A Road Trip to ATV!

We are hooked on ATVing. We've been going out on excursions with Jim Pearce of Apache ATV out of Tombstone. So we decided to make a road trip to Sierra Vista for two days of it! We drove 100+ miles to get there to renew friendships in sharing time with Jim, Dave and Joyce from Colorado, and Pat and Charlie from Indiana (who winter in Sierra Vista). An added enticement was the promise of more of Pat's homemade cookies!

Our Thursday trip was to Cochise' Stronghold northwest of Tombstone. This area is where the Indian Chief hid out for years, and we can see how. High and rugged rock formations, along with a spectacular view of the surrounding valleys...making it really easy to spot approaching cavalry. The rock formations are nothing short of stupendous.

Atop Cochise' Stronghold

We had done this trip a while ago, but were happy to see it again--and even though we were there before, it looked totally new to us! This day was grand, and we enjoyed excellent weather.

Friday, on to Ash Canyon

Our Friday trip was to J-6 ranch and Ash Canyon, several miles north-northwest of Benson. This trip was our FAVORITE!!! Unbelievable changes of topography. From rolling hills to rocky small mountains, we followed the canyon, crossing a stream at least 7 times. We finally reached a flatland of the canyon floor, thick with majestic western sycamores and, unbelievably, grassland! After a lunch and camraderie with the other ATVers we approached a rutted steep downgrade. That was when Ellen decided she had driven enough! She had done such a great job driving, as this was the first time she taken over as pilot.

We then climbed some really rocky trails to the 'top of the world' where the view was 360 degrees of beauty---the vast valley, the mountainsides, the aerial view of the feathery white branches of the sycamores along the valley stream, and a mountainside of beautiful pristine saguaros. It is unbelievable that these saguaros are on these hillsides, fairly thick and many that are apparently very old, with several appendages reaching for the sky. Add to this that all but a few are unblemished. This state is amazing in the variety of beauty to be seen, and on this particular ride, that variety was changing every few miles.

We headed back to Casa Grande, dusty, tired, and smiling ear to ear...this road trip was definitely worth it.