We got up before dawn while it was cool and the air still sweetly humid. We ate some Cheerios, fresh cantaloupe and Italian coffee with half and half. We loaded the guns and ammo and hit the road for Coolidge, Arizona, 60 miles south of Phoenix.
Located halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, the City of Coolidge is the commercial center of the Arizona's cotton industry. Coolidge extends to the Casa Grande Ruins and provides an opportunity to witness the amazing accomplishments of the Hohokam. The natural setting provides an excellent introduction to the native Sonoran Desert.
Coolidge also boasts a large dairy farm and as a result, thousands of acres of irrigated alfalfa. Chinese Ringneck Pheasants and Chukar Partridge have moved into the alfalfa from neighboring game farms and hence the reason for our day trip to Coolidge and surrounding environs.
We cut across the desert on SR287 until we hit the dirt road that ran along the canal. We veered north to the lodge to meet up with the dog handler then headed back west to the clover.
