Places Visited:
Arizona: Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee, Ramsey Canyon Road, Sierra Vista, and Patagonia.

Wednesday, April 13 Gas City Travel Center (dry-camping/boondocking) Benson, Arizona--- $Free Paved truck stop parking lot N31° 57.622' W110° 20.609'.

We were in no hurry this morning since the water pump and radiator was out of the MH. We certainly weren't going anywhere until they were reinstalled. They were not able to deliver the radiator to the radiator shop until this morning and they were busy. It will not be ready today-----possibly tomorrow. With that information we decided to take the opportunity to visit Tombstone, Bisbee, Ramsey Canyon Road, and Sierra Vista today. The road from Tombstone through Bisbee to Sierra Vista (SR-80 & SR-92) is considered by many "scenic drive" publications to be one of the better scenic drives in the country. Now that we have driven it we would say that it is very interesting. There is a lot for the eye to see and concentrate on.

There is a LOT of activity along the route mostly from the Border Patrol, Arizona Highway Patrol, Local Sheriffs and the "Minutemen". If you have been watching national news the past few weeks you know that concerned citizens from around the country fed up with the Bush Administration not sealing our borders have gathered in Tombstone and other cities in this area to bring national media attention to the illegal immigrant problem. Their efforts are working and they are proud. We stopped and talked to some of them and they smiled when I asked if they had forced the administration to apply more resources to border patrol. SR-92 parallels the Mexican border with Arizona between Bisbee and a point south of Sierra Vista. These minutemen have set up camps along the highway, especially in high places. They sit under umbrellas to protect themselves from the hot sun; it was in the 80's today. They have good binoculars and scopes and are searching the terrain between SR-92 and the Mexican border for illegal aliens. None of them had guns but they all had cell-phones and said when they spotted an illegal a cell phone call brought the border patrol immediately.

A bit south of Sierra Vista on SR-92 we turned west on Ramsey Canyon Road that led to the Nature Conservancy property surrounding much of Ramsey Canyon. Ramsey Canyon has been billed by some as the hummingbird capitol of the US. Although, the Nature Conservancy representatives say that many places in the US have good populations of hummingbirds. In addition to hummingbirds Ramsey Canyon consists of a small creek running from high in the mountains. Along the creek are giant Arizona sycamore and cottonwood, trees native Emory oaks and alligator juniper, some apple trees and a variety of other native trees. Migratory birds of many species drop into this canyon in addition to the hummingbirds that summer there. There is a wonderful shaded walk back into the canyon that you can take alone or with a docent. Some hike past the parks boundary way up in the canyon.

Giant Arizona sycamores of Ramsey Canyon.

Alligator Juniper in Ramsey Canyon.

Joyce and I added two birds to the list of birds that we have never seen before a black throated hummingbird and a gray breasted jay. They were easily identified even though we had never seen either before. With time we could probably add 5 to 10 new birds to our list but we had other things to see and do.

On our way out of Ramsey Canyon we spotted a border patrol blimp high in the sky. From their vantage point they can survey large areas plus utilize a variety of technological gadgets to spot the illegal aliens crossing the border.

SR-92 between Sierra Vista and Bisbee skirts the mountains on the western side then heads east across the valley dropping down to the San Pedro River then back up to Bisbee. The San Pedro River Valley is flanked by two north-south trending mountain ranges about 20-miles apart with the San Pedro River running down the middle. From either mountain range the geography is a continuous downward trend for 10-miles across this Arizona desert of low brush.

This pic is looking east from the western side, Mexico is the the right. Note how the geography is sloping down toward the San Pedro River located between us and the mountain range you see in the distance. The San Pedro River is that tiny ribbon of green at the very bottom. As the San Pedro River flows north out of Mexico it sinks into the sands of this valley.

I don't think I have ever heard of the San Pedro River. It flows north out of Mexico into Arizona where it disappears into the sand. In the process it creates a riparian ribbon as it wends its way north. This riparian area is rife with birds of all descriptions, especially during the spring and fall when migrants mix with the local birds the trees.

In 1540, the Spanish Explorer Coronado followed the San Pedro River into Arizona, seeking the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. Don't just breeze over that date! Think about when 1540 was. The first Thanksgiving at Plymouth wasn't until 1621. Does that put Coronado's exploration into perspective? Anyway, there is a Coronado National Monument or something near the border. I think Coronado holds the distinction of being the first European to explore what is now America when he pushed up the San Pedro River valley looking for the lost Seven Cities of Gold. This place was crawling with Border Patrol and we didn't want any hassles with Federal rent a cops so we opted out of visiting that.

As we enter Bisbee from the west we can see an enormous area of "tailings" the discarded rocks and debris from mining operations. The tailings from this copper mine is that large brown area you see.

Bisbee is a small yet historic mining town. One of the biggest open pit copper mines in the world is located in Bisbee. It is a tremendous thing to see.

We got there too late to take the mine tour offered by the Queen mine but it would be an interesting tour to take. Just looking down into the open pit in the middle of town is impressive. Bisbee is much like the old mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota and Jerome, Arizona. There was a lot of money in these towns at one time and the buildings show it. Bisbee hasn't become commercial and tacky like other old mining towns, it still has historic charm.

From Bisbee we followed SR-80 to Tombstone. Tombstone was not what we expected. Most old silver mining towns were located in rugged volcanic mountains…… like Silverton, Colorado or Deadwood, South Dakota or Silver City, New Mexico. Tombstone is conspicuously not in the lofty peaks of some mountain range.

Tombstone is a tourist destination par-excellence. From the looks of it everything in town was related to tourism. We stopped by the OK Corral where Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and others had the shoot out at OK Corral. We even stopped by Boot Hill. The city has done a good job preserving Boot Hill. The town itself does a good job of presenting and preserving history.

Sunset at at Border Patrol Checkpoint not far out of Tombstone. It just doesn't get any better than this.

We had a good day even if we aren't getting closer to California. Tombstone, Bisbee and Ramsey Canyon were things on our list of things to see and do someday. We just did not have plans to do them on this trip.

Thursday, April 14 Gas City Travel Center (dry-camping/boondocking) Benson, Arizona--- $Free Paved truck stop parking lot N31° 57.622' W110° 20.609'.

This is our mechanic's workshop in Benson. Ask me if I have a good feeling!

We checked with the mechanic this morning and found that the radiator shop would not have my radiator until late this afternoon probably 5:00 or around that time. They would pick up the radiator in the morning and start putting us back together. Ya gotta love these small towns and small town shops that run on their own time. To say that we are at their mercy would be an understatement.

With this information we switched to plan "B" which was taking a sightseeing trip to Patagonia about 50-miles from here. In the mean time our phone rang and virtual friend Wayne McKenzie called to find out where we were. Wayne and I have been communicating for a few weeks since we both knew we were going to be in the same general area. In our communications we determined that our paths would cross somewhere between Balmorhea, Texas and Tucson, Arizona around April 12 to 15. Wayne and his wife Rita's plans had them heading east across southern Arizona into Texas while our plans had us heading west across the same path.

When Wayne called this morning we told him we were in the Gas City Travel Center parking lot at exit 302. He was leaving the Phoenix area so we scheduled to meet and have lunch. A bit before noon Wayne and Rita pulled into the parking lot next to us and it was like meeting old friends. Before long we were headed to exit 303 and Reb's Restaurant where we had a delightful lunch with great conversation.

Wayne & Rita happen to be birders or at least they enjoy looking for the different varieties along the way. Wayne shared with us some special places near here. One of them just happened to be very near a nature preserve we were going to visit in Patagonia. It was in someone's back yard of all places. Later this afternoon Joyce and I stopped and spent several hours in this amazing back yard.

We have met so many of our virtual friends on this trip and it has been great. I know that when Joyce and I visit Vancouver Island, British Columbia we will have friends and guides to make our stay enjoyable.

After lunch we parted ways with our new friends and headed off on our sightseeing jaunt. The drive on Arizona 82 from Huachuca City to Nogales through the small communities of Sonoita and Patagonia is supposed to be a scenic drive according to some publications that print books on Scenic Drives. We did not find it to be anything special. Not bad but nothing special. There was no wildlife although there were signs every few miles cautioning about the wildlife. There wasn't any road kill either and that is generally a good indicator of how thick wildlife in the area is.

Someone's front yard in Patagonia.

From downtown Patagonia signs led us to the preserve and the house Wayne had told us about. The people live adjacent to the preserve and have 9-humming bird feeders in their back yard in addition to feeding stations with oranges slices and several more feeders with different kinds of seeds. A water source was also available as was a large brush pile. It is totally amazing the huge variety of birds in this back yard.

Joyce and I were not at all sure about walking around in someone's back yard with a pair of binoculars. Our skepticism was unfounded. The place was easy to find by the cars parked on the street. We spoke with a birding couple who were returning to their automobile and they assured us that crowds in the back yard were normal. Normal is right. The nice people have seats to rest in under a large vinyl canopy that provided shade. The observation area was dynamic with from 10 to 20 people there most of the time with lots of turnover.

As is normal with birders they share information readily with the more experienced birders helping others identify the birds. There was such a variety of birds that different species were often identified by individuals from different areas of North America. Scotts Orioles, acorn woodpeckers and purple finches dined at the fruit stations. Goldfinches and purple finches dined on the sock of thistle seed. The seed feeders were frequented by cardinals, finches, phyrrhuloxia, lazudi bunting, white wing dove, morning dove, gambrels quail and white capped sparrows. White capped sparrows, curved bill thrasher and gambrels quail darted in and out of the brush pile. A covey of Gambrels quail scratched around under some huge cottonwood trees in the area. The male Gambrels are so beautiful but so are the hummingbirds. A vermillion flycatcher entertained from nearby trees. A wide variety of hummingbirds flitted from feeder to feeder. Thankfully, individuals were naming the hummingbirds at each feeder. Females are much harder to identify than the males. A Gila woodpecker stopped by one of the humming bird feeders and drank his fill. Everyone in attendance was surprised but we all saw it. The male broad-billed humming bird was the most colorful hummer at the feeders today eclipsing the black chinned, Costa's, and violet crowned hummers at least in my opinion.

Before leaving Patagonia we took a drive down Harshaw Creek Road toward the community of Harshaw south of Patagonia. The drive took us along a beautiful canyon with awesome road cuts. The geology through the canyon is much like the volcanic mixture we saw in the roadcut near McDonald Observatory out of Ft Davis, Texas. We stopped at the end of the paved road and headed back. Harshaw Creek Road had a number of very nice boondocking areas and RV's were camping in many. In one nice area there were 4 or 5 motorhomes tucked away under some huge sycamore trees next to a steep canyon wall. All we could think of is how nice it must be to be sharing that experience with good friends.

In stark contrast to our scenic drive yesterday we only saw two Border Patrol vehicles and no Highway Patrol & Sheriffs on our ride today. Although probably 80-miles of our drive was parallel to the Mexican border only west of where we were yesterday. The major difference that we could see was the absence of the "Minutemen or Militia". We saw one of those Border Patrol vehicles on the road along Harshaw Creek.

Until next week just remember how good life is.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix