7-17-17

I woke at 6 like most days and Luke got up at 6:30 to grab breakfast before attending his online class from 7:00 - 8:00. We were all done getting ready by 9:00 and rolled east to Chiricahua National Monument. 

I had a feeling that the park would be special when as soon as we crossed the boundary, there were 4-5 deer hanging out along the road. We talked to the ranger at the visitor center and headed up the Canyon road to hike the half mile trail out to the Grottoes. We played in the Echo Canyon rocks for a long time and we were fortunate not to have anyone around. We photographed the lizards in the rocks, yelled to hear our echo, climbed up the walls and had a fun time. We worried about rain because it was sprinkling when we started but we never saw more than that. After playing, we stopped in at the visitor center to finish a junior ranger badge. Our original plan included Fort Bowie but somehow I missed that the visitor center is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so we decided to skip it but the ranger here told us that they installed a stamp on the front porch at the visitor center so you could go even though the rangers weren't there. 

We drove about 20 miles while eating lunches of salad, sandwiches and chips and then turned on to the 8 mile long dirt road from highway 181 that takes you to Fort Bowie's parking area. The drive in was full of potholes and dips. There were several washes where when it rains the road floods. We discussed the fact that there were ominous clouds all around the area and I had no hope that we would make it out of this adventure without being wet but we knew what to do if it poured and to stay out of the washes so we charged on. We saw a herd of mule deer ahead, 9 in total. One went under the barbed wire fence which was kind of funny to see. A quarter mile later there were three more and this time one jumped the fence. We kept going and didn't pass any people. 

This is an unusual park site in the fact that you have to hike in a mile and a half to get to the visitor center. We arrived at the parking area which thankfully had a bathroom and then we loaded up with water and umbrellas and hiked out to the visitor center. There are a lot of ants in Arizona. I believe they are Harvester ants but the sheer number can be unnerving. I don't think there was a single step I took that didn't have an ant under foot. The trail also crossed several washes and I hoped there was no rain because I didn't want to get stuck. We saw lots of plant species and red mites that feed on the dead plants in the area. It was a nice hike. Temperature in the mid 80's and cloudy. We arrived at the Fort Ruins. And they are literally ruins. It's no wonder that they don't pave the road or make it easier to get to because the ruins are not much to see of what was once an impressive Fort. It was last used around 1894 and essentially crumbled with no one there to take care of it. We got our stamps, drank gatorades on the front porch, signed the guest register (one other family had been there today) and then hiked back out to our car because the clouds still looked ominous. Luke and Lorelei heard rustling in the bushes as they walked ahead of Scott and I and looked up to see a deer. We lucked up and never saw rain. We also never saw another human soul in the park. We took the same 8 mile dirt road out and headed toward I-10 West. 

We stopped for dinner near Tucson at a Texas Roadhouse where Lorelei and I ate salads and rolls and the boys enjoyed steaks. We drove another hour to Casa Grande and arrived in our hotel around 8:30 to take showers and go to bed.