Sierra Vista, Arizona, and its surrounding area is truly a birder’s—and photographer’s—paradise. Sitting at an elevation over 4,600 feet, Sierra Vista is the hub of Southeast Arizona. It has an average of 275 days of sunshine and a temperate climate. Many think of Arizona a flat desert; this region is anything but flat—arid grasslands are hemmed in by the Huachuca and Chiricahua mountain ranges, with peaks as high as 9,763 feet. In between these mountain ranges, the San Pedro River is the last undammed river in the American Southwest. Filled with mountains, canyons, riparian areas and wetlands, these habitats provide an incredible home to wildlife—a plethora of tropical birds, countless dragonflies and hummingbirds, and even the extraordinary and rare jaguar and a huge range of plant life. This area is an eco-crossroad with five life zones within five miles. Habitats and species from the Sierra Madres of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sonora and Chihuahuan deserts can all be found in these “Sky Islands.” The bird watching, wildlife viewing areas, and photography are world-renowned. With 15 species of hummingbirds passing through Sierra Vista annually, this is one of my happy places!.

Our Monday travels took us to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area where the winds were howling; a few birds posed for photographs. After hiking along the river for some distance, we returned to the San Pedro House Visitor Center where Kay astutely pointed out what I overlooked as a Northern Cardinal in one of the shrubs; it was a Pyrrhuloxia. Kay has become an invaluable asset to our birdwatching and photography.

From San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, we drove to Ramsey Canyon, another sub “life list” item. The Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve is known among birders as one of the best “hummingbird places” in the US. We hiked much of the trail, and enjoyed watching the occasional hummingbird feed at one of the many feeders present. Even though August is the prime month, Kay and I were able to spot and photograph a Calliope Hummingbird in the cold, windy weather. 

Our plans were to drive to Davis Mountain and Big Bend National Park in Texas, and spend a few days exploring these “life list” places. Accommodations were full, so reservations were made almost 100 miles away. As we neared departure day and time, the weather forecast predicted winds gusting above 50 miles per hour; not too safe in a motorhome on a highway. Consequently we changed plans at the last minute, and opted to drive to near Sierra Vista to Fort Huachuca where I have privileges at the RV park, Apache Flats.

Fort Huachuca has a storied history. It is a US Army installation established in 1877 as Camp Huachuca to counter the Chiricahua Apache threat and secure the border with Mexico—some 15 miles south—during the Apache Wars. In 1882, Camp Huachuca was redesignated a fort. General Miles controlled Fort Huachuca as his headquarters and against Geronimo in 1886. After the surrender ofGeronimo in 1886, the Apache threat was essentially extinguished, but the army continued to operate Fort Huachuca because of its strategic border position. In 1913, the fort became the base for the Buffalo Soldiers, the 10th Calvary Regiment, which was composed of African Americans. It served this purpose for twenty years. It is now the home of the US Army Intelligence Center.

With several hours of daylight remaining, we drove to Tombstone in Cochise County, Arizona, famous for Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier, growing significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. Under the surface (play on words?) were tensions that grew into deadly conflict. The mining capitalists and the townspeople were largely Republicans from the Northern states while many of the ranchers were Confederate sympathizers and Democrats. The booming city was only 30 miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and was an open market for cattle stolen from ranches in Sonora, Mexico, by a loosely organized band of outlaws known as The Cowboys. The Earp brothers—Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan, as well as Doc Holiday, arrived in December 1879 and mid-1880. The Earps had ongoing conflicts with Cowboys and cattle rustlers Ike and Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury, and Billy Claiborne. The Cowboys repeatedly threatened the Earps over many months until the conflict escalated into a shootout on October 26, 1881. The historic gunfight is often portrayed as occurring at the O.K. Corral, though it actually occurred a short distance away in an empty lot on Fremont Street. This is definitely a tourist trap offering so much potential, but falling far short in every category except souvenir shops.

The winter season was winding down for us—having seen all the sights time would allow, and inventorying those that will have to be scheduled for next winter—yes, we plan to come back next year. Our daily activities were pretty normal for ones staying in a RV resort for the winter: walking, cycling, attending concerts, dancing, eating, hot tubbing, golf, pickleball, and even water volleyball (what a hoot). I continued Thursday golf with the Hot Springs Village foursome, playing at Johnson Ranch in Chandler on Thursday, February 20, and back at Robson Ranch on February 27. Kay continued her quest at becoming a pickleball player; she has really improved her golf game!

An auto show occurred our last Saturday, and last full day, at Palm Creek. The time and money to restore these beauties exhibited is unimaginable.

Today, Friday, February 14, is Valentines Day. Our only scheduled activities were the Hot Springs Village pickleball round-robin and the Palm Creek Valentines dinner and dance. It was a great evening as dinner was prime rib and all the sides followed by a delicious slice of cheese cake, and the band was very good forcing us to dance the night away, at least until 9 PM. 

Visiting Sedona, Arizona, has been on Kay’s secondary life list for some time. With great weather forecast for the weekend, we drove north into the mountains of north central Arizona. Apparently, Valentines Day weekend is the busiest weekend of the year in Sedona; traffic was horrendous, taking hours to move just a few miles into the small city. Fortunately, a volunteer at the National Forest Service Visitors Center told us of a short cost that save countless time. The red rock mountains surrounding Sedona were quite spectacular. We hiked a couple of short trails to make photographs. Kay really enjoyed Sedona while I thought it was just okay. Neither of us has a desire to return. Since all lodging accommodations were full, we stayed in an overpriced motel in Camp Verde, south of Sedona. 

We opted not to return to the Sedona area on Sunday, and instead visited Montezuma Castle National Monument near Camp Verde. We arrived just after the doors were opened, avoiding any crowds that might venture a visit. Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved dwellings located in Camp Verde, Arizona which were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States, between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD. As one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America, this 20 room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a story of ingenuity, survival and prosperity in an unforgiving desert landscape.

This week’s “Big Boy” golf course was at Crooked Tree Golf Club in Tucson. Crooked Tree is a wonderful, traditional layout with generous fairways, small greens and ample chipping areas that surround the green complexes. The course sits alone among the ironwoods, mesquites and saguaros of the Sonoran Desert. There are no homes lining its fairways—only the rugged beauty of the desert southwest. Lee Trevino and Dave Bennett, ASGCA, designed Crooked Tree Golf Course. Thus far, it is one of my favorites.

Departing early in the morning, I drove to Veteran’s Oasis Park in Chandler for one last visit this winter. A few birds posed as I walked the trails. I returned to Palm Creek, and then left before sunset to visit the normally closed Casa Grande National Monument for a luminary ceremony honoring the birthday of its first caretaker. There were a number of people there, many with children, making slow-speed photography (nighttime) difficult at best. I left there driving to the Tucson International Airport to pickup Kay returning from Arkansas. The airport provides a “cell phone” parking area near the gates for cars waiting on incoming passengers; after having arrived, the passenger may phone their pickup in the parking lot—neat and handy. Kay was glad to be back to great weather in Arizona.

I took advantage of the alone time to bird and photograph extensively. I visited GWR on Friday and Monday while participating in pickleball and golf with the Hot Springs Village group and editing photographs over the weekend. Of course, I used today (Tuesday) to tidy up and neaten the RV before Kay returns tomorrow.

Kay caught a flight out of Tucson today to return home to assist in the post op care of BFF Pam. This gave me the opportunity to bird and photograph extensively (hogging the only car we have in Arizona). First on the list was the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. The Sweetwater Wetlands is one of the most important functional, environmental, and educational components of the City of Tucson’s reclaimed water system. The facility was originally constructed in 1996 to handle backwash filter water from the reclaimed water plant. The wetlands now uses reclaimed water exclusively, helping treat secondary effluent and backwash from the reclaimed water treatment system at the now-closed Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. Sweetwater Wetlands serves as an environmental education facility and habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Paths, both paved and unpaved, visit all the ponds and give a view to the large detention basins to the south, which when containing water attract wading birds and shore birds. Rarities seen at Sweetwater over the years include Groove-billed Ani, Least Grebe, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and many others. The area consists of several ponds surrounded by cattails, willows, and cottonwoods. Ducks visit the ponds while Red-winged, Yellow-headed, and Brewer’s blackbirds frequent the cattails. Thick stands of saltbush provide cover to Song Sparrows, Abert’s Towhees, wrens, and many other species. While I enjoyed walking around the facility, it did not have as much to offer today as those we visited near Phoenix.

Continuing to look for the Vermillion Fly Catcher, I returned to Veteran’s Oasis Park in Chandler. Though there were no Vermillion Fly Catchers, but a number of other birds posed for photographs. It was a great day.

This weekend’s long jaunt was to Superior, Arizona, on the way to Tonto National Monument.

Near Superior, Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, just one hour east of Phoenix, Arizona. Three miles of garden paths and trails wind through 392 acres of plant exhibits and striking landscapes. Over 2,600 different types of plants from the deserts of Australia, North and South America, southern Africa, and other arid-land regions of the world blend seamlessly into an incomparable natural setting. Agaves, aloes, boojum trees, cork oaks, jujube trees, legume trees, and, in the Eucalyptus grove, one of the largest red gum Eucalyptus trees (“Mr. Big”) in the United States. Cacti and succulents grow extensively throughout the Arboretum. Nestled along Queen Creek at the foot of Picketpost Mountain, the Arboretum is a haven for plant lovers, photographers, birders, and nature enthusiasts of all ages. Boyce Thompson Arboretum is the largest and oldest botanical garden in the state of Arizona. It is one of the oldest botanical institutions west of the Mississippi. Founded in 1924 as a desert plant research facility and “living museum”, the Arboretum is located in the Sonoran Desert on 392 acres (158.6 ha) along Queen Creek and beneath the towering volcanic remnant, Picketpost Mountain. Boyce Thompson Arboretum is on U.S. Highway 60, an hour’s drive east from Phoenix and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Superior, Arizona. Exhibits at the arboretum include a cactus garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, an Australian exhibit, South American exhibit, aloe garden and an herb garden. There are also side trails such as the Chihuahuan Trail, Curandero Trail, and High Trail. Because the BTA is a riparian zone, the park attracts Sonoran Desert wildlife and migrating birds. Visitors have seen bobcats, javelinas, coatimundis, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, hawks, hummingbirds, and vultures. 270 bird species have been spotted in the park and the Audubon Society has designated the Arboretum as an Important Bird Area. It was here that I saw butterflies for the first time this year.

From Superior we drove east and north to Tonto National Monument in the Superstition Mountains, in Gila County of central Arizona. The area lies on the northeastern edge of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion, an arid habitat with annual rainfall of about 16 inches. The Salt River runs through this area, providing a rare, year-round source of water. The monument was established to preserve and protect cliff dwellings from the Salado culture built during the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries. The Salado people farmed in the Salt River Valley, and supplemented their diet by hunting and gathering native plants. The Salado were fine craftspeople, producing some of the most flamboyant polychrome pottery and intricately woven textiles to be found in the Southwest. We made the steep climb with only a few stops and enjoyed views of the surrounding landscape from sites along the trail. The preserved cliff dwellings were like many others we had seen in Arizona and New Mexico, and makes one marvel at the efforts of the Salado people.