Side Trips in Southeast Arizona

North America » United States » Arizona » Chiricahua National Monument
March 8th 2009

Published: March 8th 2009

We left Tucson for a destination that was not on our original itinerary. Patagonia Lake State Park was recommended by several people we met along the way has very scenic and with lots of birds. The lake was also sizable, by Arizona standards, and would allow us to finally use the kayaks we’ve been dragging around the country. The plan was to stay there for six days before heading east to Willcox... Read Full Entry

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Lynn & Jon Glase

Wondering Naturalists

Jon and Lynn are two sixty-something, retired, PhD ecologists seeking the wisdom from the natural world that can only come from first-hand experience with things and events. Our current arrangement is to keep a house as a home-base near Ithaca New York, where we have lived for the past 35+ years, spend summers in our trailer around New England (where Lynn's extended family resides), return to Ithaca for the fall and early winter, and depart for warmer climes after the Christmas-New Years holidays. We travel with Moxie, a Bichon Frise, in an 28 ft. Airstream trailer pulled by a Ford F-250 dies... full info

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Chiricahua National Monument

The Chiricahua National Monument is well-known for the rock formation called a hoodoo. Hoodoos are created by differential weathering that results in intricate pillars of balanced rocks.

Chiricahua National Monument

The Chiricahua National Monument is biologically unique being the nexus of four major landscapes: the Sonora Desert, the Chihuahua desert, the Rocky Mountain, and the Sierra Madre.

Bonita Canyon Campgrounds

Tight fit for the Silver Palace in the Bonita Canyon Campgrounds.

Bonita Canyon Campground

Morning view from our campsite!

Alligator Juniper

Bark of Alligator Juniper; also known as Arizona Juniper. Our elevation at the campground was about 5000 feet putting us in woodlands dominated by oak, juniper, and several pines.

Silver Spur Meadow

We take a walk on the Silver Spur Meadow trail. This area was the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. The CCC was responsible for building many of the trails in the park.

"Head of Cochise"

The three higher peaks in the distance form the so-called "Head of Cochise", as seen from the end of Bonita Canyon Drive.

"Head of Cochise"

Closeup of "Head of Cochise" as seen from the end of Bonita Canyon Drive.

"Wonderland of Rocks"

View of "Wonderland of Rocks" from the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail.

Sugarloaf Mountain Trail

Lynn passes through a tunnel in the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail.

More Hoodoos

View of hoodoos from the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail.

West View from the Chiricahuas

Looking west towards the Dragoon Mountains in the distance. The so-called Cochise Stronghold is in the center part of the mountain range and the Sulphur Spring Valley is in the foreground. After the Cochise Apaches finally surrendered to the US Army, they were placed on a reservation in Florida where they languished. Our own brand of "ethnic cleansing!"

Chiricahuan View

Mountain in the Sulphur Spring Valley with an astronomical observatory at the summit.

Sugarloaf Mountain Summit

Trudy, Peter, and the dogs at the fire lookout on the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain (7310 ft). Several trails in the Monument were dog-friendly!

Turkey Creek Caldera

The Turkey Creek Caldera--one of the largest volcanic cones in the world. In this photo, the most distant range is the north rim of the caldera; the next nearer range is the south rim. Note: the flat-top mountain with numerous hoodoos in the foreground is not part of the caldera. Seen from the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The Faraway Ranch

The Faraway Ranch was first developed as a working ranch in the late 19th century by the Erikson-Riggs family. Later, one of the daughters developed it into a “vacation” ranch where people came from all over the country to enjoy nature, take horseback rides, and paint pictures of the scenery, and get away from their daily lives.

View from Faraway Ranch

Guests stayed in four different cabins near the main house. One of the cabins, which is called the “Stafford Cabin” was built by Ja Hu Stafford who came from the southeastern US. He had a large orchard of apples, pears, peaches, and grew much produce that was sold to US Army troops stationed nearby. He raised five children at the site mostly alone after his wife died. One daughter married a Erickson-Riggs and the two families were united.

View from Faraway Ranch

It’s hard to imagine a lot of profitable agriculture in this beautiful environment but it must have been a little bit of heaven. It certainly still is.

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Side Trips in Southeast Arizona

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