Day 19 Sunsites AZ to Chihiracua National Monument to El Paso TX

 June 30, 2024   Mileage   Start:  28153  End:  28497  Total:  Day/Trip  344/5786

Today we traveled to Chiricahua National Monument, billed as a wonderland of hoodoos and balanced rocks. I had originally planned to also visit the Cochise Stronghold, where Cochise was rumored to have hidden and escaped multiple times, but it rained last night! Many of the trails are dirt, and they advise don't go after a rain, so we opted for the safer choice. More on that later. About an hour after leaving the hotel, we were in the park, and it was near empty. And awesome! Rocks, canyons, trees...scenic. Forthwith some evidence: Hoodoos!



Hundreds and hundreds of hoodoos!



And balanced rocks everywhere, easily accessible.



Most of these pictures were taken from Massai Point, at the top (elev. 6870') of the scenic drive. When we got up there, it was breezy and 74 degrees - great break from the desert! It is one of several small ranges they call "islands in the sky",  thousands of feet above the broad valleys that surround them. And quite pleasant for a couple of short hikes we took. A couple more sights from the scenic drive:




This is supposed to be a reclining profile of Cochise, the Apache chief. C'mon, use your imagination!


And finally...I can't help myself! Check out this rock! Look at the size and variety of pebbles in the conglomerate. Pretty unique!


Earlier I briefly mentioned the overnight rain...turns out it's monsoon season (June 15-Sept. 30) for part of the desert southwest, one of two rainy seasons. Anyway, it's characterized by heavy downpours, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods. This afternoon, on I-10 in Arizona, we got to experience it. I've driven in heavy thunderstorms in Florida before (duh!) and other places when traveling, but have only had to pull off the road for rain once or twice in 50-ish years of driving. Today, when I could no longer see the white line on the edge of the road due to the blowing rain and hail, I pulled over. We stayed for 15 minutes, winds buffeting the car, hail beating against it, wind and rain sideways. Rita got a video of part of it. Intense! Hope I never have to do it again. Finished the drive in the west Texas town of El Paso...on to San Antonio Monday. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 18 Gila Bend AZ to Organ Pipe and Saguaro to Sunsites AZ

Image
June 29, 2024   Mileage   Start:  27808  End:  28153  Total:  Day/Trip  345/5442 It's Cactus Day! Besides being in the desert, again, we visited Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park before stopping for the day. While both contained saguaro, cholla, barrel, and prickly pear cactus, the only organ pipes were in...Organ Pipe. Saguaro also had several varieties of cholla. There were rock formations, but the highlight of these 2 parks were the cacti. First picture is the namesake of the first park - the organ pipe cactus. There are a couple of smaller ones around it, and a few saguaros in the background. One of the 2 new varieties of cholla cactus here. Many signs warning people to stay clear of them and carry tweezers to remove the spines. We just kept our distance, thank you very much. Next shot is a double arch from Organ Pipe, look closely at the top to see the second arch "piggybacked" on the first. A view with saguaros...
Read more

Day 8: Grand Junction CO to Arches (Moab, UT)

Image
 June 19th, 2024   Mileage  Start:  25039   End: 25236     Total: Day/Trip  197/2531 A relatively short hour and 40 minute drive, largely on I-70, then south. Had 10 a.m. reservations (and my Senior Parks Pass), sailed in at 9:48, whisked me right in. Pit stop at the visitors center, then we began the 18 mile drive through the park. There were roadside formations, short hikes to formations, and long hikes to formations. It was 94 degrees in the park. We didn't do any long hikes, but did several in the quarter-half mile range. Cliffs, hoodoos, balanced rocks, arches of course, and just some cool rock formations. Awed, humbled, thankful for such an amazing display of nature and God's handiwork. We agreed it exceeded our expectations. Dinner at Moab Brewery, too hungry to take pictures of the food and so thirsty we finished a few before we remembered to take a picture. We had a filtered wheat, an unfiltered wheat, hazy IPA, English amber, a...
Read more

Day 6 Bartlesville, OK to Evergreen, CO

Image
 June 17, 2024  Mileage  Start: 23953  End: 24632    Total:  Day/Trip  679/1927 A long drive, the longest of our trip. Mostly I-70, but a lot of empty 2-lanes before we got to 70. Blessed once again with clear skies and light traffic (except Denver at 4:30, but I anticipated that). On the road about 9 hours and 40 minutes total. The most memorable parts of the drive: lots of BIG wind farms, plus high winds that caused several areas of restricted visibility due to blowing dust. And farm land, farm land, farm land. And flat rocks. Went to dinner-surprise!- at a craft brewery 5 miles from the hotel, Evergreen Craft Brewery. Small and uncrowded, we got a flight, a NY-style wood-fired pizza, and a salad. All (yes, even the salad) were really good. For those keeping track, bottom to top: Belgian  Blonde, Mexican Amber Ale, Kolsch, and Belgian Golden Strong. We liked them so well we split a 5th 5oz. glass, a Hazy Pale Ale, also good. And we're out o...
Read more