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| Kentucky Camp to Fish Canyon, AZ | | -
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| | Kentucky Camp to Fish Canyon, AZ | | | |
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Kentucky Camp to Fish Canyon, AZ
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| partners | | Another most excellent get together with Jack and Mike.  This time they came down Tucson way for a visit to some historic sites that Paul suggested that aren't too far from town. First we stopped at Empire Ranch for a brief tour of the old buildings, some dating to the 1870's.
Next was the main event for the day: a tour of Kentucky Camp followed by a hike along portions of the old water system that brought water to camp for the hydraulic gold mining operations, all the way from Bear Spring near Ditch Mountain (as well as from other water sources along the way) some 8 miles distant! This ingenious system was the brainchild of mining engineer James Stetson. We also checked out a cool old miner's cabin in Fish Canyon (I hadn't been there since the 1990's), before intersecting the Arizona Trail for our return to Kentucky Camp. All this fun in the beautiful oak grassland rolling hills of the eastern Santa Rita Mountains. 
There are a couple of concrete dams in Fish Canyon, probably installed by ranchers after the early mining period. Paul and I couldn't remember where the lower one was, but we thought it might be downstream from the rock cabin, so we hiked the streambed to the Arizona Trail in an attempt to find it. Turns out it was just upstream from the cabin.
Knowing that we all might be interested in a post hike meal in Tucson, I got on Trip Advisor beforehand to figure out which place would work out the best. It had to be near the freeway, AND it had to have some pretty hot salsa to make Jack happy   (I still can't get over how hot he likes it, for being from way up there in Minnesota  )! Well, to make it authentic, we headed over to the old tried and true Crossroads in South Tucson. It was the perfect choice!  |
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