Mileage: 69,440

Wilcox/Cochise KOA Wilcox, Arizona

I followed Tim this morning until the road was a little smoother and then we hitched the Jeep to the RV and traveled on. It was a lovely morning. Very chilly…but lovely. The sky was streaked with feathery clouds which made the whole desert look softer.

We drove from the Dragoon Mountains across the Sulfur Springs Valley to the Chiricahua Mountains.

Lots of wineries…we actually bought a bottle of Sirah from Pearce!

Chiricahua National Monument is a Sky Island. The Chiricahua Apache Indians lived here from the early 1400’s . When the Spanish arrived in the 1500’s, the Apaches rejected attempts of the newcomers to colonize the native people. The Apaches were nomads, prolific hunters, and fierce warriors. In 1886, the Apaches were badly outnumbered and finally surrendered. The tribe was moved onto reservation land in Oklahoma and New Mexico. The Apaches called this area “the land of standing up rocks.”

Columns, pillars, and balanced rocks!

Mexican Jay.

The Chiricahua Mountains are in the foreground. The Sulfur Springs Valley we crossed this morning from the Dragoon Mountains in the distance.

Cochise Head…can you see him laying on his back looking at the sky? His prominent forehead and long hooked nose…

After completing the 6 mile scenic drive, we decided to take the Pinery Canyon Road, a primitive, unimproved road, and find our lunch spot.

We found our lunch spot at an old abandoned mine…I was too chicken to even put my head in the door…too many creepy things might live in there!

We drove on to Wilcox, Arizona to a nice KOA campground.

Wilcox was recommended by Claudia. This is the wintering home for about 30,000 sandhill cranes. The birds begin to arrive in September. There are several viewing spots. Tim was tired but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to go out and look for the birds.

The Cochise Lake had lots of ducks floating around…ordinarily I would have been happy to look at the ducks but today was about the sandhill cranes!

There were none in the water…but I saw the large birds flying overhead. I probably saw a couple of hundred flying in formation and bugling their unique and crude song!

Sunset back at the campground.

Tim got to watch the final game of the World Series. I got to see the cranes…everybody is happy! It’s supposed to be chilly tonight…in the 30’s…we need to head east and maybe south to find someplace warmer!