April 5-6 -- Intro and Boondocking at SE Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains

"Boondocking" -- what a word! I guess it comes from "docking" in the "boonies", that being a area far from the trappings of civilization. The Chiricahuas are perhaps not "the boonies", but rather a place which IS the destination; you don't go through them to get to someplace else. And getting to them can be an adventure in itself; there are 3 roads leading to Portal, but the only way there that is entirely on pavement is -- if you're coming from the west -- to go into New Mexico, then return back into Arizona, changing the clocks back and forth as you do so, since Arizona, ornery state that it is, doesn't recognize Daylight Savings Time. That being said -- the Chiricahuas, home to Geronimo and the Chiricahua Apaches, land of coatimundi and Gila Monster, Apache Fox Squirrel and other species endemic to that particular mountain range, perhaps even jaguar, as one was seen in the neighboring Peloncillo Mountains in 1996 -- well, you never really know what you might see there, or step on, as there are at least 30 species of snakes, including Diamondback and Mojave rattlesnakes.   There is even a chance, slim though it may be, that you might see Mexican Gray Wolf -- though the last recorded sighting was in 1971. And the birds --- the Chiricahuas have been called by many knowledgeable bird experts THE best spot for birding in all of the United States. It's unique as it is at the northernmost limit of many Mexican bird species; you just don't see them anywhere else in the States. And within a span of about 15 miles of dirt road you can go through 6 different plant communities, each supporting its unique set of birds --- desert, grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, Sierra Madrean pine-oak woodland, ponderosa pine forest, fir-spruce forest, and ponds. It's just an incredible place -- the "sky island" sans pareil -- and what an opening view I had of the Chiricahuas, wreathed in clouds dropping rain that did not reach the ground (called virga), with Hwy 80 leading straight to them --

Looking northeast, back along the route I had just traveled, the scenery was just as dramatic -- 

What a re-introduction (I have been to the Chiricahuas 4 times before, starting in 2008) to a place I have grown to love. And then, when reaching the "town" (population 60) of Portal, you are met with one of the grandest scenes in all of the southwest, national park-quality vistas if it weren't so far off the beaten track (thank goodness it is) -- this is the scene from the boondocking spot of my travel trailer "Discovery" the next morning -- 

Here's the view looking up the canyon from the corner of Cathedral Rock Road, off which was my boondocking spot -- 

And I looked both ways and crouched down on the road up Cave Creek Canyon to get this perspective --

Further up this road there is a pullout leading to "Vista Point", where you climb a trail that goes above the forest canopy to reveal a view truly remarkable, particularly considering that the border with Mexico is only about 60 miles to the south; this is a panorama comprised of 4 photos where you can clearly see the drainages of Cave Creek to the right, and South Fork on the left -- 

So the stage is set, and the adventure of the next 13 days begins...