Land of Legends

Sunny, cool, and crisp as we go exploring today. We meander down Business Rte 10 into Bowie. This is almost a ghost town. The buildings and homes are very beaten down and it looks like the residents are just trying to hang on. There is a huge farm with a sign "Pecans, Walnuts, and Wine". Too bad they weren't open and everything is harvested.

We saw a sign for Ft Bowie National Historic Site so off we went down this road with no name. The road to Ft Bowie passed through the Pecan and Walnut trees on both sides in perfect rows with the Dos Cabezas Mountain range rising up behind them. Soon the road to turns to gravel as we wind our way up and through Apache Pass. A brilliant red Cardinal flew across the road in front of us but we didn't see any other wildlife. We know they are there because we saw Coyote tracks along the side of the road. We pulled into the historic site and found ourselves in the "Land of Legends". Fort Bowie was a US Army Post in the 1800's. The walls are well preserved and we learn the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military. Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations for more than 30 years. Eventually the Apache resistance was finally crushed at Fort Bowie, resulting in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. This ended the Indian wars in the United States.

Moving on we stopped to enjoy the views over the Sulfur Springs Valley which had a mix of clouds, sun, and rain showers over Cochise Head Mountain (8113'). The road ended at Route 186 and turning North we set our sights on the town of Wilcox. Continuing through the valley we marvelled at the expanse of land here.

Wilcox is a hidden treasure of the "old west". A few businesses and restaurants. The historic "Old Town" section brings you back to the days of the singing cowboy like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. You can visit the Marty Robbins and Rex Allen Museums. Rex Allen was born in Wilcox in 1920. He starred in 19 movies between 1950 and 1954. He is considered the last of the Silver Screen Cowboys. We had lunch at Big Tex's BBQ located in an old railroad caboose. After lunch we drove back to camp.

We hung out at camp waxing the coach, doing mail, and relaxing. Ken talked with the "old timer" that owns the park. He moved out here from Vermont!

Dinner was an experiment..... Chicken Cordon Bleu. Yeah it came out really good.

Nice sunset over the mountains. The temperature really drops when the sun goes down. We are running the furnace at night still.

This area has great history and we had to pass on some things like the Chiricahua National Monument due to time, but depending on our schedule next winter we just might come back and revisit this area again.

A Mule-dozer...

Rolling out of Truth or Consequences it's sunny and 40ish. We are following the Rio Grande River down I25 S to Route 26 W towards Deming, New Mexico. The views along the river are gorgeous as it runs along the base of the Caballo Mountains. We are seeing traces of snow on the ground (what's that doing here???). The valley landscape is changing to farm land on our right. We are seeing large groves of trees, and we learn they are pecan trees. Unfortunately they are bare now. There are alot of the gray cranes feeding in the empty fields.

We turned onto Rte 26 W going through Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch is known for it's chilli's. Lots of places like Chilli Willi's and the Pepper Pot line the main street. Passing through the Las Uvas Valley we see huge farms. They are both dairy and chilli farms (quite a combination!). There were numerous birds sitting on the fences along the roadway. We think some of them were Yellow Warblers. There's lots of tumble weed, cactus, and yucca along the way. The Cookes Range rose up just off to our right. Their rounded tops tower over the valley floor. As we look left the small Sierra de las Uvas Range looms. These are very jagged peaks with snowy tops and are partially hidden in the haze. We stopped in Deming at the Sunrise Kitchen for a late breakfast. It was good and the Honey Oat Bran muffins were terrific.

It's still early so we move on toward Lordsburg. We are back on Interstate 10 W. Unfortunately we have to take the Interstates to get to Quartzite on the 19th. Crossing the Animas Valley there are railroad tracks running parrallel with the highway. We passed a train with 111 flat bed cars. Each car was carrying 2 and 3 freight boxes on each one.

The Arizona border is close now. We found the Mountain View Campground in our Passport America book and decided to give them a try. We pulled into the campground and no one was around. (They were closed until 4PM.). This will be an adventure - not many campers, mule tied to an old bulldozer, and the railroad tracks right beside us... beautiful mountain views though. So we selected a site that we liked. About 4ish we walked up to the office and the "old timer" at the desk greeted us. When we said we were members of Passport America he said "of course you are, that's the only way you would find us ". This is a place that has been made almost obsolete due to the interstate and larger RV resorts. It's quiet here and we watched the mountains turn pink with the sunset, then to sillouettes and finally disappear as it got dark.

We'll be here today and tomorrow. I think we will go exploring tomorrow.