Winter is grinding on...

... and on and on!! 

I'm whining cuz I like to complain and I'm good at it!

But the various railroads lines that pass through San Pedro Valley are probably indifferent to my forte. They just keep coming and going and none of them stop to say "great whine dude!" They just keep moving thru town.

What you see below is freight passing thru Benson and on to the East side of the San Pedro Valley. The hills in the distance are about 12 miles away.. We see a passenger train come thru daily (I think!)... AmTrak. They stop on the East side of Benson for passengers to get off or board. 

Mid-morning freight train passing thru San Pedro Valley.

The mass of trains, however, carry freight and are passing thru- they don't stop (except to allow other trains to pass). Like this freight train winding its way across the valley floor. The mountains on the horizon are apparently part of what are named the Galiuro Mountains (I've never heard that named mentioned by locals). There's an opening in the range to the right of the image below- a hole between the South of Dragoon Mountain (to the right of the image) and the continuation of the Galiuro range. The trains avoid the steep climb over the pass by taking a more level route to the Southeast of Willcox. No, nothing like what one might encounter further North in the Rockies but it still serves to slow the trains. And it gives me something to notice about life in San Pedro Valley.

Just heard from the Admiral that Arizona Senator Mark Kelly (D) is considering a run for the presidency. The last time something like that happened here in AZ was when Senator John McCain (R) gave it a try in 2008 (Obama won). And before him there was Senator Barry Goldwater (R) in 1968 (I bet I'm among the very few that remembers that name). Arizona does not have a great record for producing presidential candidates that anyone but locals might vote for! But then Kelly, the former astronaut, is also one of the first Democrats in Arizona to make it to the US Senate, so... ??

And before I forget, we took a drive over to Willcox today and when we approached I-10 from the South via US-191 we saw a *huge* ground clearing project going on North of the interstate. Hundreds of acres of foothills being stripped bare. No clue what that's about. Haven't heard of any project going on, so... ?? When I checked a Cochise County site I saw this about a new project related to a power substation and transmission line: Winchester Transmission II Project. What I saw may be construction for the substation (the right end of the map). Not sure yet.

-----------------------

Winchester Transmission II Project info-session coming to Willcox

February 9, 2026|Cochise County News, Willcox

Letter from TORCH Energy Re: Invitation to learn about the proposed Winchester Transmission II Project

Dear Interested Party, ...

[Click the map image above to read the article.)

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