{For the next few weeks, my posts here will be limited as we spend time with cousins who have joined us for a few weeks. In exchange, I'll be posting tidbits more frequently through Facebook. So, if you haven't found your way over to the Counting Fireflies Facebook page, you might want to hop on over there to keep up with all the fun. We are currently in the four corners region and seeing some amazing sights, so don't miss out on the fun!}
I'm pretty sure these pictures don't need any words, so I'll keep it simple:
Alien Zone, a don't miss place a few doors down from THE alien museum in Rosell, NM.
At this point in our travels, we were getting a bit tired of the unremitting desert, so discovering the tiny gem of Portal, Arizona in the Coronado National Forest was a welcome treat.
Hidden in the high Chiricahua mountains is a birder's paradise. We stayed at Sunny Flats campground, tucked into a little valley surrounded by towering peaks with a loud creek running through the middle. Portal touts itself as one of the Top Ten Birding areas in the US, so birding is the name of the game here. There are private guides, private tours, park guides and tours and tons of self-guided information.
Little Miss Cleo, gotta stay out of the way of the hockey sticks!
So, here is something we have learned: all nature guides are not equal. We've been frustrated with our rock guides and our bird guides are very unhelpful. Aunty J has a bird guide though, that rocks: Sibley's Birding Guide. Between the two rigs we have 4 different bird guides by different societies, but that is the one we end up finding what we are looking for, the easiest and the fastest.
There was something inherently satisfying about seeing running water for the first time in two months.
Experienced birders coming to Coronado Forest are looking for the rare Eared (Trogon) Quetzal, Thick Billed Parrot, Crescent-Chested Warbler, Blue Mockingbird and the Yellow Grosbeak.
Aunty J is a serious birder, I on the other hand, am not, however, can now distinguish a quail from a roadrunner, which is a vast improvement, I assure you.
Clearing the snow off the solar panels
Exploring a bird up close after it got disoriented in the snow and hit our rig.
And, lucky us, we even got an unexpected snowfall! Snow on blooming cactus was an expected sight.
The teeny tiny village of Portal was a treat, and I loved the eenie weenie library. Don't miss it if you ever make it to Portal. It's only open fro 10-2 so time it right.
Panning for gold
BIsbee, AZ
:: Art Galleries everywhere, this one I particularly loved. I mean bug sculptures. What's not to love about that?
:: Funky, fun, fabulous shops full of vintage, antiques and plain junk.
:: Victorian in the middle of the desert. Unexpected and whimsical.
:: Huge copper pit. The reason Bisbee existed. Now, it's all the delightful shops. Well, and the copper mine.
:: Local crafters. Need a custom Panama hat? This is the place. Want to talk about Jeeps and off-roading? This is also the place. Just don't talk about off-roading if you want your hat finished in a timely manner.
:: A beautiful piece of jewelry? Try here.The Gold Shop.
:: After visiting Organ Pipe, if our kids don't know what an Organ looks like, and hence the name of the cactus, stop in here to see the beautiful organ. And, if you are lucky, maybe you'll find someone practicing!
:; If you are in a big rig, like us, try going up the road a bit to the high school tennis courts to park, you won't be able to get up the road at the one campground in town. It's steep and has a hairpin curve.
