On Sunday after church we decided to drive 70 miles east to the lesser known National Monument of Chiricahua. This 12,000 acre monument contains an eight mile paved scenic drive into this sky island to see the myriad of rhyolite pinnacles and balanced rocks. We even saw our first coatimundi in the wild, but couldn't get a picture of it.
Chiricahua National Monument was established in 1924.
The Faraway Ranch was started in 1888 by Swedish immigrants, Neil and Emma Erickson. It was called Faraway Ranch because "It was God awful far away from everything." It still is.
The Ranch was added onto many times and the oldest daughter, Lillian, turned the homestead into a guest ranch. In 1973, the house and property were sold and incorporated into the existing National Monument.
The Chiricahua Apache called the pinnacles "standing up rocks." This formation is called the Organ Pipes.
The Civilian Conservation Corp built the roads, trails, and Massai Point Overlook. From this overlook, at the end of the road, you can view Rhyolite Canyon below.
We encountered many alligator bark juniper while hiking throughout the Monument.
We took the three mile Echo Canyon Grottoes hike. This was a great opportunity to walk among the rock formations. We called this formation the Water Tower.
We paused to see if this one would fall over across the trail.
This one could have used a good shove.
We reached the Grottoes and climbed around in them.
The lichen on the rocks was beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight.
This canyon looked like it was full of chess pieces.
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