February 24 -- Day Two At The Visitor Information Center

I'm having a lot of fun doing this -- really. I mean, how many people can say that they have this for their working environment? -- 

That's the Cave Creek Canyon Visitor Center, or "VIC" for short, sitting between the soaring walls of the canyon, as seen from the parking lot entrance. It's cold this morning, as during this time of the year the sun doesn't reach the VIC until around 9am. There are certain tasks to do before opening up -- clean the public bathroom, especially making sure there are no cobwebs or mouse droppings inside (and that goes for the VIC too); dust, mop, and sweep wherever and whenever they're needed; turn on the radio, computer and WiFi, the latter being available to visitors during opening hours; open up the video room and get the video ready to play -- the name of the video is "Chiricahuas: Mountain Islands in the Desert", an excellent overview of the area and its critters, though it dates to before the Horseshoe II Fire and Hurricane Odile; put the flags out that indicated we're open; unlock the front door -- and wait for the throngs of visitors to come pouring in. OK, so that's a slight exaggeration, b but I do get nearly 30 people coming through the front door today, which isn't bad considering it's still the off-season. Here are a few of the things to be found in the VIC. There are informative displays of some of the more "exotic" creatures to be found here, including this one -- 

Though I have yet to see a Gila Monster, it's just a matter of time before it happens. Same with rattlesnakes, which I also have yet to come across. Those sightings are when it's useful to have a 500mm lens, as you don't need to get close to them to take a quality photo. And speaking of getting close --

These display cases are for the aforementioned gila monsters and rattlesnakes. Alive. They'll be put there once the season starts. My friend Ron, the only paid staffer here who's worked at the VIC for 5 years, asked if I'd like to feed them when I'm there; I graciously declined. And he gave me the cheery thought of being greeting by the rattle of rattlesnakes when I open in the morning -- charming. Actually, I don't mind, but let's see if I still say that once the critters are put into their glass cases...

The center of the main room has a hand-carved relief display of the Chiricahuas, complete with contours, elevations, and road routes. It's really quite unique, and as the plaque below says was created in 1940 -

We use it to orient visitors to the landmarks here and the roads in relation to the terrain. It's quite a useful tool and really is a work of art -- but don't touch it! There are printed signs all around it saying that, but of course people still do.

So what's a typical encounter with a visitor like? Let's take a couple from Alaska as an example. (Quite a few people who drop in are from there.) I say "Howdy! (Ok, I don't say that). Can you sign in the guest book, please? What's your interest in the Cave Creek Canyon -- hiking, birdwatching, just  driving through for the day?" They then tell me more about Alaska than I tell them about the Chiricahuas. But I don't mind, because I'm taking Discovery II up the Alaska Highway starting in August, and I'm still working on an itinerary. Then I steer them back to why what they'd like to do while they're here. "We'd like to do a hike." "OK, then here's one I really recommend. because you get a view of Winn Falls, one of the longest in Arizona, with a drop of nearly 400 feet." THAT gets them interested. "But unless you know where it is, it's hard to see as it's in shadow most of the time. Do you have binoculars?" If they don't, I suggest they go to Vista Point first, which is a 200-yard hike to a vantage point above Cave Creek Canyon's forest canopy; you can see the drainages of South Fork and Cave Creek, and if you know the general direction of where to look you can use the telescope  there to spot Winn Falls. I think Cathedral Vista, as the viewpoint is called, is one of the greatest scenic vistas in all of the desert Southwest, indeed all of the United States, and it's a great way to orient yourself to this section of the Chiricahuas. Now they know how to get closer to Winn Falls, and in the process see a much smaller waterfall, but in many ways just as impressive -- the falls at the Herb Martyr dam, photos of which were in an earlier post. How to get there? "You take the paved road, which turns to dirt right after the bridge, to the Southwest Research Station,where you'll see a brown sign on your right saying "Herb Martyr, 2 miles". Take that road going to the left, and as you drive along it you'll see periodic views of Winn Falls. Where is its location? You'll see a pyramid-shaped mountain; that's Spencer Peak. And just to the right of that, and below, is Winn Falls, though it's in shadow. It was nearly all frozen 2 weeks ago, when I did a hike in the area, but now it's in pretty much full flow, and looks like a thin ribbon very reminiscent of a Yosemite Valley waterfall dropping from the top of a canyon wall." "Can you get to it?" "Only by hiking and bushwhacking. There is an overlook along the Greenhouse Trail, where you're looking down at it, but to get there the trail goes along the north face of a mountain where there's still snow, so the footing is kinda dicey. Your best bet would be to go to the end of Herb Martyr road, where you'll get about as close to the falls as you can on a road, and there's also a short hike from there down to the falls at Herb Martyr dam. It's a great spot to spend the afternoon." They take some trail brochures, tell me a little more about Alaska ("we live in Juneau, where there aren't as many mosquitos as there are in the interior") then head on out to what I hope will be a pleasant day's outing. Except for some slack times, the day goes by quickly, and at 3pm (well, more like 3:30 because there are always those last visitors who like to talk, but I don't mind too much as I'm just going back to Faranuf) I close up and head out. I find myself learning a little more about this area every time I man the visitor center, and it's not really a job -- because I like what I'm doing. And that makes all the difference in the world.