We drove an hour and a half to Chiricahua National Monument only to find out the road was closed. We knew there was road construction, but weren’t aware that said “improvements” meant the scenic road inside the park was 100% closed, essentially blocking access to all the trails. We could get to the trails. By hiking in 3 miles. That would make all the hikes we wanted to take about 5 or 6 miles. Instead, we hiked the more moderate 4 mile roundtrip amble past the Stafford Homestead and Faraway Ranch and back to our van.
It ended up being a lovely walk with a side spur to the Faraway Ranch property, the property of the family that started the park back in a day. We didn’t go on the inside the house tours (it was closed), opting to wander around the outside instead.
We definitely need to get back so we can see the interesting rocks formations up close. It was clear that the nickname of the park, “Wonderland of Rocks”, is apt. Apparently you can even catch a sighting of coatimundis.
Speaking of wildlife, we did see a bunch of white-tailed deer:
And here’s more scenery:
And since we have a selfie stick now we had a little fun with that:
On the way home we drove through a town called Willcox, home to an Olympic runner who competed in the 1964 Olympics, Mike Allen. We wrapped up the trip with a stop at this adorable coffee/antique shop:
The Arnold Experience 