More Travels of John & Mimi: Island in the Sky

Our neighbor suggested that we take a tour of Chiricahua National Monument. Never heard of it. Must be some hole in the wall place that couldn't even make National Park status. O well, guess we will have a look anyway. The ride from Benson is about 70 miles. We took the trusty CRV, course. Even with 23 mpg, I was grousing in my mind about how much gas would cost for the round trip. Most of the landscape is barren, flat and dry. Not a good harbinger for this day trip. I commented to Mimi as we cruised along, “ I can’t understand why the Apaches and soldiers fought over this territory back then. I’d give them the whole thing for a nickel and be done with it”.

As we approached the monument, the land started to get more interesting – foothills, with small mountains in the background. We were gaining altitude ( Mimi here - I'm going to kibbitz on this post)(We tend to say altitude instead of elevation because of past flying) steadily now.

Finally – the visitor center. Nicely done. Good exhibits. They focused on the role of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in constructing much of the park. The CCC is a special topic to us, as Mimi’s dad still reminisces about his time in it during the 1930’s, when he was a young man. It was a rite of passage into manhood for him and his brother, Dick. We picked up a pictorial book on the history of the CCC in the U.S., with the intention of reading it and giving it to Marinus as a gift. Mimi bought some Natl. Park stamps and a bird coloring book (as an aide in learning bird parts).

The park ranger was very helpful, and recommended a 3.3 mile loop hike in Echo Canyon to see the sights. Time to saddle up for the hike. Binoculars, hiking stick, water, camera, map, sun block, etc. As we drove further into the park, the most fantastic rock formations began to appear. Wow, this is going to be better than I thought! The landscape reminded me of the hoodoos you see in Bryce Nat’l Park. We ate lunch at the end of the driving loop, overlooking the whole of the park. Chiricahua is described as an “Island in the Sky”. This view explains it all. A separate ecological system from the surrounding flat fields and desert. Elevation about 6000 ft. Windy and cool.

The hike turned out to be breath-taking. I’m not easily impressed, but started shooting pictures and didn’t stop for several hours (tell me about it. At least it slows him down. I just keep walking slowly and steadily and he follows along in spurts). John said to me as we beginning the hike that there is nothing else he could think of that he would rather do than hike in beautiful country. As we ended the trip, he said there was nothing he would rather do than have a nap. Took over 70 pics. My memory stick will hold 2000 pics, so I wouldn’t run out of film, although I did go through several sets of batteries. Gotta love digital photography! I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…..