Land of Standing Up Rocks.

March 23, 2014: Chiricahua National Monument – A Sky Island.

Today we venture off to the “Land of Standing Up Rocks”.  We leave Benson and merge onto I-10 and drive east to the next little town of Wilcox.  We turn south on SH186 and head to our destination – Chiricahua National Monument.

(Pronounced: cheer i cow ah)

We travel another 35 miles through Sulphur Springs Valley, then turn east onto SH181 and drive the 4 miles to the entrance station (Senior Pass = Free Entry!).  The park lies within the boundaries of Coronado Wilderness Area in the Chiricahua Mountains.

Organ Pipe Formation.

From the golden grasslands, the road winds 8 miles up Bonita Canyon to the summit, Massai Point.  Along the way we stop at the Organ Pipe Formation.  The rock formations in the park are called pinnacles, but also go by the names of columns and totem poles - or as the Chiricahua Apache called them, “standing up rocks”.

 

An island in the sky.

As we ascend through the canyon beautiful rock columns line the road in many areas.  The grasslands give way to sycamore, juniper, and oak trees.  As we near the summit of the “island in the sky” we enter woodlands of cypress, pine, and fir.  Not only has the vegetation changed dramatically, but we now find that a sweatshirt or jacket feels mighty good at this altitude.  By the way, what is a “sky island”?

This information board is located in the exhibit building at Massai Point.  It gives a great explanation of "sky islands".

The exhibit building sits on the hilltop overlooking the rock formations.

We trek along the very easy Massai Nature Trail and enjoy the exhibit building.  

There are miles of trails that snake through the canyons, meadows, and rock formations.  Since we didn’t come prepared for serious hiking we opt for the nature trail that circles the summit.

Lichen covers the rock formations.

Aptly named "Balancing Rock".

This lizard was totally indifferent to our presence as I approached for a close up shot.

Standing Up Rocks with Sulphur Springs Valley below, and the Dragoon Mountains in the distance.

  

In perfect balance.

Panoramic view across the "standing up rocks", Sulphur Springs Valley, and the Dragoon Mountains in the distance.

Sugarloaf Mountain and the Turkey Creek Caldera.

On the far right side of the preceding picture you can see the upslope of Sugarloaf Mountain.  Echo and Rhyolite Canyons are over 1,000 feet below the summit.

Sugarloaf Mountain with Echo Canyon far below in the foreground.  The tiny object on the top of the mountain is the fire lookout.

Nature trail plaque describing the eruption of Turkey Creek Caldera 10 miles to the south, and the impact on this area over 25 million years ago.  Eons of erosion has created what we see today.

Jack leads the way along the trail.

Exhibit building with a 360-degree view.

Checking out the “Big Blast”!

Here’s what we glean from the NPS exhibit building:

“Nearly 27 million years ago the earth shook as huge clouds of ash, gas, and pumice began erupting into the atmosphere.  When the eruptions stopped, more than 1,200 square miles of the surrounding area were covered with layers of volcanic ash.  So much material was blown out of the volcano, it collapsed forming a caldera, a huge crater-like depression, 12 miles across and 5,000 feet deep.  Today, it is difficult to see signs of the volcano.  Travel south from the park 12 miles to Turkey Creek and you will be inside the dormant volcano.  Geologists estimate that the Turkey Creek eruption was 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington.  The Turkey Creek Volcano blew out 100 cubic miles of material while Mount Saint Helens produced one tenth of a cubic mile.”

Off we go to the volcano!

Armed with a little information, we wind our way back down the mountain, into Sulphur Springs Valley, and head south – into the remnants of Turkey Creek Volcano.

Looking across the grasslands toward the Dragoon Mountains.

And here we are - standing inside the dormant volcano.  Anticlimactic?  Well, yes.

What was a catastrophic event 27 million years ago is now beautiful ranch grasslands encircled by the Chiricahua Mountains.  We wouldn’t know we were driving through a dormant volcano if it weren’t for the NPS information.  Glad we took the time to learn something new today.

Homeward bound.

It’s time to head for home.  SH181 to SH191, north past the Dragoon Mountains and the turn off for the Cochise Stronghold that takes you to the remote hiding place of the Apache chief of the same name.  We head west on Dragoon Road, drive through the little hamlet of Dragoon, and a short while later merge back onto I-10 westbound for the short drive back to Benson.

But, one last thing before I end this.

I nearly forgot to mention the most fun we had all day.  While driving on a spur road in the park that takes you to the fire lookout trailhead, we pull off on a turnout to take a few pictures.  Photos and viewing complete, we hop back in the Jeep.  Jack looks in the rearview mirror before pulling back onto the road.  Take a guess what comes scampering across the road just behind the Jeep?  A coatimundi!!!  We both jump back out of the Jeep to get a good look at this critter.  He heads into the brush and, of course, we follow.  This elusive creature loses us before I can get a picture.  We give up the hunt, so my only option is to link you to a Youtube video of a coatimundi (I love that name!) that was taken in Chiricahua National Monument.  This is the very unusual critter we saw – minus the snow.

Coatimundi in Chiricahua National Monument 

We had a great time exploring today, but we both agree the coatimundi sighting was the best part of the day.  Neither of us had ever seen one of these animals in the wild, so it created some real excitement for a little while.  Life is good – another fun day.  Until next time – be safe.