Willcox, and Chiricuhau National Monument AZ Nov 17 - 20

Although we were packed up and ready to leave Alamogordo at 8 am. When hooking up the car, we couldn't get the lights???? What? It worked fine 5 days earlier. Ray checked all connections and the fuse in the MH, nada. I looked up an RV Truck Repair place and it's 2 miles down the road so off we headed. Before we went into their yard, I had Ray stop and jumped out to see if the lights were working now and of course they were. We have no idea why this occured but counted our blessings and resumed our 4 hour drive to Willcox AZ. Maybe white sand in the car connection???

Here are a couple of pictures of the Organ Mountains and the White Sands Missile Range.

Sugarloaf Peak

It's quite cool in Alamogordo at 45F when we left. When we arrived at Fort Willcox RV Park, it's 65F. What a difference. I chose this park as its 40 minutes from Chiricahua National Monument and it's Passport America, so $21 per night ... bonus.

Once set up, off to get a late lunch at Big Tex BBQ. We shared a mixed plate and fries. The brisket and ribs were grea,t but the pulled pork mediocre after having the delicious one in Terlingua. Big Tex also has a train car attached to their building.

We relaxed the rest of the day.

Friday we decided to see a few things in town after I made Ray his belated birthday breakfast of Eggs Benedict.

Ray did our usual and went to Trip Advisor's "15 top things to see" and picked out a few for Willcox. One of them is the Pecan Farm, which turned out to be closed. We did get a couple pictures of some Longhorns though, since we did not see them in Palo Dura SP.

The next choosing is the Buffalo Sisters Trading Post looked like a junk store and also closed. He managed to get a few pictures of the Southern Pacific Train Station which was in the process of being painted and is also closed.

Our last choice for the day is Apple Annie's Orchard, yeah it was open. Ray managed to buy an apple pie right out of the oven. The ladies in the store were hopping with all the people waiting for a pie.

Since we have the pie, we needed to go to the Safeway for ice cream lol Ray found it very amusing that the liquor is right in front of the pharmacy and there is no pharmaceutical isle. lol

We ate the pie for lunch lol The rest of the afternoon we spent outside in shorts and tees. What a change in temperature.

Saturday morning at 7:30 am we headed off to Chiricahua National Monument, a 40 minute drive from camp. Definitely cooler out this morning, so we bundled up. When we got there it was only 35F with a strong wind and stayed that way for the next 2 hours. I drove us up the 8 mile road to Massai Point, the highest part of the park. 

In 1932, the US Forest Service began constructing what they called “Bonita Canyon Highway,” a road that travelled up Bonita Canyon and ended on Massai Plateau (6870 feet/2094 meters). When Chiricahua National Monument shifted from USFS control to the National Park Service, the 1934 Dedication Ceremony took place at Massai Point. Over 6000 people in 1000 parked cars filled the area to its seams. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees, who had been working in the monument, leveled the area and cleared it of vegetation. The enrollees also cooked a massive feast, which included 1,000 pounds of beans, several tons of beef, 1500 pounds of bread, and 150 pounds of coffee with 200 pounds of sugar.

First trail we did is the part of the Massai Point trail down to the lookout. Speaker's Rock was built for the 1934 Dedication.

Looking down towards the Sulphur Springs Valley

Next we took a short walk up to the observation lookout and are able to get a good view of Cochise Head.

Cochise Head

Cochise was a famous Apache Indian chief who lived in Arizona in the 1800s. Much has been written on his life and exploits, and so none of that will fall within the scope of this piece. Suffice it to say that one of our state’s 15 counties is named after him. His final resting place was known to only a few, and they took it to the grave themselves without ever having revealed it. All that is known about it today is that it is probably hidden deep within an enclave known as Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains in southeastern Arizona.

Forty miles to the east, in the northern end of the Chiricahua Mountains, sits a striking peak known as Cochise Head. It is so named because, especially from the south, its profile looks like the head of the man himself. See how he’s lying on his back, and we’re looking at the left side of his head? – his forehead is just right of center, his nose is almost dead center.

Next up was the Sugarloaf Mountain trailhead views, just past the Echo Trailhead Parking lot. The trail here takes you up to the lookout on top of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The path is short (0.9 miles), not too steep (goes up 470 feet) and has great views, relatively few people make the hike compared with the trails starting at Echo Canyon, which descend amongst the pinnacles. The summit is also the site of a single story fire lookout, which, like the trail and many other features in the monument, was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

Of course we didn't take the trail, but here's some pictures from the parking lot.

Back in the car to the Echo Trailhead parking lot. This trail takes you through Echo Canyon Grottos. Fabulous rock structures. The trail is supposed to be a mile long total there and back with the other short trails we took but my pedometer showed 5.7 km when we were done for the day. A lot of walking for us :) This trail took an hour and 40 minutes, although at least half an hour forpicture stops. lol

Looks like stacked pancakes lol

The rock formation above Ray's head reminds me of Homer Simpson. lol

Getting a little warmer, had to peel off a couple layers. lol

No sign but we believe this to be the grotto

Looks like a Disney snail, a float from the Disney Light Parade to me.

Glad we finished this hike before noon as the wind really started to pick up. Being only 40 F outside we felt it, but kept us cool for the hike up.

One of the last stops down the mountain is the Organ Pipe Formations.

While waiting for Ray to get the above picture I noticed the berries on the Juniper trees. Huge, I have never seen such big berries on those trees before. They were the size of a dime.

Onto the Historic Faraway Ranch. We ate lunch at the picnic area first before parking in the horse trailer lot which is much closer to walk. The house has been closed for a few years being refurbished. The work looks to be done but I think due to Covid they never bothered reopenning it so you can see inside.

It's called "Faraway Ranch" because Lillian Erickson-Riggs said that the Ranch was "God awful away from everything"!

Born on February 9, 1888, to Swedish homesteaders, Neil and Emma Erickson, at the Fort Bowie Hospital (Arizona Territory), Lillian embraced life to the fullest. She grew up in Bonita Canyon, and developed what would become Faraway Ranch, first with her sister Hildegard, and then with her husband, Ed Riggs. 

When Neil and Emma moved to Walnut Canyon, they left the ranch in the hands of their children, except Lillian was still working as a schoolteacher in Bowie, and in 1918 Ben enlisted in the Army because of World War I, which just left Hildegard, the youngest, in charge of the ranch (and boarding business). Lillian decided to give up her teaching career and move home, to help Hildegard out with running the ranch and boarding business.She always had hearing and eyesight issues. In 1918, the two sisters expanded the boarding business by buying the Stafford cabin and orchard from their childhood friend, Clara Stafford. Lillian and Hildegard also named the family ranch, “Faraway Ranch,” and hired people to help as needed: cleaning rooms, cooking, and working with the livestock.

After a few years of running the cattle and guest ranch together, Hildegard married Jess Hutchison in 1920, and moved to California, leaving the business in the hands of her older sister, Lillian. Lillian managed the ranch for a while, enlisting hired help, as well as her childhood friend, Ed Riggs. When Lillian took a break from the guest ranch business to pursue a writing career in 1922, Ed managed Faraway for her. 

AWWW a love story.

Writing in Los Angeles did not turn out the way Lillian wanted, so she returned to ranching and to Ed. He wrote her many notes while she was away, saying “If I ever get you in my arms again I shall certainly never never let you go until you are my wife and methinks not then. Will you marry me dearest girl just as soon as possible? So we can begin to make our dear home and happiness in it?” On February 26, 1923, Lillian married Ed and adopted his two children, Eula Lee and Murray, from his first marriage. The whole family worked to build trails, take care of the livestock, and entertain guests.

All their hard work paid off on April 18, 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge established Chiricahua National Monument and the Riggses started advertising Faraway Ranch as the best place to stay while visiting “The Wonderland of Rocks.” The 1920s were fairly prosperous, between the cattle ranch and guest ranch operations. Unfortunately, the Great Depression followed the “Roaring Twenties” and impacted the Riggses and Faraway Ranch.

Between government aid, like the “Government Drought Relief Program,” and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, Lillian and Ed managed to keep Faraway Ranch afloat during the Great Depression. Years of drought, in addition to the economic disaster, made cattle ranching very stressful. Ed was able to find a job with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and provided a steady income. In 1937, Lillian’s father, Neil Erickson, passed away. After his death, Emma (Lillian’s mother), split her time between Faraway Ranch and California, with her other daughter, Hildegard.

In 1960, long time friend Andy Anderson returned to Faraway Ranch. He had worked for Lillian and Ed in the 1940’s, so was familiar with Lillian and the operations. Lillian and Andy became very close over the years they spent together.

During the 1960s, Lillian and Andy ran the ranch together, and a rotating roster of hired help filled in with housework and cooking. The guest ranch business was slowing down, though, and Lillian considered who would run Faraway Ranch after her. She turned 80 in 1968, and was blind and mostly deaf. None of her family wanted to run the guest ranch.The National Park Service (NPS), were trying to buy up the private inholdings in the monument. In 1968 Lillian sold most of the Stafford land and cabin to the park service; she sold the rest of the homestead in 1974.

Lillian officially closed Faraway Ranch in 1970. She continued to live there a few more years, until she had a series of debilitating heart attacks, and had to move into a nursing home in Willcox. Andy stayed on as ranch foreman, and Lillian’s brother Ben was around to assist, as well. Lillian passed away on April 26, 1977. On Christmas Eve of the same year, Andy passed away at Faraway Ranch.

The extended family began deciding what to do with Faraway Ranch, but no major decisions were made until after Ben and Hildegard also died, both in 1978. Ethel, Ben’s widow, decided to sell Faraway Ranch to the NPS in 1979, after Congress passed a law authorizing the expansion of Chiricahua National Monument. After almost a decade of cataloging everything in the ranch house and outbuildings (including a piece of Neil and Emma’s wedding cake from 1887), and getting buildings up to code, the park service offered its first ranger-led tours of Faraway Ranch in 1988. Ever since, rangers have continued to share the story of Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson, their children, and the legacy they left thousands of visitors to the ranch and to Chiricahua National Monument.

Built like a brick shit house

I saw this picture on the park's website about storms they get. This is taken at the valley bottom of Chiricahua

Time to go home. A beautiful but cold day.

Sunday morning in Facebook brought up a memory from 8 years ago .... we were at Chiricahua lol It definitely was a lot warmer that time!

He's in shorts!

8 years ago Organ Pipe Formations.

We sure notice the tree growth in eight years. The section to the right of the larger tree is now blocked from view.

The afternoon was spent doing our laundry, a little cooking and Ray settled in to watch the Grey Cup, Canadian Football.

Tomorrow it is off to Catalina State Park for a week where the temps are much warmer.