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Published: March 12th 2008
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Posted by: Onaxthiel: Due to Obfuscator's constant complaints about how early I was making him wake up, I let him sleep in this morning until 6:00. He still whines. There is just no pleasing some people. So while he continued to snore, I went off and grabbed some shots of the sunrise and local flora. The campground was fairly full, but thankfully most snow birds are retired and therefore sleep like Obfuscator. He finally woke up and we were able to get underway before the other travelers began to stir. This is fortunate, since people driving an RV in a national park invariably become road blocks that are nigh unassailable on two lane back roads.
We arrived at the park visitors center about a half hour before it opened and a ranger who was just arriving helpfully told us of a few of the things the park offered. First, he showed us one of the things Obfuscator had been demanding to see since he first read of the park. The fifty foot tall, eight ton cactus that is theoretically in existence might not be easy to find in the park's many thousands of square aces, but in sight of the
visitors center stands a close second. In the distance it doesn't look much higher than the surrounding cacti, but the ranger told us that it was indeed quite tall. We estimate about 40 feet, give or take. The ranger also answered some of our burning questions about the park, like what supports cacti (an internal structure similar to a skeleton of wood), and which trails to hike. (Picture Rocks trail for petroglyphs, Canyon Overlook for views and you are allowed off trail anywhere it interests you in the park). So we began our day in the park by anthropomorphizing the cacti.
With the general look of cacti, you really get the feeling that they have emotional states and they are miming for you. We drove a scenic loop and made a few stops to get a general view of the park, including one that gave us a much closer look at petroglyphs than we had been able to see at newspaper rock. While the rocks themselves were still off limits, the rails were within a few feet of them, so we could examine the prehistoric art with the unaided eye instead of needing the park-provided binos we used in
Petrified Forest. Around noon we drove across the park for the Picture Rocks hike. This affords a close up view of a few glyphs that aren't marked on the maps, as they are a bit remote and accessible only on foot. We hiked over a ridge line and down into the wash that leads to the carvings. After a mile or so we found them on the north side of the trail and took a few photos. Not being sure if that was the end of images, we continued down the path for another mile before turning around. There was a reward for this perseverance. An owl crossed our path and took refuge in the bushes a few hundred meters in front of us. For most of the walk out, whenever we would get close to his perch, he would swoop out and cross the wash again, perching on the opposite side from his previous spot and another two hundred or so meters further down. I don't know if he felt we were harassing him, or if he was hoping we would scare up some game. At last we reached the edge of the park and he took flight back
into the security of the hills.
Back on the road we turned toward our next destination,Tombstone. As storied towns go in the state of Arizona, I would guess that this is one of the most popular. Coming in from the north, the first stop you come to in town is Boot Hill, the graveyard during the famous cowboy era. After a few decades of disuse, the town started fixing the cemetery during the 50's and they have been convincing tourists to stop ever since. There is even an old song about this graveyard that we grew up listening to our father sing. Whatever is known of the folks interred here is listed in a pamphlet that is given to you for a two dollar donation when you enter the area. Many of the dead were illnesses, and many accidents, but in this town between 1880 and 1900 a very disproportionate number are homicides of one sort or another. Killed by Apache, killed by miners, killed by bandits or lawmen, the graves are a testament to the fact that violent crime rates aren't a result of recent inovations like rock, rap, automatic weapons or the dissolution of the nuclear family.
In town, there is a state park at the old court house that discusses the history of the area, from the OK Corral, to the silver mining that created the town, to the water wars that broke out when ranching had fully displaced mining as the town's dominant industry. It speaks of vigilantism and social life. It is a very worthwhile stop. Back on the streets of the tourist area, reenactors play the rolls of Clantons, McLourys and Earps. They screamed insults at each other in the street and meandered down to the OK Corral for their shootout. On the way, the Earps picked up Doc Holiday and handed him a sawed-off shotgun. Doc proceeded to walk the wrong way until corrected by Wyatt, due to his inebriation. Everyone in the crowd laughed. After all, it's funny that a drunk is about to go kill some people with a 12 gauge. Admission to the actual coral is $7.50, and this buys an all-day pass to many of the local events. Since we weren't aware of the ticket until right before the gunfight, the last and most climactic part of the day, we opted out and went looking for dinner.
No point in paying full price for a thirty second shootout when usually it would cover 10 hours of entertainment. We moved to Big-Nosed Kate's, the bar once owned by Doc Holiday's girlfriend, and found it filled to capacity. Instead we ate at the site of the assassination attempt on Virgil Earp. You really can't walk down the street without tripping over something historic in this town. I would recommend Tombstone, but only if you can devote an entire day. There is too much to see in the few hours we spent there.
From there we started heading toward the New Mexico border. We ended up spending the night in a small, cheap motel in the town of Willcox. If anyone else finds themselves there, I would look at staying in the motels near the highway unless you are addicted to internet connection. That was the deciding factor for us, and we had a fairly poor room as compensation. I wish I could remember the name of the motel to warn others away, but I doubt it will be a problem for anyone else unless they try to hunt it down.
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Mom
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hugging cactus
You grew up with a little barrel cactus in the house. Don't you remember getting tiny spines in your finger? What do you mean by hugging cactus? Loved the pictures of the desert in spring though. Love, Mom