We made it to Fall...

... and the surprising thing is the local temps seem to be following the calendar!

Our location is in SKP Saguaro Co-op in Benson, Arizona. Nothing special other than a great view and a very unique river that originates in Mexico to the South then flows North thru our San Pedro River valley. There are only 2 rivers which flow North out of Mexico into the US and our San Pedro River is one of them.

SKP Saguaro is in Benson and is located about 1/3 of the way South between Pomerene and St. David. And that's the famous Tombstone tamed by Wyatt Earp in the late 1800s about 16 miles South of St, David.

San Pedro Valley was originally settled by the Indians and then Spanish explorers before the US Army created a presence here with Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. According to the Wikipedia link, Ft. Huachuca was home from 1910 to 1933 to the Buffalo Soldiers- black American cavalry soldiers.

There is mining activity all over Arizona, but the first permanent white settlers who engaged in farming in San Pedro Valley were Mormons in the mid-1800s. They chose St David because there was ample water for farming. These days that water has to be pumped in order to irrigate, but I understand that 'back in the day' there were free-flowing springs. A remarkable location with one of only two North-flowing rivers from Mexico (60 miles South) into the US. Our San Pedro River is mostly subterranean with portions as deep as 2,200 ft... the river looks for all the world like a dry river bed but there is water flowing thru that sand!

These days Benson is a passenger stop for the Southern Pacific Railroad passenger train which comes thru weekly. But there is no (intentional!) stop for the 4 or 5 freight trains which pass thru here every day. From our lot in SKP Saguaro we can watch the freight trains wind their way across San Pedro Valley. The tracks pass thru a gap in the Cochise Mountains and on to the East and the next town of Willcox, Arizona and on to (or from) the East. In the other direction they turn toward Phoenix and points North.

But if you arrive in this hamlet via the family car then you're probably traveling on I-10 and just breeze on by...

And there we are- all of 58.5 miles North of Naco, Mexico, just across the US/Mexico border.

Probably more than anyone will ever want to know about Benson and San Pedro Valley, but there it is!