Weekender's maiden voyage - Chiricahua National Monument

[Cliffmeister2000]

Well, we finally got out to do some camping! Went about 200 miles Southeast of Phoenix to the pristine country of Chiricahua National Monument.



It took 4 hours to get there, but we managed to get there by 5:00, so the sun was still up. There are 22 campsites, and about half of these are designed to prevent use by RV or trailer. Specifically the parking areas are only about 14 ft deep, and just wide enough to accomodate one vehicle. The other half already had motorhomes, truck/campers, etc. in them. We made two laps around the campground, and finally found a corner site that had a rather steep parking angle. (site 12) We took it.



It was a challenge levelling the trailer, but I got her done. This put the galley nearly on the ground!


We had a great evening, but it was cold, and the park does not allow ground fires, so we went to bed at 8:00, read a while, and fell asleep. We were quite comfortable, even though the temperature dropped to 27º overnight. In the morning, one of the campsites vacated early, so we moved. Much better site! (site 10)

Gina fixed us a nice breakfast of sausage, hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs. The galley performed as expected! Note the boulder planted to prevent backing too far into the campsite!


We finally got out to to some hiking, so we headed up to Massai Point. Unfortunately, we had our dogs with us, and the Massai Point trail doesn't allow dogs. Still we got a great view of Cochise Head.



Chiricahua is the site of an ancient volcano (somebody who must have been there said it happened 27 million years ago). The site is marked by thousands of giant basalt pillars, some of which look like they could topple any minute!


We were able to hike Sugarloaf. The dogs loved it!


We even encountered a dreaded cave dog


We didn't encounter any local fauna (other than the occasional squirrel), but we did see lots of coyote scat (scat is tree-hugger for poop)


The sky was clear as I've seen it in years! It seems like you can see Argentina from the top of Sugarloaf!


All in all, the weekender performed great, we had a wonderful time, and are rarin' to go again! Next time, however, we leave the dogs behind. They hog the covers.

[starleen2]

WOW - the photos are breathtaking

[planovet]

Congrats on your first trip!

Nice pictures (except for the coyote scat)

[Miriam C.]

on your trip! Sure wish we could get out to that area!

[swissarmygirl]

Beautiful pics (well, most of them)!

Congrats!

[Ivar the Red]

That's awesome, looks like a cool trip.

[S. Heisley]

Congrats on a successful first trip! Glad you took the pooches. It's obvious they enjoyed it too!

[MOKI SEAKER]

Cave dog, hum, looked like Yoda in a fur coat... jim g

[Cliffmeister2000]

Thanks, all, for the (mostly) kind remarks! For those who would like to see more, higher resolution photos, here is a link to my Picasa album. http://picasaweb.google.com/cliffneff/ChiricahuaNatlMonumentCliff?authkey=CkZoRZN5tdY&feat=directlink

Enjoy!

[mikeschn]

Very nice first trip report. I liked the photos, well, all except for one...

Mike...

[Cliffmeister2000]

Very nice first trip report. I liked the photos, well, all except for one...

Mike...

Just to clear the air about the scat... The easiest way to tell what is living around your campsite is to look at what they leave behind. For instance, it is not a good idea to camp near fresh bear scat. Bear scat is most easily recognized by the shear volume!

You can also tell about what makes up the animal's diet. Note the seeds in the coyote scat. Bear scat often has orange hunter's hats or tennis shoes in it. (joke).

[planovet]

Very nice first trip report. I liked the photos, well, all except for one...

Mike...

Just to clear the air about the scat... The easiest way to tell what is living around your campsite is to look at what they leave behind. For instance, it is not a good idea to camp near fresh bear scat. Bear scat is most easily recognized by the shear volume!

You can also tell about what makes up the animal's diet. Note the seeds in the coyote scat. Bear scat often has orange hunter's hats or tennis shoes in it. (joke).

We are just giving you a hard time Cliff. But this fascination with scat has me worried..

[Cliffmeister2000]

We are just giving you a hard time Cliff. But this fascination with scat has me worried..



I know it's a joke. That's why I took the picture!

You have to admit, it looks a little different than the stuff you find on the sidewalk in the 'burbs.

[greekspeedoman]

Cliff,

What an awesome trip.

I am jealous of your weather. I still have 1 foot of snow.

Good tip on the dogs. I've been curious about our two beasts and where they'll stay.

Beautiful campsite.

Great work! Your photos make me want to go climbing.

[Cliffmeister2000]

Cliff,

What an awesome trip.

I am jealous of your weather. I still have 1 foot of snow.

Good tip on the dogs. I've been curious about our two beasts and where they'll stay.

Beautiful campsite.

Great work! Your photos make me want to go climbing.

Thanks, greekspeedoman! Do you, by any chance, have a first name we could use?
I've been to Spokane. We have friends in Liberty Lake. You have some awesome basalt pillars there, as I recall. I've always thought it amazing how they form in 7 sided crystals like they do. They certainly don't match the standard definition of a crystal, but what else would you call them?

As far as the dogs go, mine are both small, and don't take up much room. The problem is, I like to turn over a few times a night, and there is usually a dog or two in the way, which means coming to an alert state, moving a dog or two, shifting (which isn't as easy as one would think in the trailer), then waiting until the dogs settle in again. Not the end of the world, but a bit of a pain.