Empire Ranch / Las Cienegas - Chiricahua National Monument - Catalina State Park

Empire Ranch / Las Cienegas - Chiricahua National Monument - Catalina State Park, AZ

March 15 - 31, 2019

I just can't get enough sunset pictures.  They're all so beautiful!  This was at Las Cienegas.

On Sunday, March 17 we drove to Benson, AZ and stayed for a week at the San Pedro Resort Community.  It was a nice park away from the interstate, had cement patio pads, and was less than $150 for the week (Passport America rate).  We would stay there again.  Unfortunately neither one of took a picture of our site.  We'll have to do better about that.

On Wednesday, March 20 we took a day trip to Chiricahua National Monument.  The tallest peak is at 9,763'.  Plants and animals from four ecosystems meet in this range of mountains - the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Madre range, the Chihuahuan Desert, and the Sonoran Desert.  The highlight of the park are the towering rocks reaching several hundred feet into the sky.  Chiricahua Apaches called this area Land of Standing Up Rocks.  Here are some pictures, but you cannot appreciate the size and scope of the scenery unless you see it yourself.  This is a must see if you're anywhere within a couple of hundred miles.

John took a hike on the Sugarloaf Trail and it took him a little over an hour out and back.  We stopped in Willcox for dinner at La Unica Restaurant and Tortilleria.  It was authentic Mexican food and was very good.  I took this sunset picture on the way home.

On Sunday, March 24 we drove to Catalina State Park, north of Tucson, AZ.  It's a very nice park with paved roads and lots of hiking trails.  Here is our site on B-19.  They have 50 amp electric and water hookups, plus a couple of dump stations.

We'll be here until Wednesday morning, but we still have to plan where we're going next.  We're living the dream!

Roving on...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Psalm 19:1

Tumacacori and Empire Ranch

Tumacacori and Empire Ranch

March 13-14, 2019

On Wednesday, March 13 we rode to Tumacacori with Wade and Debi.  Here's another picture of our campsite.

In 1691 the mission San Cayetano de Tumacacori was founded.  In 1751 the O'odham Indians attacked Spanish settlements killing many people.  The mission community moved to its current location, possibly for the protection of the presidio (military post) in nearby Tubac.  In the foreground is the ruins of the first church built by 1757.

Around 1800 construction of a larger church was started, but the poverty in the area and the Mexican wars slowed progress on the building.  The church was never finished as intended in the beginning, but it was in use by 1820.  When a decree from Mexico in 1828 forced all Spanish born residents to leave the country Tumacacori lost its last priest.  The Indians and a few settlers hung on but Apache raids and a harsh winter drove them all out in 1848.  The church was abandoned, but became a National Monument in 1908, and part of the National Park Service in 1916.  Preservation and archeological work began in 1917.  Here is the church today.

Around the church are ruins of the community: the plaza, the cemetery, and the round mortuary chapel.

There was also a lime kiln, an orchard, and an outside kitchen where they were making cornbread and hardtack the way it would have been made back then.

After we left it was lunch time and we had a choice of Mexican or hamburgers for lunch.  We chose hamburgers and went to Manny's Cowboy Burgers.  It was really small, only 5 tables and some stools at the counter.  Manny was the 'chef' and did all the cooking.  He liked to talk too, and told us about his life as a chef at the Marriott in New York City, doing training in many Marriott restaurants, and other restaurants he opened and sold in large cities across the country.  After we ate our hamburgers, which were very good, and we were the only people left he brought out his guitar and sang cowboy songs for us.  He was an interesting character.  If you're ever in Rio Rico, AZ stop by.

On Thursday, March 14 we took the short drive to the Empire Ranch, part of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area where we are camped.  It was originally established in the 1860s as a homestead ranch of 160 acres with a flat topped four-room adobe ranch house and adjoining adobe-walled corral.

In 1876 the ranch was sold for $2,000 and between 1876 and 1969 were owned by the Vail and then Boice families.  The ranch eventually grew to over 100,000 acres and the ranch house was built to include more than 22 rooms.  You can see the original adobe structure on the left.  Here are just a few of the rooms.

During the 1940 and 1950s many Hollywood films were shot at the Empire Ranch.  This is a list of films made in the area.

There are several outbuildings and barns and these are a few of them.

This shows the additions to the house over the years.

In 1969 the ranch was sold to a corporation which planned a large residential community, but ranching was continued under a lease program.  In 1974 the land was purchased by a mining company for its water rights, continuing to be leased for ranching.  Fortunately none of the commercial plans happened and in 1976 the ranch house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1988 a series of land swaps put the land under the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  In 2000, the U.S. Congress designated the 42,000 acres to be Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (LCNCA).  The land is still leased for ranching and our neighbors are the 4-legged variety that say "moo".  Today the buildings and grounds are preserved and are an interesting peek into the past.  If you're ever in the Sonoita, AZ area and like history it's worth a stop.

We came back and sat outside for a while, long enough to roast some marshmallows over a fire and make s'mores.  Life is short, eat dessert first!  When it got too cold to sit out we went inside and had dinner.

Wade and Debi left Friday morning and it's been really quiet around here.  We had a great time camping with them and hope to meet up on the road sometime.

Roving on...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Psalm 19:1

Saddle Mountain BLM to High Chaparral RV Park to Cieneguita Campground

Saddle Mountain BLM to High Chaparral RV Park to Cieneguita Campground

March 5 - 12, 2019

On Thursday, March 7 we left Saddle Mountain BLM and did a utility stop at High Chaparral RV Park for 3 nights.  We were there in January before we went to Quartzsite.

On Friday, March 8 we drove down to Asarco Copper Mine and took the tour.  It was $8 each for seniors and worth it.  We boarded a bus which took us to the open pit copper mine.

  Our tour guide said there used to be two separate mines but over the years it has grown into one big one.  The mine is 1,500 feet deep and they will never go any deeper because the water table is at 1,700 feet.  

They blast the rock and load it on to trucks that can carry 320 tons.  This truck is smaller than those.

Then they take it to the mill and crush it into smaller rocks using 8-inch diameter steel balls in the drum.  When they get to about 3/8 inch or smaller they are put in a drum with 3-inch diameter steel balls.  

This turns them into a fine powder, at which time the copper is broken free from the rocks and are separated by flotation.  They agitate the water and the copper sticks to the bubbles, which fall over the edge of the tank and break.  They then are ground even finer and purified by another flotation process.

Eventually they end up with a concentrate of 28% copper, which they send to the smelter in NM.  It represents less than 1% of the material taken from the mine.  After the copper is smelted they make a sheet through an anode process, and then the anode sheets are sent to TX and processed through electrolysis to make 99.99% pure copper sheets.  This is a starter anode sheet.

We got back on the bus and went to the display area outside the visitor center.  Here is some of the older equipment they no longer use.

Here is John standing in one of the shovels they don't use anymore.  The ones they use now are larger.

On Sunday, March 10 we drove back down to Cieneguita Campground in the Las Cienegas National Conservation area near Empire Ranch.  We were here in January and loved it.  Wade and Debbie met us here because they saw the pictures of the area and wanted to camp here too.  We're so glad they're here.  Here are the views from our campsite.

Bill and Lisa came from Tucson via a visit to Tombstone to stop by and see us.  We decided we'll meet them in Canada sometime around May 10.  We are traveling together to Alaska and are looking forward to it!  We spent so much time talking I forgot to get any pictures.

Unfortunately the winds have been really blowing since we got here and today, March 12, it has rained on and off today and all last night.  I guess every day can't be sunny and 72!

Roving on...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.

Psalm 19:1