Sierra Vista - Arizona 2017

February 14, 2017.

I left Tucson at 7:00 AM and I arrived at the Elks Lodge in Sierra Vista at 9:00 AM.

I will not be able to watch television, but I get good WIFI in the motorhome. I took advantage of that and renewed memberships, checked credit card statements and worked on two books of my travels from 2014 to 2016.
 

February 15, 2017.

We did a monster hike today in Brown Canyon.

The Border Patrol blimp was on the ground.

Our first stop was at the Brown Canyon Ranch. It is empty now. The family did a land swap and the buildings are now part of the Coronado National Forest.

The trail goes through forested areas and open land. We ended up high in the forest.

From the top we could see the blimp again.

The total length of the hike was five and a half miles. Randy said it felt like fifteen miles.

In the evening we went to the lodge and had a meat loaf dinner. There was a dance in town but my legs did not feel like dancing.
 

February 16, 2017.

Four WINs went playing golf and a group went bicycling.

I went to the bank, Post Office, Farmers Market and Walmart. Then I worked on my income taxes.

It was a sunny, cool day.

Dave and Rose practiced on their Ukuleles. 

February 17, 2017.

Today we did another monster hike. I think I am getting old. But my companions were huffing and puffing too, and they are a lot younger than me.

We drove to the Coronado National Memorial today and hiked the 3.1 mile Joe’s Canyon Trail. It is not the length of the trail which makes it difficult, it is the change in elevation. The first mile the elevation changed one thousand feet.

We started at the Visitor Center where Dave tried on what Coronado and his soldiers wore for protection.

I was ready to climb the mountain behind me.

The trail was sometimes very rocky. We had to watch for rocks and avoid stepping on them.

We were slowly getting up. We had a very good view of Montezuma Canyon and San Pedro River Valley.

We finally made it to the Montezuma  Pass Overlook. The pass is at an elevation of 6575 feet. The road leading up to the pass winds through the canyon. From here we could see the wall which divides Mexico and the U.S. Up on the pass is a Border Patrol Station. Bill, in Joann’s car, and Chuck who had brought me to the Visitor Center, had just arrived. Bill was picking up Joanne, Dana and Rose.

Our timing was perfect.

Chuck and Dave had visited the cave below in the valley. We ate our lunch and then headed down the mountain.

February 18, 2017.

This was a nasty, windy, rainy day.

We decided to go to the Fort Huachuca Museum. The museum is the traditional home of the Buffalo Soldiers. Black soldiers were segregated from white soldiers until the end of World War II.

At the entrance of the museum is a statue of a cavalry soldier and an Apache scout.

Our next stop was the United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence – Museum.

Part of the Berlin wall is here on display.

The Enigma Machine was very interesting. The machine was used by the German military during World War II. Polish intelligence had broken the code and the French and British intelligence services improved on that and were able to decipher the communication of the German military.

A warning on the border between East and West Germany is on display. There were many displays about the Cold War. The U.S. and British Military, with the help of the CIA, had dug a tunnel between East and West Germany and connected listening devices to the telephone wires in East Germany.

Intelligence gathering devices and videos from the civil war to modern times can keep a person in the museum for hours.
 

February 19, 2017.

A group went today to the movies. It still looked like it would rain any minute.

I finished my income taxes and did some shopping.

Myra Cox came to our 5:00 PM meeting. She spends the winter at the Escapee Park in Benson.

February 20, 2017.

We have beautiful weather again. There were a few dark clouds but it was an enjoyable day.

We went to Tombstone where they had Vigilante Days.

A lot of citizen of Tombstone dress up in 1800’s clothing. 

They grabbed our Chico and tried to hang him.

There were carriage and trolley rides.

The street where all the action was is just a dirt road, and the sidewalks are covered with wood.

Bad guys are at every corner.

The court house was built in 1888. It is now a State Historic Site.

Throughout the day were gunfights in the street and halls. I came a bit late and saw the end of it.

Dino made the kids happy.

There was also a Victorian Fashion Show.

Tombstone is famous for his cemetery. Some of the headstone have funny inscriptions.

February 21, 2017.

The group went today to Kartchner Caverns. I have been there twice and stayed home.

I went to the Post Office, did some shopping and did a few small jobs around the motorhome.

This was another summer day. I wore shorts and a T shirt.
 

February 22, 2017.

I have been in Bisbee several times. Bisbee is an old copper mining town. Copper was mined until 1974. When the price of copper goes up again there will be a chance the mine will be in operation again.

Several people in our group had signed up for the mine tour. Dana, Dave and Rose were on the 10:30 AM tour.

I chose not to go on the mine tour. I did this once in Montana. I walked the Old Town District.

Houses were built in the 1880’s and most of them are very beautiful.

The houses are built on a hill and there are steps from one level of town to another. Some places have one hundred steps.

Somebody built houses for the birds.

The City Park was the old cemetery.

After walking around town I drove to Lowell. It is like a ghost town. Most of the stores are boarded up.

At the closed gas station are parked three old cars.

The Automotive Parts Store seems to be busy. There are two places next to it where they renovate old cars.

From Lowell one has a good view of the open pit.  

February 23, 2017.

Today was travel day. Most members of the group left for the next stop on the tour.

Five of us will stay and attend the Mardi Gras party at the Elks Lodge.

I took it easy today. Across the Elks Lodge is a German Bakery. I went there and bought some delicious baked goods. All that sugar, marzipan and chocolate felt good when I ate it, but I paid a price for eating too much at one time.
 

February 24, 2017.

This was another lazy day. Everybody did their own thing. We did not even have a 5:00 PM meeting.

Yesterday, the few of us, had the meeting at the bar in the Elks Lodge.
 

February 25, 2017.

This was a busy day. In the morning I drove the motorhome to a Circle K gas station and emptied the holding tanks. Back at the Elks Lodge I parked the motorhome at a place where I could attach the car to the motorhome. Tomorrow morning it will be cold and no fun to do this.

I am ready to head for Deming, New Mexico.

In the evening we went to the Mardi Gras Ball at the lodge. We were five WINs. Dan, Rose, Dave and I sat with four widows.

Joanne and Bill sat on another table.

The lodge sold a lot of tickets.

After the dinner there were awards handed out and then the dancing started. Most people left for home when the music started. The six of us stayed. Dan had arrived last night.

Yesterday was a fire in the nearby mountains. It seemed to be a controlled fire. There was no sign of it today.