I took off from Tucson and headed towards Willcox, Arizona. My GPS took me to Route 83 and 82 through Tombstone across E. Davis Road. Then Route 191 to 181 onto S. Bonita Creek Road into the park. I passed cotton fields, wheat fields, pecan groves, wine vineyards and two large US Air Force plane graveyards (why don’t they just scrape them). Most areas were wide open ranges, for miles and miles. The roads were good with little to no traffic. The sun disappeared behind clouds which made it a little cooler riding. The last few days I haven’t had to have my cold weather gear on – nice change. My chaps would have been nice, but I didn’t feel like stopping and digging them out. (guess it wasn’t that cold then!). I got to the park about 2 pm, so I was just going to check it out then come back in the morning and hike. This park is known for the Land of Standing Up Rocks. I rode up to Masai Point which is 6,870 feet in elevation. The road twists and turns up to the top. At the top it’s the views with no end. While I was up there the wind picked up and it was strong. I believe they said 35 mph, time for me to work my way down! On the way out I had a deer jump in front of me, and while I was stopped two more came out. Down the road a little further we’re three more grazing under a tree. It was about 35 miles to the nearest town, and on the way to my hotel I saw three red hawks.
Ed Riggs and his wife Lillian settled in the valley just below in the early 1920’s. Ed and Lillian appreciated the natural beauty of the Chiricahua Mountains and looked for ways to promote the area. You will see in one of my pictures an observation platform which was constructed in the 1930’s and is still being used today. Ed called the views “Wonderland of Rocks”.
Their house is surrounded by the mountains, no matter which way you look there are beautiful views of the rocks. Lillian named the farm “Faraway Ranch” as it was so far away from anything.
Oh, I stopped on the way in to take the feature picture. There was no one around and I hadn’t seen anyone for miles, so I stopped in the middle of the road to get this shot. “Tumbleweed”. Just when I was putting my phone away two trucks pull up and ask if I was okay…. where did they come from. It was nice of them, especially since the closest town was about 35 miles away.
Love and Light to you all!
MyIronHorseJourney 