It was a nice day today, so we headed off to the Coronado National Monument. The plan was to dash down the I10 to Vale, take the scenic route to Sonoita, and then down to Montezuma Pass via Forest Road 36.
After a couple of false starts (we forgot first the map, and then the camp stove) we got onto I10 and then got caught in traffic caused by a road accident. But we eventually got to the turnoff for scenic Highway 83 to Sonoita through ranch country.
We hadn’t travelled very far before we came across a police roadblock, where we were diverted into a rest area where half a dozen vehicle were pulled over. The police didn’t speak to us – nothing happened for about 15 minutes, and then a cortege of vehicles appeared, driving very slowly.
First, there were a few more police vehicles, lights flashing. Then came a couple of cherry pickers, presumably to lift telephone lines and other aerial obstructions out of the way.
Finally, over the hilltop came a tractor unit hauling the biggest damn trailer I have ever seen. The load was a rectangular shape about 20 feet high, 20 feet wide and about 80 feet long, covered by a tarpaulin. It rode on a trailer with about 8 axles, each with four pairs of tires. This thing was so wide it had extension axles bolted onto each end of a standard axle, hence the extra wheels. And it passed us at about twice walking speed.
Following it was a flatbed truck with what looked like spare wheels and axles, and another flatbed with wooden chocks & chains. And then came an industrial tow truck pulling a spare tractor unit. I presume that these “chase” vehicles were in case any breakdowns threatened to hold up the procession.
Finally, there were a few more police vehicles and a string of bored northbound drivers, undoubtedly unhappy at following along behind a slow vehicle that took up the entire road width.
We eventually got back on the road again, and made our way down to Sonoita.
We continued on Hwy 83 down through wine country(!) to Parker Canyon Lake, a pretty blue patch among the pines. We then picked up Forest Road 36 towards Montezuma Pass.
This road is only 10 miles long but it is unpaved washboard and took us almost an hour to navigate the frequent bends and switchbacks. It climbs through pretty country and offers some stunning view along the way.
There is one fairly open patch, on which Customs and Border Patrol has erected a pen the size of a football field, with a tall chain link fence topped by barbed wire. It has four porta-potties, two generators, search lights and few trailers for CBP officials. We figure it is a holding pen for illegal immigrants caught attempting to cross through this area.
The views from the top of Montezuma Pass are breathtaking. There are open vistas both east and west, where you can see for miles on a clear day like the one we had. The border with Mexico is a visible line across the otherwise open spaces.
Historically, this is the place where Coronado, with a retinue of 340 conquistadors and 700 indian porters first entered what would become known as Arizona. I’m sure the local tribes don’t feel much like celebrating this.
From there we descended on another unpaved twisty road to the eastern plain, and back onto paved roads. We stopped for a picnic lunch at a rest area which commemorated the site of the Battle of the Bulls, between the Mormon Battalion (The US funded Mormon refugees beyond its present borders to fight for them against Mexico) and a herd of rampaging bulls they encountered near the San Pedro river.
We needed to be back in Tucson by 5:30 pm. Our original plan had been to visit the Chiricahua Monument, but the various false starts and delays forced us to cut back our plans. So we headed up to Sierra Vista and then to Tombstone, where we skipped the usual tourist stuff we’d seen before and headed for an ice cream shop we knew there.
One more stop for coffee in Benson and then we beetled back to Tucson on the I10 in plenty of time to meet the guy who installed the new dishwasher. After a couple of setbacks, we have a lovely new Bosch dishwasher in place, hooked up and running. It is so quiet that if you stand in the middle of the kitchen and listen, you hear the hum of the refrigerator more than that of the dishwasher!
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