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Taking 186 out of Willcox early in the morning, I head out for Chiricahua National Monument. When I got there the visitor center wasnt open yet but a friendly park ranger answered my question about the easiest way to get to the area that I wanted to visit most...the Heart of Rocks Trail. Thats basically where all the coolest rock formations are in the entire park. By taking several trails (
Ed Riggs Trail, Mushroom Rock Trail, and the Balanced Rock Trail) which all interconnect I would reach the Heart of Rocks Trail in a little over three miles, then the Heart of Rocks Trail is another mile loop trail, then its another 3 miles back to where I started. I was still somewhat skeptical that I could do this as I had previously read that this series of hikes were somewhat difficult. However, the ranger assured me that this wasnt the case and it proved to be absolutely true. The only somewhat strenuous part was towards the beginning on the Mushroom Rock Trail where you were going uphill for maybe 1/2 mile, but overall I'd categorize these trails in their entirety as "Easy".
Making my way on to the
trail everything was a normal hike...just going through some forrest but then about a mile or so into the hike you see your first view of the rock formations and its absolutely incredible! And it would only get better. After hiking through some more forrest I reached the area of where the Big Balanced Rock was and thats when the views really start getting good. Lots of interesting rock formations and views of neighboring mountains. These rock formations were formed by the rhyolite (from an errupting volcano) cracking and then weathering to form what we see today. This area of Chiricahua is known as a "sky island" because just from viewing the mountains from miles away, you would have no idea that there are these spectacular rock formations hidden within the mountain.
The Heart of Rocks trail had several rock formations that were picture worthy. Overall I think I took close to 50 pictures I'm estimating. On the way back to my car there was another trail called "Inspiration Point" which was another mile roundtrip, but it proved to be worth it as you got an excellent view of the valley and the far off mountain range. I came
away very impressed with the area and would definitely make a return trip here to hike some of the other trails.
Being early afternoon and only having to travel to Tucson for the night, which was only a little over an hour away, I decide to try to go to Tombstone, AZ. I had heard that it was real touristy, but so what I was in the mood for a change of pace from hiking. So I get out my trusty map, see that there are a couple of roads that would eventually connect with Tombstone, and I leave Chiricahua. Everything was fine until I reach the point in the road where it becomes dirt/gravel. Huh, ok well it cant last for that long. Wrong. After about 3 miles of this I finally take a look at the map and see that the road is marked ON THE MAP as a dirt road and it lasts for about 15 miles. I guess I didnt pay attention to map reading when I was in 4th grade. In any case I turn around as I'm only able to go about 20 MPH on this road and head back for pavement looking
Big Balanced Rock
No really thats what its called. for an alternate route, which I did find but I never found the road that would lead me to Tombstone. By this time I'm just ready to get to Tucson so I head back north for I 10.
Arriving at my hotel,
Hotel Congress, at about 5PM I check in. You should check this hotel out if you're ever in the area. At the front desk the old fashioned switchboard is in use and in fact it has to be used in order to make an outbound call. There are no televisions or air conditioning in the rooms. Not having a TV I could deal with, but as it turns out not having air conditioning in this place is a little more difficult to deal with. Inside the hotel there was a restaurant, a large lobby area with bar, a seperate bar, and a seperate area for concerts. Its very oldschool where everything you need is available to you as well as the train/bus station, which is right across the street.
So I settle into the hotel and go downstairs to grab something to eat. I was starving so I end up getting this appetizer which was like a
small meal in itself, some pork chops, vegetables, and some potatoes and a couple of beers. My waitress that I started with absolutely SUCKED but another waitress saw I wasnt being helped so she became my new waitress. Anyway after dinner I have some time to kill before the bands go on stage at the Hotels concert area so I ask the front desk girl where there was a nearby record store. She points me in the right direction but warns me they have weird hours and even goes as far to attempt to call them to see if they were open, but the line was busy. Not having anything to do, I'm off to the record store.
The area I walked to was a cool area...lots of shops, bars, etc. If you are familiar with Atlanta, its very similiar to Little 5 Points, except the area is much bigger here. As it turns out the record store is closed (their posted hours are 12-6...very weird hours) so I head over to a bar to grab a beer and sit next to this guy that has brought his baby into the bar. Thats the first time I've ever seen
that. The next person that sits down isnt much better...she's really messed up on something and eventually she propositions me, which I decline. Not wanting to see who my next barmate will be, I head back to my hotel.
Later that evening I head down to the Tap Room, Hotel Congress' bar to await the start of the 3 bands playing that night. However, those plans soon changed as I sat down next to Julia. Wow, we had to have talked for at least four hours....we seemingly talked about everything... and the hours just flew by. I'd go on about how amazing she is, but she might be reading this and I dont want to embarrass her. We agreed that the next day she would try to give me a call so we could meet up for lunch. Oh yeah I missed all three bands by the way, but I definitely had a better time spending it with Julia. So I head up to my room and even with the window open and ceiling fan on, its like a boiler room!!! How did travellers back in the 30's and 40's survive without airconditioning?????
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