04/28/2005 to 04/29/2005
It's only taken 3 tries to get here but we finally made it.
Our intrepid traveling friends, Don & Arlene, joined us for this trip and it was well worth the drive.
The area is absolutely breathtaking.
We only did a few of the trails - Echo Canyon, Sara Demming & Heart of the Rocks, and Sugarloaf.
We also stopped at a ghost town on the way home
We decided to do Echo Canyon Trail as soon as we got to the park
The rocks all seem to be precariously sitting just waiting to topple
Yup. That's us.
There's a grotto along the trail and this is a shot from inside
There are a lot of these huge rocks just leaning against others
Kind of gives you a good scale of size
Arleen and I walked right past this guy. Don saw him, and I must say he wasn't happy about that. FYI - it's a rattlesnake.
Great vistas of rocks everywhere you looked
The obligatory shot of Sharon and her skinny legs
No, Arleen didn't fall in a hole. The trail wound around ans she was ahead of us around the bend
Arleen and I also missed this beautiful King snake. Thankfully Don & George did see him so we got pictures
I called these smooching rocks
We wanted to see Heart of the Rocks today.
We decided to start out on the Sara Demming Trail.
It's uphill all the way to the Heart of the Rocks Loop, but that meant it was downhill coming back.
Heart of the Rocks has lots of unique formations and it's a lovely hike
As you can see, more beautiful vistas
A flowering hedgehog cactus
This is Big Balancing Rock
Thor's Hammer
Pinnacle Balancing Rock
Don, Arleen & Sharon resting along the trail
Duck On A Rock
Kissing Rock
We decided to do Sugarloaf Trail before leaving.
It's a short hike up to the top of a mountain with a ranger's hut.
On the road up you get a great view of Cochise's Head.
I think this is a very regal profile. Doesn't take much imagination to see it either
It was a little cold and windy up there on the top
The ranger station is not manned yet, but come fire season I'm sure it will be
We're looking for the rock formations we saw yesterday on our hike
We decided to take a little side trip on our way home.
There's a ghost town just across the border in New Mexico called Steins.
It was a water station and rocks for the rail road tracks were quarried nearby.
When the diesel engines came the town was no longer needed and folks just packed up what they could and moved on.
The new owners have collected what was left behind and have displayed them in the various remaining structures.
The Mercantile Store is still in operation
There were no building codes as you can see
The old radio was from a later resident.
They found quite a lot of crutches. Working in the quarry or on the railroad was dangerous
Look at the "posts" holding up the porch.
Guess no one wanted to ride this out
The last resident lived here and actually used this stove. That was in the 1960s
I'm not sure if this guy was a romantic or wanted by the law. He was a resident of the Steins Cemetary