BULL DOG CANYON

How fitting for this hike to be called

Bull Dog Canyon

Four dogs are in the story

Riley is waiting patiently for the hikers

to join him in the SUV

Such a sweet boy

This was our lucky day

Joe and I got to ride with Bonnie

and her dog Chino

Chino rode all the way

with her paws up front!

Not sure if the passenger

appreciated Chino in his space

Chino is ready, willing and able

to start the hike!

We had 39 hikers

Half the vehicles drove to the south parking lot

the other half to the north parking lot

We would meet in the middle

and

exchange car keys

I am wondering if these little

Teddy Bear Cholla

(jumping Cholla)

will catch with the ground

and grow to the size of the one shown here????

This is Prickly Pears

They are the most short-lived of all cacti

They seldom live more than 20 years

The Ocotillo

Each plant is a spray of spindly stems

"monkey tails'

You can see the tiny green 'leaves'

starting to sprout

I thought this Saguaro was interesting

We were not sure of the significance of the cans

which were tied with rope and hanging from a tree

We could hear him coming

Zoom Zoom

Then a few Quads came through

Coming round the bend

We were walking on sandy gravel for most of the

first half of the hike

It was like walking on the beach

We're on our way again after stopping for a

well deserved snack

The keys have been exchanged

Oh Oh

Chino has 'pickers' in his her paws

The scenery changed a few times

during the hike

Now tell me..............

Why would someone pile rocks like this?????

To our surprise this caravan of 6

jeeps were from our park

which is 25 miles away

There is something wrong with this picture

They drove

and

we all walked

6.6 miles!!!

********

When we arrived at the parking lot

around 9 a.m. we noticed

two dogs

One in particular came toward us

Must say we were a bit leary

as we were the first to arrive

and there was no one else around

At the time I thought they must

been dropped off

When we arrived back at the parking lot

Bonnie went in search of the dogs

with a jug of water in hand

This little girl was a bit unsure of us

She had quite a few 'pickers' around her mouth

and her feet

This girl came right up to Bonnie

She was very very gentle

She was also very thin

Doesn't this break your heart

We all came to the conclusion that the dogs

had been abandoned

I would have taken this girl home

but.....................

Bonnie's husband stayed with the dogs

while she drove us back to the park

Bonnie returned with food

They then took the dogs

to the

Humane Society

At least we know they will no longer

be hungry or thirsty

and they will be warm

for now.........

I cannot let my mind go

any further than this