Ramsey Canyon

One of the places we wanted to visit while camping here at Tombstone Territories RV Resort was Ramsey Canyon Nature Preserve.  It is located south of the city of Sierra Vista, not far from us, and tucked into the Huachuca Mountains.  Huachuca is pronounced wha-choo-ka and it is Apache for Thunder.  When we look south out of the RV we can see the Huachuca Mountains - part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.  It is an ecological crossroads where plants and wildlife from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts mingle with those from the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre.  Another significant fact of these mountains - it is a natural border between the US and Mexico.

What a surprise and delight!  To get to this place we had to drive a narrow road that began at the foothills of the Mountains and eventually went into a almost one-lane road, but dead ended at the Preserve.  Pretty drive and the temperature difference was 15 degrees cooler.  The Preserve boasts to be the hummingbird capital of the world - they have documented 14 different kinds of hummers.

Pretty Ramsey Creek

Mom and Baby Coue's Deer

As we entered the Preserve's visitor center we noticed that it was a free day for admission, first Saturday of every month is free admission, how did we luck out?  Got an orientation as to the preserve and the canyon and what to expect to see, hikes we could do.  Every month is different with respect to what you could see - they experience the four seasons there with snow in December through February.  The hummingbirds are just about migrated further south by now but if we were lucky, we would see some - which we did.  We saw Coue's deer (pronounced cows) which look like your average deer only very small - about the size of a greyhound dog.  Mom, Dad, and baby.  Were not afraid of us, just watched us and then walked by.

Hike upwards to Overlook at 6200 feet

The James Cabin - built 1909

Did the casual hike up to the overlook at 6200 feet that gave us an overlook down to Sierra Vista. At the overlook you can then go on to many trails that criss cross the Huachuca's.  The rest of the trails are rated strenuous - not our type of casual hiking. But glad we hiked up to the overlook - amazing to see cactus with yucca plants with ponderosa pine trees and oaks and maple.  A real hodge podge of ecosystem.  Sometimes we felt we were back in the Pacific northwest then you come across prickly pear cactus and agave plants.

The switch backs to the overlook just about killed us, we had not hiked up a mountain for some time.  On our way down we walked along the Bledsoe Loop trail that goes along the ruins of the original homesteaders who were mining in the hills.  The canyon is named after Gardner Ramsey who had a claim in the Hamburg mine which is located within the canyon.  Many mammals live there as well as birds and butterflies that are common to the desert as well as mountains.  We noticed a 'beware of bears' sign up but did not have any fear of encountering them since there were many visitors that day.

Second James Cabin - family outgrew original 

Very peaceful Ramsey Creek flows from the upper Huachuca Mountains down through the canyon. Saw an area that many Arizona Sister butterflies frequent - they drink the salts off the ground where water has seeped to the surface.

Arizona Sister Butterfly

Canyon floor looking up at Huachuca Mountains

Now that we have visited this Preserve we will definitely come back and see it through the winter months.