| Canfield Travels | |
| USA West 2018 #6 Mar 13, 2018 |
The Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona are a sky island – an isolated mountain range rising above the surrounding grassland sea. The rock pinnacles looming throughout the monument were called “standing up rocks” by the Chiricahua Apaches. The gray rock called rhyolite was formed by super-heated ash particles melting together. Cooling and subsequent uplifting created joints and cracks which when weathered by ice, wind and water sculpted the unique spires, balanced rocks, and numerous other shapes we walked through on our 4 mile hike down from 6780 feet to 5400 feet.
Snow
on the high trail
Standing Up Rocks
Our newest
national monument
The Organ Mountains National Monument surrounds Las Cruces,
New Mexico in all four directions. The Dripping Springs area to the east contains
several historic sites built after the end of the Civil War. Van Patten’s
Mountain Camp at Dripping Springs, built in the 1870s, contained a 16 room lodging
facility, a large dining room and a concert hall. In the 1920’s the Dripping
Springs Resort was converted into a sanatorium. Later this area became part of
a large cattle ranch. After the Nature Conservancy purchased the Resort and
ranch it was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management who now supervised
the monument.
The Alamo
The
Cradle of Texas Liberty
Originally named San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as home to
Spanish missionaries for more than 70 years. The famous Battle of the Alamo
occurred on March 6, 1836 following a 12-day siege. Coincidently we visited the
Alamo on March 6, 2018, - 182 years after the date of the battle. There was
much activity at the site celebrating this date – speeches, military
demonstrations, and historic tours.
The River Walk, 20 feet below the busy street level, is the
town’s main artery. We walked and cruised along this stretch of parks, shops,
and eateries along the San Antonio River as it meanders through downtown. A
Tex-Mex lunch at Mi Tierra Café Y Panaderia in Market Square was a special
treat for our day in San Antonio.
