Three Days ON and Four Days Off -- Perfect!

The job may not be what I was expecting but the schedule is exactly what I wanted, so what the heck.  Other than the part of dealing with other people's body fluids, I very much enjoy where I am here at The Thing -- a roadside attraction along I-10 in SE Arizona (you will have to do your own research to figure THAT one out).  I am on Day 3 of four days off -- after working 7 days in a row.  But I think I am on a set schedule now.

Today is overcast and cool again -- mid 60s for a high after mid 40s overnight.  I'll probably hang around here; at least for the morning.  But Friday and Saturday I finally got out and rode -- almost 400 miles.

Fridays trip, after a late start, took me to Tombstone where I toured the OK Corral, Boot Hill Cemetary and an old Silver mine.  It is extremely touristy but you kind of get the idea -- if you believe "Bonanza" was realistic of the Old West.  It felt like I was on a movie set with all the people walking about in clothes of the period (1880s) -- including Colt pistols on their hip and Winchesters resting on their shoulders.  I'm not so sure my $4.50 Hot Dog was representative of the dining opportunities 130 years ago.  But it was very good.

Boot hill was a common name for cemeteries in the Old West because there were so many violent deaths where cowboys "died with their boots on."  Hays, KS was probably the first to coin the phrase but the Boot Hill in Deadwood, SD; Dodge City, KS and Tombstone, AZ are best known.

The original Tombstone Cemetery was used from 1878 until about 1886 and has perhaps as many as 300 graves.  But it fell into disrepair when the new cemetery opened on Allen St.  Mother Nature reclaimed most of it and many of the wooden markers were stolen as souvenirs.  But it has been greatly restored now, thanks in large part to Emmett Nunnelley who spent much of his last years on the project and was the last person to be buried there in 1946.

(Billy Clanton and others killed by the Earp brothers and Doc Holiday at the OK Corral)

One of my favorite parts of Boot Hill were some of the hilarious epithets on a few of the markers .. like poor George Johnson .. "hung by mistake."

My Saturday outing started much earlier but I was in full leather -- chaps, insulated vest, leather jacket, ear muffs and my 'gauntlet' leather gloves.  The temps never got above the mid 60s and the most I ever took off (while riding) was my vest.  It was a cool but comfortable day with the right gear.

My first stop was the stronghold of Cochise -- the great Chiricahua Apache Chief who made the Dragoon Mountains his base for some 13 years beginning in 1861.  The Apache were friendly to the Anglo-Americans when they first took over what's now known as NM and AZ in 1850.  But in 1861, a young US Army officer -- Lt. John Bascom -- mistakenly accused Cochise and several of his relatives of kidnapping a young boy and had them arrested.  When Cochise escaped, Lt. Bascom hung the other Apaches sending Cochise into a guerrilla war with the white man.  A peace treaty was eventually signed in 1872 that allowed the Chiricahua to remain in their homeland.  Cochise died peacefully -- having never lost a battle -- in 1874 and is said to be buried somewhere in these hills.

My first impression of the stronghold -- or as close as I could get to it on my motorcycle -- was how rugged and (probably) original everything is.  It was the exact opposite of Tombstone with all it's restored buildings and 'Hollywood looking' characters walking about.  The last 5 miles or so of road getting to Cochise's hideout is a deteriorating dirt road.  I came up about 1/2 mile (I think) short of the end of Ironwood Lane because I was hesitant to cross a stream.  It appeared only 4" or 5" deep but the rocky bottom was too unstable to risk a motorcycle crossing.

It is easy to see why Cochise picked this spot as his camp.  There appears to be only one way into this dead-end canyon and it would be easily defended on both sides of the entry.  The back and sides are protected naturally by mountains and cliffs.  From looking at Google maps, it appears that his hideout was part way up the mountain, inside a naturally formed 'bowl'.

(about 5 miles of dirt road .. into these mountains .. leads to Cochise's Stronghold)

From what I've read .. because I never made it past that second stream crossing .. there are hiking trails within the Stronghold the traverse the area, one of which is 5 miles long.  I want to go back with a 4-wheeled vehicle next time, so I can at least get to the parking lot where these trails emanate.

From here I went west toward the town of Sonoita, also know as the wine country.  Unfortunately, I ran into rain just as I pulled into town.  After a quick check of the weather radar on my phone, I jumped back on my bike and did a 180 and began a race back to the safety of my camper some 60 miles back northeast .. and dry.  I made it with just a few patches of slightly wet pavement.  The ride out there was great.  But it will require another visit.

So many things to see and do .. so little time to do it in.  Everyday is new.  I love it!