Arizona & New Mexico

Although Kent and I lived in Flagstaff for 30 years we had never been to Cochise County in southeastern Arizona. In February we covered a 2000 mile loop through Arizona and parts of New Mexico. It was a great time of visiting with friends, as well as exploring some new places. Kartchner Caverns and Chiricahua National Monument each provided us with some fun filled days. We also took in some mine tours in Bisbee and Tombstone. More adventures awaited us in the Gila National Forest near Silver City, New Mexico. We enjoyed the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and hiking into Lightfeather Hot Springs and a side trip to Mogollon Ghost Town. We circled back through the White Mountains on our way to Flagstaff; reminiscing of our time spent there over the years. After being delayed by a snowstorm near Jacob Lake, it felt good to be home...especially when we discovered we had a nail in our tire! Yikes!

A welcoming sight......we're almost to Flagstaff

We had a good visit with friends, Mike & Peggy

At Chick-fil-a we ran into Carolyn & Arlene Potter

Pinto Creek Bridge spans Devil's Canyon along HWY 60

Randy and one of his toys......wow!

Border Patrol Security Checkpoints are a common sight in Southern Arizona

This tethered surveillance blimp could be seen from miles away

We toured the Rotunda/Throne and Big Rooms at Kartchner Caverns; cameras are not allowed in the caverns

This map shows the area we were visiting

It's hard to believe that the caverns are located in these hills along the base of the Whetstone Mountains

We hiked a 3.5 mile loop that surrounds the caverns

Hiking along

Looking towards the Chiricahua Mountains

We were fortunate to see a hummingbird

Remnants of Fairbank, an old Railroad Town

Tombstone Courthouse

We walked the streets of Tombstone

If only this safe could talk

We toured the Good Enough Silver Mine in Tombstone

Veins of silver

Colorful ores

The famous Boothill Cemetery

Bisbee, a quaint town nestled amongst the Mule Mountains

The Lavender Pit, a former open pit copper mine

Into the Copper Queen Mine we go.......

Other than our flash lights, there were no lights in the mine

Ridin' the rails underground.....we almost look official.....huh?

A potty mining car....two at a time!

Lowell, a suburb of Bisbee

I remember shopping at Sprouse-Reitz years ago

Nice mural

Lowell, cute as could be

Bonita Canyon Drive at Chiricahua National Monument

Our first coat-mundi sighting

They were not happy with each other, you should have heard the ruckus

The Chiricahua's are known as a 'Sky Island"

Starting out on the Echo Canyon Loop

This was a fun trail to hike

Different shapes and colorful formations

Colorful pinnacles in every direction

It was an easy trail

Mushroom Rock

Tall columns reaching for the sky

We completed an 8 mile scenic loop

Faraway Ranch

We are in New Mexico now

We hiked an easy 1 mile loop in Cliff Dweller Canyon

The homes were built in 5 natural caves

Small doors for small people

Awesome craftsmanship

This is the only way to reach Lightfeather Hot Springs

Yes, I was crazy enough to follow him

The Hot Springs bubble out of the ground at 150 degrees......add the river water for the perfect temperature

A view of the pool from up above

Buildings on Main Street

Hearst Church built in 1898

Adobe church wall

An old vacant house

We are heading towards Mogollon Ghost Town

The road we traveled

The ghost town is nestled in the valley

We talked to a couple of woodworkers who are helping restore the town from recent floods

Ceiling in the woodworking shop

Weekends during the summer a few businesses are open, this being one of them

See how much dirt the creek pushed up against the buildings

Restoration work being done after the recent flood

It was a narrow winding road

Morenci, AZ Mine is the largest Copper producer in North America

From Pinal Point we could see Mt. Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains to the south

Mule deer

Rose Peak Lookout Tower

Looking east toward Mogollon, New Mexico

We spotted these antelope near Eagar

Then we saw these big horn sheep walking along the highway

A semi-truck was stuck and blocking the entire highway at Jacob Lake

Yea...for snowplows!

On the road again.....heading home!

Nevada Adventure

It seems the older we get, the more adventurous & spontaneous we've become; that's not a bad thing, we're just creating memories. Last week we decided to make one last trip to Nevada for the year and hike North Schell Peak. It is the highest point in the Schell Creek Mountains at 11,884 ft. The Schell Creek Range extends 142 miles North to South; while driving along HWY 50 at Connors Pass we traversed the mountains. The hike was difficult, we gained 2,600 ft. mostly without a trail, through talus and tundra. We took several breaks and inched our way to the top. Once we reached the ridge-line we weren't sure if we were looking at North Schell Peak or not....thankfully we were.

We were treated to an amazing sunset on the drive to Ely

I think the West has the best sunsets

The top of North Schell Peak was our intent

Starting out before the sun comes over the mountains

Timber Creek flows along part of the trail

The sun is slowly inching its' way into the valley

We are starting to get warmed up now

The trail was nice while it lasted . . . 
Uinta Peak (11,545) lies directly ahead of the path

Then there was no trail . . . 

It was tough hiking, we took several breaks

We're just about to the ridge-line, it has not been easy

So we think this must be North Schell Peak, we sure hope it is

Kent leads the way

It was unbelievably windy the last mile of the hike

Great views make these hard hikes rewarding

We can almost taste victory

We made it to the top . . . 11,884 ft.  Notice the spelling North "Shell," today it is Schell.

Kent checking his GPS, we have hiked 3 miles

It was so windy, but we had to get a picture

Looking towards Mt. Moriah a hike we did in June 2014

Following the ridge-line south you can see Taft Peak & South Schell Peak in the distance

It may not look that far to our car, believe me it is

It's fun to read the names & comments of those who have reached the top

We added our names to the log

North Schell in the background

Heading back down the trail

Fall has already peaked, but we did see some color

Almost back to the car . . .

Aerial view of the route we took

There must be a lot of deer around here, we did see a few on the hike

Sacramento Pass Recreation Area

Jeff Davis Peak & Wheeler Peak, which we hiked in Sept. 2012

Strawberry Creek

We drove to the Blue Canyon trail-head along Strawberry Creek

This tree looks like it's on fire, it's the sun shinning in just the right spot . . . cool

View of Mt. Washington from Hidden Canyon

The car was a bit dusty, Kent decided to wash the tires in Snake Creek

A herd of antelope north of Cedar City on the drive home