I wanted to give an update on our travels since leaving Silver City: Alan and I have discovered a new-to-us beautiful spot here in southern Arizona/New Mexico. It’s such a pleasure to find a place that both grabs your imagination and offers endless fun, relaxation and hiking, and the Chiricahuas have done that and more.
This area, Cave Creek Basin, is a cross between Zion National Park and the San Juan Mountains: 2000′ red rock cliffs beneath snow-capped peaks.
We’ve done several long hikes , and there are many more to discover, something that always gets me excited for future ventures.
We’re camped in the high P-J desert: an area of the National Forest that has sadly been heavily over-grazed. Our site has lots of old cow poop around, but nothing recent, and is very private. We like to find spots where the dogs can run free. Not that Clair and Zane wander, but they do like to check out the surroundings and keep an eye out for critters.
We drove 2 hours across 20 miles of the mountain range on a fantastic, but very rough mountain road to visit the Chiricahua National Monument. It was worth the shaking and bouncing to see the Wonderland of Rocks, although they have the usual rules about no dogs on trails, which cut our visit short. On our way back, we stopped at Rustler Park, a (still closed for winter) campground at 9000′, snowy and badly impacted by the 2011 Horseshoe II Fire.
Back at our camp, we checked out a couple of trails more friendly to Clair and Zane. This is a birder’s paradise, and birds are very present. Most of the people who visit in the springtime are serious about it, but it has not been crowded. We’ve seen a few Ring-Tail Cats, which are cool looking critters, although I imagine if you live here, they might be as troublesome as raccoons are in other areas.
We will be leaving here soon, and our next stop is back in the Silver City area, where we are hoping it has warmed up a bit. We’d like to wander into the Gila Wilderness, but it was still too cold and snowy when we left there a week ago. Fingers crossed.
We wish you a Happy Spring Equinox and the return of GREEN!
4Fords Journal 
Looks like you are both having a great time, would love to visit the Chiricahua wilderness! – Marc
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I was in the Chiricahuas last spring but was unable to hike there because of the heavy snow, drifts and mud. Would love to return. Looks like you are having a wonderful time!
Donna
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It was a place on our bucket list, and has surpassed our expectations. The hiking is amazing. We also had to change a lot of plans last year due to the snow/mud.
We’re having a lot of fun. It always takes a week to get into the slower pace, but once there, it’s perfect!
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