San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

Yesterday's weather was beautiful - clear skies, 72 - so we inquired about hiking trails and drove to an area just west of Tombstone to Fairbanks - a historic town, but a ghost town. This town started in 1881 and was quite a boom town, with the rapidly growing Tombstone down the road, three rail lines came through and quickly became a supply and transportation hub. Fairbanks had an elegant hotel, schoolhouse, restaurants, bars, post office, several businesses and of course homes for the residents. By the mid 1970's the last residents left town and the buildings were left abandoned. Most have been razed but a few still stand. There was a warning to not enter the buildings because they were infested with rattlesnakes. Fairbanks is located on the San Pedro River and when we drove from Benson to Fairbanks we crossed over this river and it was dirt dry, so naturally when we walked through the town to view it, there were many trails to go, one of which was to the San Pedro River. We opted not to walk there since it was a dried up until we met an older lady and a teen with an ancient dog walking back from one of the trails. The woman said that the river goes under ground in St. David (where we crossed over the bridge of the river) and that indeed, the river is flowing if you take the trail, you will see it. Also, she said that her friend grew up in this town and lived across the road at the horse ranch, and as kids her friend and brother used to play in the abandoned school house. She also said to go to the Presidio (down the road a bit and gave us directions) where the remains of an old Spanish fort was located. She thought it was very interesting.

We walked to the old cemetery - was very quieting to the soul. I could picture the procession of the funerals up to this mountain and then with rituals of the burial's service, then placing of the stones on the grave. Someone had visited one of the graves recently and placed a small stuffed bear on it with beads and a plastic dinosaur toy. My mind was so active in seeing these visions that we didn't stay long. I said a prayer for all these people and we hiked back down. Walked to the
river and found it to be a lovely, peaceful area. And the water was so clear, did not go in it though. A bench was set up so you could sit and watch the world go by. Next week we will go to the Presidio ruins and see what that is all about. One last thing - as we neared Tombstone on our way to San Pedro Riparian Area we noticed a Border Patrol check point on the north side of the road. We didn't have to stop but on our way back to Benson, there were Border Patrol cars out everywhere watching the roads. We read on the news this morning that Arizona wants to put a fence up across the entire length of the border between Mexico and Arizona. Private donations have been coming in since July to fund this project. Maybe Arizona ought to look at what Texas does and take lessons.