks coming in and thankfully out too.

At 10:30 I spotted Anthony and went over for an update.  He said Steve had pulled him to work on other projects so no update.  I didn't want to sit around waiting all day for something to happen so told him I would leave the White Lion open and if they are planning to work on it today they could get to everything.  

Nick, Yuma and me are planning to do some hiking today.  While staying at Nancy's driveway in December, we drove to Picacho Peak  but didn't climb to the top.  Today is the day for Nick to give it a try.  It's only 12 miles east on I-10 to the Picacho Peak State Park, so off the three of us went.

We paid our $7 entrance fee per carload and drove to the Hunter Trailhead.  Nick is planning to hike to the peak while Yuma and I plan to walk a mile or so and return to the Jeep and wait for Nick.  The hike is two miles up and two miles back.  Outside my hiking range.

The trail is well worn and steps have been placed where needed.  It is considered a moderate hike for the first one and a half miles till it takes a steep turn directly towards the peak.

Yuma and I walked for about a mile and on a hot 85 degree day with no shade, that was enough for me.

Looking west at the Kofa mountains.

Come on Dad!  Climb faster.

Yuma and I returned around 2:30 to the Jeep to wait for Nick to return.  The following pictures are from his hike.  Much higher and more rugged than mine.

Local resident on the peak.

They were kind enough to place cables and screens at dangerous locations to assist with climbing.

Looking west along I-10.  Pinal Mountains in the distance.

Nick enjoyed the climb and when he came down the mountain ended up taking a different trail.  Thank goodness I had the keys to go and pick him up.😊

We were home an hour before curfew at 4 o'clock.  They lock the gates here at 5 when they close for the night.  Crowded parking lot.  We look small next to these big rigs.

While gone, they had done more investigation into the problem.  Not being able to start the engine is complicating getting diagnostic information.  As it stands now they are thinking it is an oil pump problem or oil sensor problem.  Hopefully, they have time to dig further tomorrow and get some definite answers.

Time to publish and get the grill out for dinner.  Beautiful evening except for the smell of diesel fuel. 😀

Thanks for stopping by.