Advertisement
Published: September 18th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Our feet are itching and there’s no cruise on our horizon. What are two travel-crazed baby boomers to do? Why, go on a road trip, of course.
Our blue Rubicon Jeep hums along I-10 as we travel from Tucson to Southeastern Arizona. We’re off to explore
Chiricahua National Monument and Sunglow Ranch.
At Wilcox, we exit the interstate, taking Highway 186 through a broad valley rimmed with mountains. Monsoons have turned the brown hillsides to green. Grasses are knee-high. Yellow wildflowers blow in the wind. There’s not a car in sight.
Alan and I decide to check out the monument before driving on to Sunglow. Making a left turn onto Highway 181, we drive towards the mountains until the road splits. To our right is Pinery Canyon Rd, a dirt and gravel Coronado National Forest road that winds up and over the mountains to Portal, Arizona, a possible excursion for later in the week.
Alan turns the jeep left, passing an un-manned guardhouse. Bonita Canyon Drive takes us through monument land, ending at Masai Point (6870ft). On the way, we pass stone formations with names like Organ Pipe, Sea Captain and China Boy. A creek gurgles beside the road.
Soon we’re in an area of curvy roads, pine forests and views of one mountain ridge after another.
We stop for a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches at Echo Canyon overlook. This area of the country has few eating opportunities so we came prepared. Our plans are to come back tomorrow to hike Echo Canyon Loop.
After a few pictures, we continue to Masai Point. The dark clouds are threatening to rain. So, a quick walk to the point to view the rock formations of Rhyolite Canyon then we’re on our way back down the mountain.
When we stop by the Visitor’s Center to pay our fee, Alan asks about Pinery Canyon Rd.
“Oh, the monsoons have made it too dangerous. You don’t want to try that without a high clearance vehicle,” a ranger tells us.
“I wouldn’t drive that road,” another ranger says. Alan isn’t convinced.
Back at the intersection of Highways 181 and 186, we turn left. Still no cars. This is one lonely highway. Storm runoff has overflowed the road in at least three places, making it necessary to slow down for a cautious drive through the water.
Finally, Alan turns
the Jeep left onto Turkey Creek Rd. The wide, dirt road, with patches of washboard, leads back towards the mountains. Up ahead, a long line inches across the road. A diamondback rattlesnake is oblivious to us as we stop to watch him or her passing by. Five years of living in Tucson and I finally see a rattlesnake.
After four-and-a-half miles on Turkey Creek Rd., a sign on the right-hand side of the road announces
Sunglow Ranch . Traveling another mile, the dirt road crests a hill. We drive through an iron gate to a cluster of buildings.
Ranch Manager, Susan Nunn, greets us. Dharma, Susan’s large, white AkBash ( a Turkish goat herding dog) bounds from around a corner to check us out.
The skies are black with clouds as Susan shows us our casita. After unloading our luggage, Alan and I sit on the patio and watch the storm approach. We already know that the patio with its tin roof and low rock walls will be our favorite spot.
Suddenly the storm arrives. It rains so hard that we can’t hear each other. And, then, the hail begins. One inch of rain falls in twenty minutes.
At the storm’s conclusion, a rainbow appears and storm water roars through a nearby creek.
At the corner of our back patio, a live oak spreads branches over the casita. The branches make a rustling noise as a breeze pushes them back and forth across the roof. We sit and enjoy glass of wine, looking over the low rock wall of the patio and out into a meadow and live oak forest.
Meals are served in Sunglow Café. Classical music plays and a fountain splashes. We are the only customers tonight. Dinner is homemade bread, porta-bellini mushroom soup, and penne pasta with grilled vegetables and shrimp. Coffee and Amaretto cheesecake finish the meal.
Hummingbird feeders hang from porch eaves of the cafe. As the night darkens, we watch bats swarm the feeders eventually emptying them of nectar.
Small landscape lights guide us back to the casita. Grass rustles and crickets chirp in the quiet night. There are no televisions or telephones at Sunglow Ranch, only peace and nature.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 16; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0448s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
christine sperber
non-member comment
september 11
Hello we are looking for a beautiful spot and you were recommended - for the evening/day of september 11-12, for a picnic/sleep one night please let me know if you are available