Ramsey Canyon Sanctuary

(Daniel here) When we first got to the Ramsey Canyon Conservatory, we bought permits to let us go on the trails around the park. So we started on the nature hike and went on the scenic loops that meander around off the trail. When we got to the end of the trail, there was another hike going off just to the left that went to the canyon overlook. Dad, Joe and I started on it, but halfway up Mom said she was gettin ga bit tired and then went back to the truck to wait for us to come back after the hike. So we kept going.

Near the end there was a pretty good overlook, even though it wasn't the overlook. There I found a type of cactus that made good needle and thread... without even having to thread the needle.

I took the thorn end of it's thick leaves and bent it around. Then I set my teeth into it and pulled hard until the thorn slowly came out, with the plant fibres still attached. This makes superb thread, as it is stronger than real thread and comes already on the needle.

But on the way back to the trail, Dad hit his head really hard on a sharp jutting-out bough of an old fallen tree. Fortunately, there was an Asian lady on the trail waiting for her girls to catch up, and she gave Dad some toilet paper from out of her backpack. Dad joked later that I might have had to "stitch" him up with my needle and thread. (In this picture, Joe is hamming it up -- imitating Dad's expression after he bonked his head! We all laughed with relief that it wasn't such a bad cut afterall)


When we finally got to the top, the view was breath-taking.


There was a "V" in the ridgeline, and through this you could see the town Sierra Vista sprawling far below.


We got another man to take our picture, but left his glasses on the rocks when he left. We found him on the return hike and told him; there had been another trail in a different direction, and we were worried that we would be taking them in the wrong direction. He went and got it, though.

Tombstone - Bisbee - Sierra Vista Loop

Daddy here...We pulled into the Tombstone Territories RV Park on Friday (2/8), got parked, and headed 8 miles back east to visit the (in)famous "town that wouldn't die." We walked the streets of Wyatt Earp and toured the very site of the shootout at the OK Corral (really just a back alley behind the stables). It's a bit of a tourist trap, but I'd recommend the diorama because it tells the whole story of Tombstone, its founding, growth, and its role in how the west was settled.

We got a little bit hungry, so we decided not to compete with the crowds and head towards Bisbee. During World War II and Vietnam, this area was considered a national strategic asset for its copper mine. There is a HUGE crater caused by the strip-mining technique used to extract the copper ore. At the bottom is a pool of black liquid, fringed with sulfur and the area really stinks.

Ironic by today's eco-friendly standards, there's a memorial to the man who developed the technique and made the mines profitable.

Men seeking deferrment from the military draft chose mining rather than fighting, so over the years this quaint town has evolved as a hippie area, attracting all sorts of eccentrics and artists.

When I was stationed at Ft. Huachuca (1985-88), I used to love coming to Bisbee. I still think it looks like a "model railroad town" because of the cool, old-timey architecture with gingerbread porches and little houses perched in the steep hills and mountainside that rings the village.

I used to run on a relay team for the annual "Mule Mountain Marathon" from Bisbee to Sierra Vista, which is the home of the fort. Wow, to be in shape like that again!

As the evening approached, we head back up the mountain, chasing the sunset towards Sierra Vista. Another glorious day on the road!

Rock Hounds!

(Joe here) On Thursday (February 7th) we went out into the desert looking for petroglyphs. One of the RV park managers gave us a map with rough directions on how to find them. We failed, but it was not a complete loss. On our way out there was an abandoned mine and there we found tons of crystal-clear quartz clusters and jasper.

We also went to the Rockhound State Park where we found Thunder Eggs and very small quartz clusters too. On the way out of park we saw signs for a canyon that had a HUGE roller-coaster ride of a hill. It was fun!

As we made our way back, we saw some cows , which is pretty common. But in this part of the country there are no fences and they just cross the roads whenever they feel like it! This looks like a mommy and her two calves following close behind.

White Sands

Mamma here...

As we left Alamogordo we stopped in to White Sands National Monument. The sand dunes look just like the ones you would find on the the beach of the West Coast of Florida...pure white and fine but these dunes are actually made of gypsum. There is a lake bed that periodically fills and dries up located just south west of the dunes. As the lake bed evaporates it leaves gypsum crystal behind. These crystals are actually a light brown/yellow color but as the crystals disintegrate in the wind and are blown around, they scratch each other, resulting in the while color we see. The prevailing winds are out of the southwest, so the crystals blow to the northeast into the dunes.

We took a hike through the dunes with a guidebook that showed us what kind of animals live there by their tracks. We saw kit fox tracks, bunnies, snakes, caterpillars and road runner. It was clear this desert had plenty of activity going on.

The boys had a great time sliding down the slopes and playing in the sand. In this last picture, they are holding up fossilized tree stems and roots that the guidebook told us are scattered across this one particular area.

EEEeeeeee... BOOM!!!

(Daniel here) After a hike around and about the White Sand dunes, we drove about 30 miles to the White Sands Missile Range. Here the the U.S. Army test new bombs and missiles in the desolate gypsum dunes. The museum had many bombs, missiles, lasers, and other such weaponery. We had a great time. We looked at movies and pictures about the old bombs tested here. Also, we found out that some of the sound effects used in the Star Wars movies were recorded here. In a glass case was a replica of Darth Vader's mask that the Star Wars crew gave the Range in appreciation for their help collecting the sounds. For one effect, they had used a telephone pole's guide wire for the blaster sounds and the rest of the bomb launches as the other cool effects in the movies.

After watching a couple more movies we went out to see the bombs and missiles on display outside. One of the smallest one is pictured here.

One of the most funniest ones that is used for launching weather balloons. IT'S A "UFO!!!" You have to say to yourself, "Somebody needs to take those people in Roswell over here to show them their UFO sightings proven false.





Well, that wraps it up on the Missile Range. We had a lot of fun looking at the bombs. Sometime you should make your way out there.

Carlsbad to Alamogordo, NM

(Momma here) We left Carlsbad this morning to drive up to Roswell, New Mexico. Maybe you have heard of Roswell? It was the place of an UFO CRASH INCIDENT in 1947. So we felt like we absolutely had to go see the INTERNATIONAL UFO MUSEUM (believe it or not...) and check the whole thing out. Basically, it appears that SOMETHING crashed in 1947 and a bunch of people saw an unusual aircraft, the crash remains, and four dead aliens at the scene. The museum is made up of a bunch of testimonials, plus UFO sightings from around the world. It was interesting, but we all agree -- we can't tell if it's true :-)

After leaving Roswell, we drove west along 70 through the BEAUTIFUL Lincoln National Forest and it SNOWED! What a treat to see snow on the ground and TREES and GREEN after days and days of brown, on light brown, on dark brown!We started at 2500 feet in Carlsbad and climbed to 7500 feet and then back to 4400 feet when we arrived in Alamogordo.

Tomorrow we go to White Sands National Monument and some missile sites.

Into the Darkness... Carlsbad Caverns

(Joe here) Monday (Febuary 4th) we went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and saw a lot of stalactites and stalagmites and columns It's easy to remember which are which: stalactites grow from the roof, so "t" for top. Stalagmites grow from the bottom. And columns form when both get connected. There was no cell phone service so there were telephones all the way down. It was very dark, cool (56 degrees) and humid. Every now and then we'd stop and get really quiet so we could hear water dripping and making more cave features.

Once we got down to the bottom we found that you could eat lunch 800 ft. under ground in the Cafe! Mom packed sandwiches for us, so we didn't need to eat down there, but it was still pretty cool that you could eat there if you wanted.