We decided to not drive 10 hours and stop for the afternoon and hike. On the way to Cochise Strong Hold, in the Dragoon Mountains in south east Arizona, we saw lots of small dust storms across the plains. Just before we found the road to the campground we found acers and acers of pecan trees. I never knew there were so many pecan trees out in the desert.
The last four miles to the campground were washboard with 4 or 5 wash out areas that nearly sent us back looking for another place to camp. Once to the campground the place was very nice and shaded! We were pleased to have gotten the very last campsite...having been passed by two campers. Someone I know would have been very upset if there were no sites left and we had to go back on that washboard again so soon. That night we did the 1/2 mile Nature Trail that included self-guided plant identification, basics of desert ecology and a bit of history of the area's colorful past.
The next day we hiked up 3 1/2 miles to where the trail started down the other side of the mountain. The trail was really rough with many loose rocks most of the way, and an elevation change of almost 2000 feet. You can tell the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) didn't have anything to do with making the trail and who knows who, if anyone does any maintenance. Anyway the hike was a beauty and thoughts of Cochise and other Apaches traveling it was very cool, and we could see why Cochise used this rugged canyon as a refuge against his enemies. On our way down we came upon a group of trail riders (horse). It seemed a bit hot for the horses to be going up such a steep trail, they seemed hot....It took us 40 mins to drive the 4 washboard miles out of the Dragoons and again headed toward Tucson.
The roads in New Mexico are tons better than the roads in Arizona!! Just saying!
No comments:
Post a Comment