Now that you've read about my tortilla indulgence day, let me tell you more about Chiricahua National Monument. I knew nothing about Chiricahua before my arrival. On my map it was just a likely looking place to spend the night; I found it to be a little piece of paradise.
Located just across the Arizona border, in the far southeastern corner of New Mexico, Chiricahua National Monument is an example of a "sky island". Sky islands are isolated mountains or mountain ranges with their own ecosystems, unique from the surrounding desert. There are plants and animals at Chiricahua that exist nowhere else on earth.
I fell in love with the monument's Bonita Canyon Campground; it reminded me of the campgrounds my family and I camped at, in Oregon, when I was growing up. There were only 24 sites and they were limited to rigs under 29 feet long. There was no electricity, water or sewer, but, there were two low-water crossings, an icy creek running through the campground, fresh, cool, pine-scented breezes, hiking trails and bear-proof storage boxes. What more could a person want?
In the morning, before leaving, I drove to the top of the mountain on a tiny, twisty road. The sides of the road were still snow covered with little trickles of water running down the slopes. On the summit I was able to get cell phone reception, so I made a few calls and checked my email. Then, after having taken care of business, I hiked around the summit on an interpretive trail that explained the erosion process that created the crazy rock formations in the park.
I only stayed for a night and part of a day, but Chiricahua made me feel like I could have lived there for a lifetime.
Located just across the Arizona border, in the far southeastern corner of New Mexico, Chiricahua National Monument is an example of a "sky island". Sky islands are isolated mountains or mountain ranges with their own ecosystems, unique from the surrounding desert. There are plants and animals at Chiricahua that exist nowhere else on earth.
I fell in love with the monument's Bonita Canyon Campground; it reminded me of the campgrounds my family and I camped at, in Oregon, when I was growing up. There were only 24 sites and they were limited to rigs under 29 feet long. There was no electricity, water or sewer, but, there were two low-water crossings, an icy creek running through the campground, fresh, cool, pine-scented breezes, hiking trails and bear-proof storage boxes. What more could a person want?
In the morning, before leaving, I drove to the top of the mountain on a tiny, twisty road. The sides of the road were still snow covered with little trickles of water running down the slopes. On the summit I was able to get cell phone reception, so I made a few calls and checked my email. Then, after having taken care of business, I hiked around the summit on an interpretive trail that explained the erosion process that created the crazy rock formations in the park.
I only stayed for a night and part of a day, but Chiricahua made me feel like I could have lived there for a lifetime.
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