UP & OVER THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS TO PORTAL ARIZONA

BETWEEN PORTAL & CAVE CREEK ARIZONA

We had heard from several people that it was a nice drive from the Chiricahua National Monument area up & over the mountains to the wee town of Portal on the other side. Signs say 4 wheel drive vehicles are recommended but someone said we would be fine with our 2 wheel drive 5 speed Santa Fe.....and we were. Rosanna from Paws & Hooves had offered to drive us over but I don't like to bother other people to drive for several reasons. To-day for example we probably made over 40 stops just getting through the mountains because I'm always looking for photos & stopping to look at stuff. Driving in the mountains is exciting so I like to be behind the wheel, shifting the gears, & making the driving decisions. I'm not a very good passenger at any time. We also meander up side roads, down back roads, & just generally poke along exploring things. It is the main reason we don't like going places with groups of people. We just like to do our own thing & it's much easier for my peace of mind if I don't have people walking in & out of the photographs I'm trying to take. We generally try to get a feel for whatever area we are in & sometimes that just requires a whole lot of quiet. I know there are some people out there who will understand that & some who won't. YES, THESE MOUNTAIN ROADS ARE VERY STEEP IN PLACES

We got ourselves an early start this morning & were actually out the gate by 8:15. An hour later we were into the Chiricahuas. Always amazing how fast the landscape changes in just a matter of a few miles. On the valley floor we humans are taller than most vegetation but within gaining a few hundred feet in the mountains we are suddenly dwarfed by towering Pine trees, Sycamore, Juniper, & Oak trees plus a whole host of other greenery like Mesquite trees, Agaves & Prickly Pear Cactus just to name a few. Within a few miles exist two different worlds. I remember parts of British Columbia being like that when I lived in the Okanogan Valley back in the early 70's for a few years. SNOW ON THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAIN TOPS AHEAD

The gravel road was very washboardy when we first entered the mountains but as we climbed it smoothed itself out. Saw some great camping spots in the forest alongside the road. Only accessible for small Class C's or B Class vans. Great for truck campers & pop up tent trailers though. Forded a few shallow creeks along the way & saw a couple of deer on the road. Stopped at what we presumed was the mountain summit because we could see the road headed down from there. Hauled out my thermos of coffee & took a picture of the sign which said we were at Onion Saddle, elevation 7,600 feet. Scouted out a side road but it was too rough for our Santa Fe. If we continue to come here to the southwest we are really going to have to get ourselves a 4 wheel drive jeep. Nothing wrong with our Santa Fe but so many times we have wanted to go places that we knew our beloved little Santa Fe couldn't go. CASTLES IN THE AIR

Began our descent down the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains making many stops & marveling at the beauty surrounding us. I was continually out of the car with the cameras. Not so good for my sore leg but no matter, it's just the way it has to be & I'll rest it up some more on Tuesday. It is improving anyway. Saw a sign saying Paradise so we took a bumpy little side road 3 miles down into a sleepy little place with a few houses on either side of the road with people living in them. Just kind of rolled right through & continued on to Portal. Passed a sign that said, Paradise Cemetery so wheeled in to take a picture of the cemetery gate which had a sign saying it was indeed the Paradise Cemetery. Just goes to prove that when some people die they do actually go to Paradise. HEADING FOR CAVE CREEK

The closer we got to Portal the more spectacular the mountain ranges became. Large stone bluffs & formations began appearing atop mountain ridges. Towering rocks looking like "castles in the air." Don McLean has a song entitled that. We knew we were in a very scenic area. PORTAL ARIZONA
http://www.portalarizona.com/

The little town of Portal can hardly be called a town. I would say it's about 4 good stone throws long by 3 stone throws wide. Has a Post Office & Library but our main destination was the Portal Store Cafe & Lodge. Kelly had heard they had great Mexican food there so in we went. I had a grilled chicken burger with chips & Kelly had a great big plate of something Mexican I couldn't even pronounce. In the long run my grilled chicken burger turned out to be the best of the two. Took a drive around Portal which lasted all of about 60 seconds & then headed 3 miles back into the Coronado Forest looking for a little place called Cave Creek southwest of Portal. It was on this road that the scenery really took off. Towering mountains on both sides, mountain streams, waterfalls, & forests. This area has it all. It's a bird watcher's paradise & people flock here from far & wide looking for the rare & elegant Trogan bird. We saw birder's to-day along the roads with their binoculars & scopes. We saw beautiful mountains riddled with caves & hiking trails everywhere. Came across a great little campground with awesome views. Check our web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ About 15 well spaced sites & a campground that we could bring our motorhome to. We have mentally bookmarked this area & this campground as a place for us to return next year. And I'm being a bit uncharacteristically optimistic here in saying...."we will return to the Southwest!!!!"
Thank-you Mr. D:)))) MANY CAVES IN THESE MOUNTAINS

Not too much in Cave Creek but we did stop at a Forestry Building & ask for directions to another camping area we had heard about. Some nice private lodges in Cave Creek. Headed back down the winding forest road, past the jagged rocky peaks along botanical road & out the highway back to Portal. Stopped at the Portal Store for a coffee to go & rolled east out into the San Simon Valley. It was 2:15 as I watched the Chiricahua Mountains fading in my rear view mirror. Within minutes we crossed the New Mexico State line, turned right onto highway 80 for a few more miles & then passed the Arizona State line right back into Arizona again. Hardly any traffic on this scenic highway as we headed southbound through the dusty little town of Rodeo. Put the hammer down on the Santa Fe, took a short cut around the north end of Douglas & we were back at the ranch before 3:30. Just another super terrific day trip in the good old American southwest.

SUNNY FLAT RV CAMPGROUND

New Mexico, Arizona, California, & a few areas in southern Texas are by far the greatest scenic areas to escape old man winter. So much to see & do. So much perfectly great weather. So many great times. So many memories..........................................................

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NO PAIN, YUMMY RESULTS, THOUGHT PATTERNS, & A GOOD LOOKER:))

AN EXAMPLE OF PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT PATTERNED TEAM WORK

The pain in my leg had me out of bed at 4:30 a.m. but by 9 it was all over. That little pinched nerve guy finally packed his bag & got out of my body. Noticed I wasn't getting the shooting pain in the leg & back when I walked. A little soreness & some numbing but that was all. Figured it would be best to remain in an upright position & keep the leg moving for the rest of the morning so went down & cleaned out the corral, did a bunch of watering around the ranch house, & did a little work on my garden project. The day went well & except for one time climbing off the ATV I was basically pain free finally. If to-night & to-morrow go well I will consider the problem over. And how did the problem occur?? My theory is that it happened while lifting a hay bale into a cart last week. I had been putting bales into the cart & pivoting to the right while doing so & I think that may have caused it. Just a theory. Kelly thinks it happened when I put too much peanut butter on a slice of bread & hurt myself when I had to use both hands to lift it up to my mouth. MAX SMELLS SOMETHING YUMMY COOKING

One Sunday morning about a month ago an infomercial appeared on television. I am usually quick to change the channel on those things right away but for some reason this one caught my attention & I actually sat there & watched. The product being demonstrated made logical sense to me so I watched the same commercial at the same time the following week just to be sure. Told Kelly this was the greatest invention since sliced bread so she trusted my word & ordered it on line. Well, we picked up our little gem this week at the McNeal Post Office & when I unpackaged it I could see that it was well made & not some cheapo little pile of junk. Looked to be of good quality & to-night we tried it out for the first time. A whopping yummy personal pizza success!! Pizza's are only one of many things you can make. Only took the cooker 7 minutes to cook it & Al 7 seconds to eat it. I think it will be something we will use a lot. It's called, "Xpress Redi Set Go" & it's a compact fast little cooker. No, we're not selling them or in ca-hoots with the company. I'm just passing this along because I think (so far) this is a good product. The compact size is good for RV'ers. I'll put the website link in plus a few pics I took at suppertime to-night. And, not to worry, if the cooker turns out to be bogus, I will tell you that too. http://www.redisetgo.com/?gcid=S12579x066&keyword=xpress%20redi-set-go_1 Now, a word of caution because after all it was an infomercial & those types of ads have a way of extracting a few extra dollars out of your pocket. The ad said something about free recipes but when Kelly checked the billing after ordering there was an extra charge of nearly $9.95 for the recipe club or something. After a number of phone calls we found out that we had automatically joined a recipe club & new recipes were now going to be coming to our house at $9.95 a pop every month for the rest of our lives or longer. Kelly got right after them & they finally canceled that little extra ditty. We feel the product is fine but be careful of the small print or the boxes you put check marks in & be careful about how "free recipes" is presented. However, if you are a recipe collector this just might be your cup of tea so just dis-regard my little flap. OUR FIRST RESULTS

The picture at the top of the blog to-day is an example of teamwork & progressive thought patterns. We were ensconced in our lawn chairs enjoying the day when I glanced over to Ingrid & Tom's white pick-up truck. (I blogged about Ingrid & Tom & their big dog Corky a few weeks ago) It was parked beside a white flag pole complete with flapping American flag. I said to Kelly, "wished I knew how to use our photoshop program because I would take a picture of the truck beside the pole & then digitally remove the bottom half of the pole to make it look like the truck was actually flying a large flag from it's roof." Thought it was a pretty good idea but I was about to be upstaged. Kelly calmly said, " why not just turn the truck around." (Geeeeezzzz, how come women are always so smart) But then I came back with, "why don't I just walk around & take the picture from the other side of the truck." Well, that's what I did but I got to thinking later what a good example of teamwork that was & how within about 6 seconds we had taken an unsolvable problem to a finished solution. Aw yes, teamwork:)) KELLY MADE THE PIZZA & THE COOKER COOKED IT TO PERFECTION IN 7 MINUTES

We put a fresh pot of travel plans on the back burner this morning & it looks like we'll be heading back to Canada around the 22nd, 23rd or 24th of this month. Talked to Jeannie this morning & they are up in Dead Horse State Park near Cottonwood Az. Said they have been fishing in the stocked pond there but have been drowning more worms than catching fish. Gee, have they never heard of Captain Hi-liner's fish sticks!! Worms lives could have been spared:)) Jeannie & Ray will be heading back to the ranch sometime next week. Good thing we have saved the feeding instructions for all the animals. They're gonna need them.

COMPACT WELL BUILT MACHINE

Watched the first part of a two part DVD to-day called, No Direction Home. It's about the life & times of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Let me tell you first that I was never a fan of Bob Dylan's early music. Just didn't care for his voice or style. But even more than that, I was jealous of him. In 1964 I was going with an exciting, good looking foxy blonde from Stratford Ontario. Only problem was......she was a big Bob Dylan fan. Ate, slept, & breathed Bob Dylan. Thought he was number 1 & the greatest thing of ever. Thought I was supposed to be number 1 in her life!! Well, needless to say me & Bob just never got off on the right foot somehow & after a year the good looker was gone her own way anyway. Probably a Bob Dylan roadie by now. It wasn't until Dylan did Nashville Skyline with Johnny Cash that I forgave him & took a liking to his music. But, back to the DVD. Thought director Martin Scorsese did a better job on this one than the other music bio he did about The Band called, The Last Waltz . Last Waltz was good but this one is better. Much more professionally done. I'm looking forward to seeing the second half. I keep looking in the audience of his concerts to see if there's a good looking foxy blonde (slightly aged) from Stratford jumping up & down in the front row....................

No photos for the web album to-night.

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IN SEARCH OF OLD FORT RUCKER

RUINS OF OLD FORT RUCKER


No improvement in the back & leg this morning but it was a nice day & I didn't want to sit around again. Kelly picked up a cane at the Thrift Store awhile back so I threw that in the car & we headed off for Rucker Canyon in search of old Fort Rucker. THIS WAS THE COMMISSARY


While at the Coronado National Park a few days I got to talking with a ranger who told me where the ruins of old Fort Rucker (formally Camp Supply) were in the Rucker Canyon. We had been through that area a week ago but didn't know about the Fort then. From the ranch we headed east about 9:30 through McNeal to Leslie Canyon. Skirted around the south end of the Swisshelm mountains into the sweeping picturesque hills of Leslie Canyon. The flat dirt road led us north until we intersected with Rucker Canyon road. We swung northeast into the Chiricahua mountains & drove until we reached the junction with Tex Canyon road. This is where we began our search. Parked the car beside a rock & boulder strewn creek bed & headed up the creek for a hundred yards or so then headed left through an area of trees & shrubs. I was glad I had the cane with me. Continued through the brush until we came to a road but still no sign of the fort. Kelly walked back to the car & brought it around to the road. We drove up a rocky narrow path into a grassy tree lined area but still no Fort. Drove back down to theTex Canyon road junction & headed south for a bit when I spotted what looked like an old adobe wall through a bunch of trees on the east side of a dry creek bed. Saw a clearing ahead & pulled over. There on a barbed wire fence hung a small faded sign that said, Camp Rucker U.S. Army 1872-1880. We had found the Fort!!

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jarucker.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Rucker
http://forums.ghosttowns.com/showthread.php?t=16136
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/camprucker.html
FORT RUCKER'S BAKERY

It was about a quarter mile walk from the road to the first building. An old log pole barn....with a new roof. There were cattle here as well. We could see some old adobe ruins farther on so we headed in that direction. I was surprised when we came across our first reader board. It was obvious no one had been here for a long time but I remembered the Ranger telling me there are plans afoot to restore this old Fort so I am assuming the reader boards are maybe the first step. Noticed later that a couple old buildings had new roofs on them to protect against further weather deterioration. Fort Rucker is actually in better shape than Fort Bowie because it has some buildings with actual walls still standing. One building like the officer's quarters still has glass in the windows & wooden doors . When Fort Bowie was decommissioned people came in & basically ripped the Fort to pieces for it's lumber, etc. That didn't happen here at Fort Rucker but Fort Rucker is only about a quarter the size of Fort Bowie. A much smaller outpost.

REAR ENTRANCE OF THE OFFICER'S QUARTERS

We spent the best part of a couple hours wandering around the grounds looking at the ruins. Once again, with the help of the reader boards I was able to take a lot of photos & you can follow the story of Fort Rucker through the story boards & my pictures in the web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ Standing there on the grounds it's hard to imagine what the day in a life of a trooper was like 135 years ago. There is an old water tank still standing, a bake shop, & officer's quarters still intact. Looking at the open door of the bakeshop I tried to imagine the soldiers coming & going through there. The smell of fresh bread baking in what's left of the large oven at one end of the old adobe building. Ruins of the original commissary are there & another adobe building with two rooms but no roof. No idea what that building was. The officer's quarters building is still in remarkably good shape & a person could move right in there. The tin roof has saved it from decay & the floor felt solid. A couple closet doors hung open where officer's uniforms once hung. A raised platform for the wood stove looked like it was waiting for another stove to be placed on it. It was as if the officer's had just stepped out for a moment. CATTLE BARN & CORRAL

But, the strangest building of all was the house. You will have to go to the web album & see the pictures because it's a bit hard to describe. It's an old adobe house but the interior looks like it's from about the 1930's or earlier. No reader board anywhere to tell anything about it. Might have been part of Fort Rucker & then renovated in the early 1900's or something. After the Fort was decommissioned the land was used for ranching so maybe it was built as a ranch house. Many small rooms inside & on different levels. Best have a look at the pictures. STRANGE OLD HOUSE

The temperature had dropped while we were there & a cloud cover moved in as we departed old Fort Rucker & headed back down the long dusty road through Rucker Canyon to civilization. I took a few pictures from the car window as the dark clouds moved in & before long it was raining. It was good to get back to the rig, crack on some heat, & grab ourselves a bite to eat. It had been another good day....sort of.
My leg had given me a lot of trouble for about the first 40 minutes of our hike but then the pain went away while we were walking around the old Fort's grounds. Felt so good I was bouncing around like a ping pong ball but by the time we got home & I tried to get out of the car, the pain was back full force on the outside thigh of my right leg. Seems that sitting bothers it the most. Oh well, not much I can do about it until that nerve decides to unpinch itself I guess. Maybe to-morrow I'll take Roger Miller's advice & try rollerskating in a Buffalo herd................................

RAIN MOVING IN

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