Chiricahua Mountains and National Monument Part 1 of a fantastic day

On Tuesday we spent 10 hours out in the wilderness of the Chiricahua mountains. Ten years ago we visited the majestic pinnacles and unique rock formations at the Chiricahua National Monument for the first time. You can read up on that visit HERE. This year I had the urge to see the park again. Also, it is sort of on the way to the Onion Saddle. But that you will read about in my Part 2.

The park area, although very popular at any one time with visitors, is large enough to find yourself alone on rugged paths through forest with the most eye-catching vistas you’ve ever been to. So if you like to clamber up and over rocks, but prefer paths that lead you eventually back to a paved parking lot, this is the place.  

So here is the beginning of our trip. From our RV park we took State Route 82 past the old town of Fairbank and turned right into the State Route 80 south at the Border Patrol checkpoint toward Tombstone. Driving past that Trump store and the old Butterfield Stage Coach stop to get gas at the Circle K and to fill the spare gas can just in case we run out of gasoline somewhere in the middle of nowhere. 

We are in Arizona ;-)

Then we backtracked to the Middlemarch Road, the same road we had taken on the way to the Council Rock mountains. But this time we did not turn into the Forest Rd 687, instead we followed the Middlemarch Rd. through the Dragoon Mountain Range and over the Middlemarch Pass, all the way to the Town of Pearce. 

Lots of beautiful scenery

Driving up into the mountains

Lots of switchback trails back down, but Benno wonders who lives at Dead End?

Someone placed this signpost as their house number

And yes, we have been to Ushuaia but not to Timbuktu!

There we drove over the old wooden bridge  that crosses a deep wash, then passed the old Pearce jail and hit the US Highway 191 for a few miles. We were looking for the turnoff to the Arizona State Route 181, which took us to the Chiricahua National Monument. 

Because the views were like eye candy to me, I took a lot of photos. 

Enlarge to see the horses and riders

If you find yourselves in this area of Arizona, the Chiricahua National Monument is a worthwhile trip and you can drive on paved roads all the way up to viewpoints and onto nice parking areas. No hiking necessary ;-)

Once we left the national park our adventure really started. Stay tuned to Part 2 of this trip.