I woke up very early, at sunrise and decided to take the 10 minute walk to Boot Hill, the infamous cemetary where local people were buried and the three victims of the Gunfight of the OK Coral. But, silly me, of course it's not free, it's a tourist trap and not open at 6:30. So, I walked back to my room. I had decided last night to stay in my 'coop' for a second night in order to see the Tombstone activities which I missed yesterday and to take a ride to a National Monument that I had never heard of before, Chiricahua. The lady at the motel told me it was a must see and gave me a map and instructions on how to get there. So, I left my stuff in the room, and took what I needed. I left her a note saying I'd be back. I rode about 90 minutes through some very remote, isolated ranch country interspersed with some well watered corn fields. I stopped for gas in a tiny town and overheard a very colourful conversation: A rancher was talking to the gas station owner right beside me where I was pumping gas. He said that some new neighbour was riding his horse on his property and driving his three pit pulls crazy. So he told him to leave, but the guy refused. He said my dogs want to kill your horse. He replied set them free and we'll see what happens. You just want an excuse to shoot my dogs. And if you do that I'll have to shoot you! It which point they got into naming calling and he wanted to fight the horse rider, but he probably wisely took off... as did I.Then I continued to Chiricahua. After riding across the ranch land, as soon as I entered the park I rode through columns of large trees in a valley between the mountains. At the visitor's centre i found that entrance was free and was told that yesterday they had a deluge monsoon which trapped many people on the mountain and prevented them from driving back because of flooded roads. I rode up the beautiful paved road to the summit and parked. There was only one other vehicle there and I never saw him. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the rock formations. It is incredible and somewhat reminiscent of Bruce Canyon. There are columns, 'totem poles' and balancing rocks covered in a greenish lichen. I wished it was sunny, but can't have everything. I stayed there for about an hour taking a short hike and admiring the views. Then as I could see the monsoon again in the nearby mountains I decided to ride out, but got distracted by another road leading to another area. Then it started to rain followed by lightning and in credibly loud thunder. I found a toilet, parked and sheltered in there, but not before getting pretty wet. I waited for about an hour while it poured! I had visions of a long stay or being trapped by flooded roads. When it abated I took out my rain gear and kitted up. Then I rode back down in a little rain, stopping to take a few more shots until I reached the visitor's centre again. I talked to the lady and told her about my experience, she didn't even know it was raining up there (and here I thought she might be worried about me). The rain stopped, the air was just warm and I rode back all the way in my gear. When I got back I dropped off the bike and stuff and went to see the Gunfight at the OK Coral show. As expected it was pretty hokey but fun. Then I walked to Boot Hill, paid the $3 and took a look around at a pretty basic restored old cemetery with rocks piled on all the graves. Back to town to watch a 30 1960's movie narrated by Vincent Price about the history of Tombstone. It has survived two major fires, the shootouts and mining going bust. They say it's the town too tough to die. And now it's a tourist trap. Then I went to the office of the Tombstone Epitaph the newspaper that was around during those days. The original owner said any tombstone needed an epitaph. They gave us a copy of the paper the day after the gunfight. After dinner at the Longhorn Saloon I went back to my room. I'm really tired tonight, I think it has caught up to me. Very quiet in town today. The long weekend is over. I thought the place might be crowded for the holiday, but no. They are firing off some fireworks behind me somewhere, so it's been a noisy July 4th, with thunder, gunfights and fireworks. Only 233 km today.
Hey, it's great to see you're well into your US road trip and even the 90+ F temps and flash monsoons haven't deterred your wanderlust. My Oklahoma friend tells me this is one of the hottest summers ever - lucky you. Happy July 4th to a Canadian traveling the scorching US southwest, from an American here in balmy T.O. Just remember this heat, cowboy, when you are in the Arctic! It's always interesting reading the blogs of your adventures and seeing your wonderful photos. Keep having fun.
ReplyDeleteSeriously..who knew there would be a Jewish Memorial Cemetery in Tombstone ? Thanks for taking the picture for me 😀. Too bad about the heat..but next time you go by car, count me in!
ReplyDeleteEasy Rider my friend …. And lots of water .
ReplyDelete