Meandering to Maine and Back: Day 9 (July 1st) or Controversy, Contrast, and Conflict

Another smooth morning of coffee and converting Austin led to us heading south. The odometer said we were 2597 miles into our trip.

Coronado National Memorial is located mere miles from the international border between the United States and Mexico. In fact parts of the Memorial’s boundary is actually the border itself. The focus of the Memorial is to commemorate the impact that Fransisco Coronado and his army had on the area as they made their way from New Spain to southern Arizona/New Mexico looking for the fabled cities of gold. But our focus would change even before getting to the park.

We made the last turn onto Montezuma Canyon Road and a scene of Border Patrol and Sheriff vehicles appeared ahead of us. We slowed down and a scene of a white sedan surround by law enforcement vehicles became apparent, the white driver standing alongside the road, a couple of white garbage bags at his feet. As we rolled by a young hispanic couple were being placed into the back of one of the Border Patrol vehicles. Neither of them were being ill treated, and carried a small grocery bag of possessions. There are many political and emotional sides to the issue of immigration, and it's even more emotional when you work so closely with the hispanic community as Shar does. We understand that we might be making any number of incorrect assumptions about what we had seen, but immigration just became flesh and blood for us. 

We stopped at the entrance sign to take our traditional selfie. We ended up sitting there a long moment processing what we had just witnessed.

Julia at the visitors center was as friendly and helpful as all of the NPS folk we have encountered. The temperature was in the 90’s yet, but it would be soon. She said to do the Coronado Peak hike, just over a mile up and back. The road up to the trailhead is ok, pavement turns to gravel once you leave the visitors center, and a lot sketchy with vehicles going in both directions. 

The hike showed how much stronger we both have gotten, even considering the 6600 foot altitude. The view was outstanding, and gave us another chance to release some of the emotions we both still carried. 

We tried to time it so that no-one was coming up the road while we were going down, but were unsuccessful. I don’t want to think about how close Austin’s tires were to the edge, and won’t be planning any return trips. 

Our bellies told us it was lunchtime, and we set up a lunch; a layered salad of shredded lettuce, red pepper, tomato, cheese, and canned tuna, topped with a mix of heavy whip and dill mustard and lime juice. Delicious!

Our next stop was Chiricahua National Monument and its beautiful landscape of stacked rocks. We did just a short nature walk at the end of the scenic drive, meeting a nice lady named Bree who had sold everything and was doing van life. A kindred spirit, you could say.

Our next destination was Fort Bowie National Historical Site. The visitors center would be closed by the time we got there, but the the grounds remain open from sunrise to sunset. We had planned ahead and were able to purchase our traditional souvenirs of a sticker and walking stick medallion for Bowie at Chiricahua. Austin was down to a quarter tank, so we detoured 30 minutes to fill him up in the town of Wilcox before getting onto I-10 for a few miles. The town of Bowie exists, but is about a decade away from being a ghost version. We simply passed through on our way to the fort’s location up in the nearby mountains. 

We eventually found the fort, picked up a brochure from the box on the visitors center door and wander for 45 minutes to an hour exploring the remains of what use to guard the important Apache Pass. A lot of conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches, the famous Geronimo was the leader of this group, and US soldiers occurred in this area. A clear pass was necessary to move goods and mail to and from San Fransisco and St. Louis, and end around to the big fence called the Rocky Mountains.

Our third and final stop of the day completed we set our sights on Day 10. It would be a long night of driving, another 3 hours after a great dinner at Bowie of hamburger, taco seasoning, a can of diced tomatoes and cheese. We would cross the Continental Divide a couple times enroute to a boondocking spot in the Gila National Forest, and pass through the city of Silver City where we would refill Austin. We wanted to get as close to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument as we could, setting up another Planet Fitness stop prior to White Sands National Park, setting up getting done with Guadalupe Mountains National Park in time to watch the bats leave Carlsbad Caves at dusk, setting up…. You get the idea.