Another Quick Southwest Adventure
Today’s post is another quick Southwest Venture beyond Tucson’s city grid, just far enough away to dig into the playlist and belt out some lyrics . Depending on your Old Pueblo location, the drive the Chiricahua National Monument takes just under two hours. Now, this is a National Monument, so people know about it, right? Well, yes, but it is shocking to find out how many locals have never been (hence my write up here) and how few visitors to the Tucson area make the trek to visit. That’s a shame for a couple of reasons.
First of all, there’s the drive itself. It is a terrific example of the great American getaway. The landscape shifts drastically over the course of the drive, from the desert city to the dusty rocks near Dragoon, replaced by the more fertile agriculture of Willcox. Even if you’re on a timeline, you can manage a quick stop to commune for a few minutes with the funky rock formations along with your fellow travelers and a lizard or two!
It’s the kind of drive where the sweeping Southwest Vistas erase all cares and lift your spirits. You can literally see for miles. Once you turn off past Willcox, heading toward the Chiricahuas, in fact, you might just be alone for a while. Imagine! Just the purple -blue-no, purple mountain and your car and you and the road in between. I was going to take a picture here. It was spectacular. To me, more moving than the view up top, but I knew I couldn’t capture it. Worse, I would have lost the moment and it was just too cool. So, I’ll tell you this: you want a piece of that. You need a little of that in your life
Then, of course, there are multiple options awaiting you at Chiricahua. At minimum, drive to Massai Point for the views and take your pick of numerous hikes just from that spot. Either plan ahead from the Chiricahua National Monument website, or stop by the Visitor’s Center. I’m not going to tell you what to do here – I mean take your pick and it will be a good one. Instead, I just want to encourage you to get out there, make the time to visit Chiricahua and if you live in Tucson, come back. For those of you visiting Tucson, as a Chiricahua day trip is manageable and well worth it!
