A Trip To Paradise, or, How Dorothy Turned Me Into a Birdwatcher!

Prologue…

For a number of years, I have suffered from the obsession that somewhere out there is a small ranch that I was meant to own.  I have dragged Dorothy to see a number of these places, but have never found the one that had my name on it.  Remarkably, she still remains open to going with me to look for my mythical ranch. So, early in 2018, when I ran across a listing for a 40-acre ranch near Rodeo, New Mexico, I talked her into accompanying me to take a look at it.  Several things attracted me to the property.  First, it backed up to 87,000 acres of public land in the Coronado National Forest and the Chiricahua National Monument.  Second, the ad for the property said that right across the back fence was a prehistoric ruin (a granary) and rock art (petroglyphs).  Third, the property also had an off-the-grid manufactured home on it, as well as over 200 oak trees.  I had visions of this becoming my home base for exploring the area around Chiricahua Peak, looking for other ruins and rock art.  While researching the area, I also read that the area was well known as a bird-watching mecca.  In fact, I ran across the blog of a millennial couple who, having traveled all over the world biking and backpacking, proclaimed this area to be their favorite — so much so that, if they were ready to settle down, they would choose to live here.  Their blog also spoke of the unique and memorable birdwatchers that hang out in the area.  Their description was intriguing and eloquent, and played a large part in my decision to go visit.  But, I was mildly surprised that Dorothy agreed to to with me — it was probably a case of self-defense.  But I am so glad because we had a very enjoyable and relaxing trip.

Getting There…

We decided to leave Sunday afternoon, April 22, 2018, so that we could get an early start on Monday morning without having to battle the San Antonio morning rush-hour traffic.  We loaded up the Airstream and Bitsy and headed out.  We arrived at the South Llano State Park in Junction late afternoon and selected a camp site.  We took a walk before dinner and, talking to others along the trail, learned that this park was also known for its excellent bird-watching.  It was a nice start to out little trip… until Bitsy was stung by a scorpion and ended up moaning all night long (we were unable to reach our vet).  Luckily, she seemed OK the next morning but we didn’t get much sleep.

We got up Monday morning and drove to Las Cruces where we checked into a campground and spent the night. Tuesday we  drove the rest of the way to Rusty’s RV Ranch, near Rodeo, New Mexico.  Rusty’s was to be our home base for a couple of days.  Rusty’s is known for its namesake, the loquacious and hospitable Rusty.  Rusty’s is also known as a premier place for birdwatchers to stay.  They have a large pond which not only attracts birds, but has a couple of black swans that are permanent residents.  They also have a habitat area surrounding the common kitchen and lounge area that has water features and several caged areas that contain birds.  There is a lot of reading material about birdwatching in the lounge, as well as a board that records sightings by park visitors.  It was an interesting and convenient place for us to stay.

The Ranch That Was Not To Be…

After getting settled in at Rusty’s, we headed out to meet a realtor who was to show us the ranch I was interested in.  I realized on the drive to the property (it was bone jarring to say the least) that it was going to be difficult to sell this place to Dorothy.  All hopes were dashed when we turned on the interior road located on the property– it made the drive in look like a super highway.  The property still intrigued me, and I asked the realtor for the name of someone they would recommend to drill a water well and put in a septic, since the property was completely off the grid.  Dorothy was definitely not into a place where you had to haul in your water and use a composting chemical toilet in the house!  The realtor, her husband, and I spent a couple of hours hiking the property but I didn’t get to see the ruin and petroglyphs that were supposed to be over the back fence.  By the time we made it up (bushwacking) to the back fence-line, light was failing so we went back to the house and our cars.

A Day At Fort Huachuca…

We got up Wednesday morning and prepared for a day of seeing the sights over at Sierra Vista, Az and Fort Huachuca.  Prior to leaving, I called the water drilling company that the realtor had recommended.  Turns out they had drilled wells right next to the ranch I was looking at and told me it would cost a minimum of $35,000 to drill a well, since it would be through solid rock and have to be very deep.  In the course of the conversation, the owner of the company mentioned that they had a cave on their ranch with some “Indian paintings” and that I was welcome to come out and take a look at them.  We agreed that I would meet at their business in Animas, NM first thing the next morning.  Dorothy and I then set out for Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca.  It was a pleasant drive, and we stopped off to see the sights in Bisbee, AZ.  After getting through security at the Fort (they had to issue us ID cards), we found our way up into Garden Canyon and visited two rock art sites.  Dorothy was a little nervous about going up into the canyon because of the bear warnings, but I assured her Bitsy would take care of us!  The rock art was interesting, but nothing extravagant.  To view a full gallery of the two rock art sites we visited in Garden Canyon, look here.  We spent all day Wednesday on this little excursion, but it made for a full day and we were tired by the time we got back to Rusty’s in Rodeo.

A Visit To a Rock Art Site on a Private Ranch…

The next morning, I got up early and drove over to Animas, NM to meet with the Elbrocks at their drilling company, while Dorothy stayed behind at Rusty’s to relax and read.  What nice people!  They drew me a map of how to get to the cave on their ranch– it was near the back of the 19,000-acre property.  They cautioned me to be careful if I saw anyone out there, because their ranch was just 50 miles north of the border and in a drug smuggling corridor (their neighbor had been kidnapped by drug smugglers the year before!).  I made my way out to the cave and spent several hours exploring the cave and the surrounding area.  There were some interesting pictographs and a number of bedrock grinding features near the cave.  It was an enjoyable adventure that morning on the Elbrock Ranch.  To see the gallery of photographs from the Elbrock site, as well as a short video, look here.

Birdwatching in Paradise…

I promised Dorothy I would be back at Rusty’s by noon, and I just made it.  We loaded up and headed to Portal for lunch, then drove up to Paradise to do some bird-watching at the George Walker House.  Don’t tell Dorothy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the bird-watching!  There are a number of homes in the small community of Paradise that welcome visitors to come sit on their porches and watch the amazing array of birds that come into their feeders.  The George Walker House is one of the best known and I am glad we paid it a visit.  I also talked Dorothy into letting me do a little hike.  Rusty had told me about some rock art in a cave on the way to Paradise — I tried to find a way up, but never found a trail and didn’t have enough time to route-find/bushwack up to the cave.  I now have a good excuse to come back to this beautiful area!

The Road Home…

We headed for home Friday morning, but stopped in Tombstone for a little sightseeing.  It is a very touristy place, but we enjoyed the history, and the locals were quite nice.  We took a trolley tour  and also visited the largest rose bush in the world.  Walking around town, it was hard not to be amazed at the historic structures and the beauty of some of the gardens in the little town.

On the way home, we spent a couple of nights in Deming, New Mexico.  I wanted to spend a day exploring the Frying Pan Canyon rock art site located northeast of town, and to revisit the Pony Hills rock art site.  I had visited Pony Hills in November of 2016, and hoped to find a particular petroglyph I had failed to locate on that visit.  Dorothy and I also visited the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum and really enjoyed it.  It is not well curated, but is surprisingly large.  I enjoyed the very nice collection of Mimbres pots, and other prehistoric artifacts on display at the museum.  On the final leg of our way home, we experienced not one, but TWO blowouts on the Airstream!  Thank you AAA  roadside assistance!And thank you Dorothy for going with me on this little adventure, and for being such a good sport about it all —  I know camping and hiking are not your favorite things, but I love you for your willingness to support my passions!

A Little Bonus:  A Picture of My Camp Cook!