Weekend of Rocks

We spent a wonderful weekend camping and hiking in Chiricahua National Monument. We left our home early Friday morning and spent Friday hiking "The Big Loop", an 8.5 mile trail "for folks wanting to do everything". This trail took us on the majority of the trails in the park and had everything - amazing rock formations galore, tall pine trees, pools of water, trails winding through the canyons. It was a great hike and we came away with great memories and sore muscles!

Charles took this picture of me just past the Echo Canyon Grottoes, towards the beginning of our hike.


Charles in Echo Canyon


Fun formations within Heart of Rocks area


Camel's Head


The Cochise Head profile formation is in the background






Towers on the Mushroom Rock trail


Some of the tallest spires in the monument are in this picture


After our day hike, we came back to camp and had foil dinners and made s'mores.


Our beautiful campsite! We picked the perfect spot - no one could camp on either side of us and we had the rock cliffs behind us.


Saturday morning we took the Massai Point Nature Trail and learned more about the formations.


A great picture of the Cochise Head profile formation


Charles woke up to the sound of wild turkeys. We saw this turkey and deer on the side of the road.


We took a tour of the home of the Faraway Ranch. A family settled in Bonita Canyon in this home in the late 1880s and helped establish the National Monument.


Dining room in the home. I love all of the windows!


Unique fireplace in the home. It was made out of engraved rocks and a memorial to President Garfield.


We then drove an hour west to Cochise Stronghold. This rugged natural fortress was, for some 15 years, the home and base of operations for the famed Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise. Upon his death, he was secretly buried somewhere in or near this area. The exact location has never been revealed or determined. We want to come back and hike some more in this area.