We have been going stir crazy waiting to head out for the summer. I had foot surgery on March 11 and with the long recovery time - 10 weeks of non-weight bering on the foot plus additional 6 weeks of physical therapy - we were ready to head north for the summer. Our plans are to head eventually to Ohio by late September, then leisurely swing back down to Arizona by late fall. We got the okay from the doctor on June 24th and thought we would have headed out by the 27th, but the RV has been at the dealer for over 5 weeks waiting on parts and we are not sure when we will get out of here. The heat is awful - most days 110 to 115, the monsoon season has started, and we are frustrated that we cannot go. Yesterday we decided to head to Chiricahua for the day. And glad we did.
We drove down from Picacho Arizona to Chiricahua NM which is located north of Douglas, Arizona. Chiricahua, which means "Land of Standing Up Rocks" by the Apache Indians, was a place we had not given much thought to visiting, guess when you have seen Bryce National Park and Zion with all their hoodoos and rock formations, nothing could compare. But, we were surprised as to the beauty and starkness of the place. The Chiricahua Apache Indians called this are their home for many generations. Cochise and Geronimo roamed this area for many years.
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| Pinnacles of Rhyolite Rock |
Meadows dotted with juniper, oak, pinyon pines, and sycamore trees with cactus, agave plants, and fir and pine trees are everywhere. Long prairie grasses in the fields, the distinct smell of mesquite trees, the tall pinnacles of ash rock called rhyolite, the shapes of rocks everywhere you look seem to take on different shapes the longer you stared at them. Boulders, weird rock formations, birds calling in the distance. Douglas firs growing along side prickly pear cactus, canopy of trees over the roadway, and then watching a thunderstorm come in from the south and see the dramatic clouds and lightning while we were hiking - what a treat!
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| Rock Formation called Cochise's Head |
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| Hiking along canyon - the path we took |
We saw Arizona white tail deer, the elusive coatimundi which looks like a monkey and raccoon combined, Mexican blue jays, and so many lizards. This park is located where the Sonoran Desert and the Chihuahuan Desert meet and where the Rocky Mountains end and the Sierra Madre range of Mexico starts. Classic basin-range-basin-range geography that we saw in Nevada. The mountains here are part of the Sky Islands which are isolated mountains rising up out of prairie lands.
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| Amazing fauna! |
While at the visitor's center, the Logan Utah Hotshots were there on training maneuvers. I asked them how long they will be in the area and they said that with the monsoons upon us, that they will probably be called to another area to monitor and if need, put out wildfires. Very impressed with this group of people, and in awe - the work they do.
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| How does that stay up? |
We took the 8 mile loop road to Massai Point where the elevation is 6870 feet. Quite a difference in temperature! And we hiked a bit. Yay! I was able to carefully hike about 1 1/2 miles on the path that was semi-flat and rated moderate and I am elated that I am now able to hike again.
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