Arizona Finally.........

Once we got the car back, we were free to roam again and we headed west. Straight out I-10 from New Mexico with the first stop being Wilcox, AZ. A neat little town in the Dos Cabezas Mountains. The town is surrounded by some great places to visit.

Our first visit was Ft. Bowie.  This fort was crucial in U.S.Army operations against the Chiricahua Apaches.  The war only ended with the surrender of Geronimo in 1886.  As a source of fresh water (from the spring) , the area drew an endless parade of emigrants, prospectors, and soldiers to the Apache homeland.  Two major battles occurred in this area, the Bascom affair in 1861 and the battle of Apache Pass in 1862.  The fort was built to protect the spring and the pass. The fort became unimportant after the end of the Indian wars and closed in 1894.  Now there is an excellent visitor center/museum and the ruins of many of the buildings.  Here is my favorite photo from the actual era.

Today, it sure looks different.

 The cemetery encapsulates the history of the fort. Graves from soldiers who died of disease or warfare including Medal of Honor winners. And, the son of Geronimo. Pretty amazing.

 

Next of to Chiricahua National Monument.  Known  as the "Wonderland of Rocks", rock pinnacles are the result of the erosion of compacted volcanic ash from the eruption of an ancient volcano just south of the park.  The rhyolite rock pinnacles are what the monument was created to protect. Rising sometimes hundreds of feet into the air, many of these pinnacles are balancing on a small base, seemingly ready to topple over at any time.

Included in the monument is Faraway Ranch which was the home of Swedish Immigrants, Neil and Emma Erickson. The couple struggled with farming so Neil worked in Bisbee as a carpenter, leaving Emma alone two to three months at a time. In 1903 Neil became the first ranger for the Chiricahua Forest Reserve. With Neil staying home for the first time in their marriage, the house grew again. Neil and Emma had three children, Lillian, Ben and Hildegarde.

By 1915 Neil had constructed a two and half-story building with adobe and board-and-batten walls. Two years after Neil finished the house the Forest Service transferred him to Flagstaff. 

The house experienced another phase of a building when Neil and Emma's daughter Lillian married Ed Riggs in 1923. Ed was able to add the comforts needed for a modern and successful guest ranch operation, including bathrooms, oil heat, and electricity. He enclosed the north porch to make a large dining room. 

Faraway Ranch guests could explore the grounds, swim in the pool, or relax with a book. There was birdwatching, hiking, and they could take their picnic lunch up to the Wonderland of Rocks by horseback. After dinner guests might retire to the living room for music and Lillian's tales of the wild, wild west. 

The ranch is no longer used except for guided ranger tours. Too bad, it must of been really something.

Don't ask, we couldn't figure it out either.

I got an inspection while in Sierra Vista and had the pleasure of inspecting Callaghan Vineyards. Arizona has a wine trail and this is one of the vineyards.

 Boutique wines in the sprawling hills of Arizona.