A ROUGH & TUMBLE DRIVE IN CARR CANYON

WE WERE WAY UP THERE SOMEWHERE

Another weather perfect day in the San Pedro Valley so we headed off for Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca mountains. We hadn't realized they charged to walk the trail there so decided to try the next canyon down the road.

Carr canyon turned out to be quite a driving challenge. We turned off highway 92 onto a paved road leading towards the mountains. Before long the pavement ended & rough dirt road began. We could see a waterfall high on the mountain so we decided to keep going despite the road. It was so nice to see big trees again & lots of greenery. The road began to wind & we were soon down to a single lane. The stones got bigger & the ruts got deeper but we kept going. We had confidence in our little mountain goat Hyundai Santa Fe. No guard rails on this road & the higher we climbed, the steeper the drop offs became. We reached a series of switchbacks & from here we were down to first gear the rest of the way. We had no idea how far it was to the top or what was there if we even made it all the way. It was one of those roads with few turn-a-rounds so you just kept going. For Kelly it was a nail biter, but luckily for me I was driving so didn't have the worries of not knowing what the driver is doing. And every time Kelly had the cliff on her side she was not a happy camper!! I kept saying, "look at that view" and she just kept looking straight ahead. We stopped once for pictures & discussed whether to go on or not. Finally convinced ourselves the top was probably just around the next curve. (it wasn't) Kept on for another 15 minutes or so & finally reached the National Forest Recreation Area campground & decided that was our turn around point. The views out over the San Pedro Valley from here were spectacular. We could see all the way down into Mexico. The Swisshelm & Dragoon mountain ranges were visible on the eastern horizon & with the help of our 7 x 50 binoculars I was actually able to pinpoint our rig way across the valley about 20 miles away or so. It was the only white dot visible in that section of the Tombstone Hills. In fact, I was able to see the little Motormouse looking out the passenger side window with a sad look on her face wondering when Mom & Dad were coming home.

SIERRA VISTA

It had taken us about 40 minutes to travel the short 7 miles up the twisting mountain road & about 80% of that was in first gear. I'm guessing we climbed maybe 2 or 3 thousand feet. Our Santa Fe is a high clearance vehicle & that served us well because we never bottomed it out once despite the large rocks & boulders imbedded in the road. It handled the ruts & pot holes without a wince. The front wheel drive dug in & never wavered all the way to the top & I was glad we had a manual transmission. They are just a lot more fun to drive. My first car was a Volkswagon Beetle back in 1963 & I've loved jammin gears ever since. ONE OF THE MANY SWITCHBACKS

Coming down didn't take as long as going up but it had it's own hazards & the main one was the kids on dirt bikes recklessly coming full tilt the other way up the mountain. We had one fellow nearly run into us on a curve. I think he probably had to pull over for a change of underwear after that. About 30 minutes after leaving the top we were back on pavement at the bottom & heading for Sierra Vista. LOOKING OUT OVER SIERRA VISTA & THE SAN PEDRO VALLEY

A quick stop at Wally-World, Fry's, & Ace hardware before heading back to the rig. Couldn't get out of that Fry's grocery store soon enough. So many people in there it was like a demolition derby with all the crazy grocery cart drivers. I felt a lot safer on the mountain road.

We were back at the rig by 3:15 & that was about it for another day. We only have a couple television channels here so ended up having the Super Bowl game on later. I'm not a big sports fan & would rather have watched a basket weaving demonstration but the game did get a little exciting towards the end & I did actually catch myself watching it.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

And thanks to my cousin Norma in Kitchener, Ontario for the following.............:))

TO ALL WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.
Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:(1) eat less,(2) don't ask for money all the time,(3) are easier to train,(4) normally come when called,(5) never ask to drive the car,(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;(7) don't smoke or drink,(8) don't want to wear your clothes,(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children..........:))