Before I was so rudely interupted? Oh, right.
Sunday.
We left early on Sunday, heading East for a little road trip to Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Monument, and (for a change of pace) Tombstone, the town too tough to die. First on the agenda – The Chiricahuas.

We had seen pictures, and had been told how amazing it was, but I confess we were unprepared for the wonder of it all. Knowing that the desert was just miles away, sights like these were all the more breathtaking –




We took the Echo Canyon Hike – about 3 1/2 miles right through the heart of the stone formations. It was a beautiful day – and we probably could have done the hike in shorter time, but I had to keep stopping to take pictures.

We thought ahead to pack a lunch, so once we finished our hike, we drove up to one of the highest overlooks to enjoy our PB&J’s- and were “WOW’d” again!

What an amazing Creator we worship!
More (and I mean MORE) pictures of the Chiricahua’s HERE!

From there we turned west to find the Coronado National Memorial which commemorates the Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Expedition of 1540-1542. There was a nice windy (no guard rail of course) road that lead to near the top of this mountain, and then a 1/2 mile walk up to the top. Here’s the view from the parking lot~
Looking into the US side of the mountain –

And looking into the Mexico side –

The equipment on the left side of the picture? That’s the Border Patrol keeping an eye on the “wall”. Apparently this is a pretty popular place to cross (in fact he warned us to be careful as we hiked to the top of the mountain. Had me pretty spooked, but Gary took it all in stride). But I digress….
The walk up the mountain, though short, was pretty strenuous. But the views were oh, so, worth it!

(The straight line in the middle of the picture is the US/Mexico Border)


We didn’t wait for the complete sunset, since after all we had that hike down the mountain before us and doing it in the dark was just not that appealing!
More Coronado Mountain pictures – HERE!

We spent the night at a nice clean (and cheap) Motel 6 in Sierra Vista and then checked out Tombstone – home of the famous (infamous?) Gunfight at OK Corral.

It was quite a departure from all of the natural beauty we had enjoyed the day before, but it was interesting to learn the history of this town, hear how not one movie has gotten it right yet, and see a re-enactment of the gunfight in almost the exact spot where it happened.

(please ignore the head in the corner!)
And of course, no trip to Tombstone would be complete without a trip to Boothill outside of town. I don’t really know how authentic it is – (the grave markers were made out of wood and pipe, so I’m thinking, not so much), but it also was interesting.

(and it certainly had a nice view!).
More pictures of Tombstone…will have to wait for another trip. 🙂

We have only seen – what, about 1/3 of Arizona? (if that!) – And every time we turn around we seem to find more variety in the terrain. From the Sonora desert and the majestic Saguaros, to the massive Chiricahuas and the mountain’s Ponderosa Pines, Arizona continues to surprise us. And as we were headed home, we rounded a bend to see another Arizona vista that made me say – “Stop the turck – I need to get a picture!” (poor Gary – he is such a good sport!)

Goodness, what will happen when we get to the Grand Canyon!!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my dear friend Bonnie. I sure am missing our birth-month celebrations!

Friday – Saguaro National Park
Named for the magestic Saguaro Cactus, this national park had a wonderful 8 mile loop drive that took us through the beautiful desert.
I must confess there is just something about those Saguaro cactus that make them irrestible to my camera.

Around every corner, another beautiful vista.

Farther down the road – yep, more to see….

See the youngun’ (no arms, probably under 75 years old!) and then an oldster close by. I just loved those mixed neighborhoods.

Even in their prickly best, they still provide a spot for a nest –

LOTS more pictures of our drive that day HERE! Enjoy!
On our way home (before the massive laundramat event) we stopped at
San Xavier Del Bac Mission – the “White Dove of the Desert”.
Even with the scaffolding, it’s quite a beautiful building –

More Mission pictures – HERE!

Good News – no laundry pictures! 🙂

Saturday – Drive to Nogales, AZ to help serve Thanksgiving Dinner to about 500 people. It turned out that instead of helping with serving the dinner we helped put together bags of vegetables that each diner got to take home.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning!
And then on the way back to Sahuarita, we stopped at another National Park –
Tumacaori National History Park – The ruins of a mission had a big part in the development of that area.

Quite a change from the active San Xavior Mission up in Tucson!

Tumacorsci…………………………………………………….San Xavior

It’s interesting to learn how the culture of this area (and so much of the southwest) has been impacted by the early missionary work of the Catholic Church.

OK – enough for today! I’ll try to get Sunday’s and Monday’s pictures and adventures (including a “run-in” with the border patrol!) put together tomorrow. But I also have to bake a pie and get ready to move again. So here’s a little sneak peak…..

PS – a couple more Crossroads Mission (veggies!) pictures here, and some additional Tumacacori shots here.

Thanks for stoppin’ by!