EXPLORING THE AREA, DAY 2.
Day 97 – We woke up early this morning before the sun was up, freezing cold. The RV’s propane was empty (we knew it was low but we’d thought it would last all night). It was 47 degrees inside the RV and 23 degrees outside. Rob went outside and using the moon as light, hooked up one of the small, portable propane tanks. Luckily, we’d awakened before the pipes froze. Rob climbed, freezing cold, back into bed. Gracie and Luna joined us under the covers. When we got up, the RV had still not come up to temperature, but was well on its way. After their breakfast, three of the girls cuddled up together on the dashboard, trying to get what little sunlight was coming in at that time. Luna was squeezed on the bottom of the heap by the bulk of Java; Gracie warmed her paws under both of them.
We spent most of the day driving, exploring parts of this area that we hadn’t yet seen. We left at around 10:30 a.m. It was partly cloudy with hazy sunlight again. No wind. We drove north first towards the Chiricahua National Monument which lies in the northwestern Chiricahua Mountains, on the other side of the mountains from where we’d camped several days ago, in the Coronado National Forest. We stopped at the only restaurant in the area, Sandy’s Restaurant and RV Park, and got lunch to go. Then we drove north and east into the mountains.
Chiricahua National Monument is the most popular site within this section of the National Forest. There is one campground nearby which takes reservations – Bonita Springs Campground. We have heard that the campsites book up a year in advance. This is an indication of how crowded this part of the Park can become. We wanted to check out the campground to see if we’d be interested in staying there if we came back again another time. We were going to stop at the Visitor’s Center first, but the parking lot was full. The campground was also full; we drove through and checked out the sites. There were deer walking thru the campground. But the campsites were too small for our RV and the Honda. Maybe we could’ve squeezed the RV in but there would be no place to park the car. Well, possibly that’s why the signs said no vehicles over 24 feet! Guess we won’t ever be staying at Bonita Springs.
We continued on the narrow two-lane, paved road. As we drove on, we approached amazing rocks – everywhere. This was the National Monument. It was really beautiful, but in a different way than when we drove thru the other side of the mountains. The rock formations were different. We wondered how these rocks were created, where did they come from? In the group of pictures below there is a sign that answers these questions.
We kept driving. The road was in excellent condition but was a bit narrow, even in the Honda. We could understand completely why large vehicles were not allowed! After leaving the Monument rocks, we continued climbing and winding through the mountains and we were going to stop at the parking lot at Echo Canyon. It was full. The overflow of vehicles were parked at every slight widening of the road – very much like other overcrowded tourist destinations. The next parking area had several available spaces and we stopped for a restroom break, lunch, and some pictures. The Mexican Jays hung around wanting a bite of our lunches.
We drove on to the last stop, Massai Point, and barely got one of the final parking spots. The trail there was packed with people. Rob got a few pictures at the Point, then we left the Monument. Nice!
Yesterday, we heard from our friend, Cathie. She and Petey, the wonderdog, were in the area. We took a rough dirt road to her campground. They weren’t “at home”, so we left them a note under a rock. Sorry we missed you, C & P!
We continued on our drive, stopping for gas in the Honda, then heading south and west meandering back to our campsite. We drove through some interesting places and stopped at a birding area which allows camping like our current site – Willcox Playa Wildlife Area. We saw no birds but did find a place for an overnight stop sometime if needed. The remaining few pictures follow. On several drives lately we’ve seen Roadrunners crossing the road – running across the road. We’ve yet to get a good picture. This is a goal. Not achieved yet.
We reached Whitewater Draw and our campsite close to 5 p.m. Long day, but it was fun. The high today was a wonderful, wind-less 65 degrees. Tomorrow we head south and west. We are almost out of propane, our tanks are full and in need of dumping, and soon we will be out of fresh water again. Time to stay at a private campground and get back on track.
For more detailed information about dry camping at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, click here.