Starting off with a few stats from the blog ...
Lately, other than the usual readers from US & Canada, there have been visitors from the following countries as compiled by https://livetrafficfeed.com Singapore
Argentina
Ukraine
UK
Iraq
Saudia Arabia
Netherlands
Kazakstan
Chile
Latvia
Germany
Mexico
Australia
India
Brazil
Panama
Egypt
Bulgaria
South Africa
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Algiers
Pakistan
Oman
Taiwan
I don't think Bailey has any idea how many people know about him! And I doubt he cares, as long as the food dish is full and there are places to explore and things to hunt!
I guess I should mention that Bailey was preceded by Harley, and Hailey who both starred on the blog earlier 
February turned out to be quite the month for weather! We were camped in Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, near the historic Empire Ranch headquarters.
Weather was rather cool, with overnight temperatures dipping to the freezing mark on occasion. And, during the day, it was often windy enough to discourage getting out on the bike like usual. So, it was time to move on, and move we did!
After a quick stop in Benson to re-provision, we took I-10 eastbound, almost to the New Mexico line. We turned off in Bowie, toured through many Pecan groves, and found our way to Indian Bread Rocks on the Happy Camp Canyon road. The spot I had in mind was occupied, and the further you go past the picnic area, the rougher the road gets - at least for a larger rig. We eventually managed to get turned around, and ended up finding an even better and more private spot along a large wash.
It seems to be a great area for bird life, and my app showed some of the ones that it heard in the vicinity of camp.
A Northern Cardinal came by!
There is some great hiking and rock scrambling just behind camp, so I took every opportunity to get higher up for a look around. I spotted what appeared to be an abandoned ranch yard a few miles away in the hills. It was a good excuse to get the bike out for a run.
I wanted to spend a bit of time at the Hot Well Dunes site to the north of Bowie, but didn't want to go on a weekend, as then it would be full of noisy, dusty off-roaders. And the route up from Bowie has a section of dirt road that can be very ugly with washboard, and I didn't want to check that while towing. So one day, I did a day drive up just to check it out. I had a quick soak in the hot pools before heading back to camp.
Another day, it looked like a good time to head over to Fort Bowie National Historic Site for a hike. It is a rather unique site in that most people must access it via a 1.5 mile scenic hike, with lots of historical remains and points of interest along the way. (There is a back road in, for those unable to hike, call ahead for info).
One spot along the way is where Cochise escaped from his captors and ran up the hill in front of you. Note the hill in the photo - behind the sign.
There is a very nice little museum and visitor center on site, and you can take a self guided walk around the ruins of all the buildings that once comprised the fort. The visitor center is adorned with video cameras - just in case Cochise shows up unexpectedly?
It's nice for hikers that water taps are available to replenish your canteens. And they may even award you with a pin to commemorate your hike in to the fort!
There is an alternate route along a ridge line leading back to the parking area, so of course that's the way I returned.
Meanwhile, back at Indian Bread Rocks ... 
Like many of my camp spots, it is a cow pasture, but there is very little human garbage, save lots of empty brass, and one Mexican coin!
A few times, Bailey attempted to chase cows out of camp, but in this case it was just a stand-off!
Other times, the local population attempts to blockade the road. It was tense, but I made it past!
Bailey likes to chew things. I guess he is still a 'puppy' at heart! Sometimes even sharp things!
After quite a few enjoyable days biking and hiking around Indian Bread Rocks, I thought we would make our way to Hot Well Dunes to camp this time. It was Sunday afternoon, so it was hoped that most of the weekend atv crowd would be leaving. The dirt road north of Bowie was getting rougher, but we survived a lot of it by driving in the ditch - which is smoother.
Rain was threatening when we got there, but a late afternoon soak was enjoyed, before the solar powered water pump allows the pools to drain for the night. Like my visit the week before, a nearby camper had his generator running all day long. I can't imagine trying to enjoy a campsite with that sound roaring all day (or night). O well, perhaps they were powering a necessary medical device? I moved even further away, but thankfully it was turned off for the night. Morning was cloudy, but I did manage another late morning soak, when all available hot water was diverted to a single tub.
From there, we headed back down the ditch-driving route to Bowie on I-10, back through Benson, where we took advantage of the free dump site at the Maverik station at the junction of 90 south. This time we chose a nice spot in the southern end of Las Cienegas to spend a few days. At this higher elevation, night time temperatures were hitting the freezing point overnight, and strong day time winds limited enjoyable outdoor pursuits. My friend stopped by again, and we toured the historic ranch headquarters building, before dropping down into Sonoita for lunch.
The winds finally died, but the coldest night yet convinced us to head out. Next stop was our 'usual' spot in the southern end of Ironwood Forest National Monument . It's a great spot because it is only a short drive into downtown Tucson, but much of the surrounding lands are owned by the city, and are only used to collect water, so there is basically zero traffic in the area, and even though distant lights are visible, it is very quiet day and night. Of course, the cows sometimes express their opinions vocally.
Being at a lower elevation, and with warming trend underway, there was more of a concern for heat, not cold. I like the heat, but don't like to leave Bailey alone in camp in case it gets too hot for him. So, we've been somewhat confined to camp some days, sitting in the shade. Sometimes I spritz him with water to cool him off - which he quickly got used to, or sometimes he just lays in front of the fan!
Time to start thinking about a northern route, especially if the heat continues. We only have a month and a half to get there, and it took a full month to get down this far last fall.
Hmmm, where to go next?
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