Triangle T - Continued

 

Helen gave us this cute stained glass owl as a thank you and good-bye gift. Ari mounted it for me in the window over my kitchen sink. It is pretty sweet. Helen made this herself, so that gal has some talent.

We are still at the Triangle T. 

Fran, one of the campers near us, is an avid equestrian. She agreed to ride my horse with Ari. This was wonderful as Lennox does better on the trail if Mercy comes along.

On the trail, they rode by this old movie set from the movie, 3:10 to Yuma. The Triangle T has been used for several movies and boasts a long list of celebrities that have visited the property.

They include John Wayne, Glenn Ford, Van Heflen, Russell Crowe, Dale Evans, and Christian Bale.

 

Pictures from the trail ride.

On Wednesday, we went into nearby Benson and toured the Kartchner Caverns. This was a very different cave tour from any we have experienced. Ari and I have visited caves all over the world. This cave is a relatively new discovery. They have basically curated and protected it from the beginning, so unlike other caves we have visited there is no graffiti inside - people signing and dating their names, etc. They have double entrances into the cave to ensure the environment isn't upset. 

I was able to use my mobility scooter the entire time. 

They have a small museum with gift shop. The museum is lovely and well worth visiting. It is really well done.

When you first enter the cave, you walk through a fine mist. The mist is to basically keep any lint or dust out of the caverns, so it is kind of like going into a clean room.

There are railings throughout, which you can use to hang onto. There is a guide in front and a guide in the rear. The guide in the rear watches the tour group and if anyone in the tour touches anything, he marks the location with trail ribbon and they will come in later to clean off any oil or contaminants left by the visitor. 

One of the guests rested her knee on a concrete curb on the side of the trail. She was asked to remove her knee and the guide put a ribbon to mark that area to be de-contaminated.

The caves are major migratory stop for bats. There is an area in the caverns where the bats give birth and raise their young. That section of the cave is closed off to tours (mid-April through mid-August) so the bats are not disturbed.

Visitors are not allowed to bring anything into the caves - so I wasn't able to take any pictures. They are concerned that even the flash of a camera may affect or upset something. You can't even bring water with you on the tour as you might spill some. 

They wipe down the railings and wash down the trail paths three times a day.

The caverns themselves are pretty standard, but you don't see the damage you do in other caverns from people touching the formations, etc. 

In all, these was the most extreme protections I have ever seen in a cave.

I contrast this to Luray Caverns in Virginia. Those caverns are quite beautiful and they have underground pools. When we toured those caverns, the guide said that they tried stocking the ponds with fish to see what would happen. The fish died. 

Ari and I visited a cave in British Columbia several years back where we had to dress in coveralls and wear mining hats with lights. We basically crawled through mud to explore the cave. 

We visited another cave that could only be reached by kayak and picnicked there.

In Australia, we rappelled into a cave.

I can only imagine the gasps of horror from the curators of these caverns here in Arizona. 

I am not criticizing their methods. I think they are enlightened. They are preserving these caverns in a way no other caverns have been preserved which means these caverns are going to be way more informative scientifically speaking as they haven't been damaged and contaminated the way other caves have.

The Triangle T - Dragoon, Arizona

 

Helen, who is in her 80s, has been riding my horse, Mercy, so Ari isn't riding alone. She has gotten very attached to Mercutio and he has babied her for the past month, taking very good care of her. 

It's been a win-win situation so that my horse stays in condition and Helen now can say she rode in Tombstone, Arizona.

We finally got our trailer back and fixed on Friday. On Saturday, we got the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. On Sunday, which was Easter, we stayed put to give the second dose a chance to work through our systems. We both felt achy and tired, but not too bad. Sunday night, I developed a really bad sore throat and stuffy head.

On Monday, we headed to our next stop the Triangle T in Dragoon, Arizona.

Once again, Google maps failed to locate the entrance properly and directed us past the entrance - we saw the sign as Ari drove past. We drove about a mile until we found a decent place to turn around with the trailer and then went back into the campground.

We have full hook-up and a back-in site. No picnic table, but a small fire ring.

The horses are in a large arena area with plenty of space to move around. No shade, though.

Their well went dry decades ago, so they haul water in. They brought the water truck over to fill up the trough for the horses.

The big attraction here is the stunning rock formations. It looks like a really cool place to ride.

One foot out the door...anxious to get out of Tombstone

 Our trailer was picked up by RV City on Wednesday, March 31st. We were told that we would get it back the same day. We were skeptical, so we packed a suitcase any way and figured we would stay at a local hotel.

Tombstone is really a small town and it is geared towards tourists. There are no upscale or even medium scale hotels, but they still charge tourist prices. We stayed at the Landmark Lodge, which was built in 1966, and looks it in every way. The rooms are dingy and dirty. The architecture has a very 60s motel vibe to it. We opted to stay at the Lodge in the hopes of getting decent internet, but the wifi was actually worse than the RV campground where we had been staying. They boasted a hot breakfast, made to order, and the menu was pretty good - pancakes, french toast, fried potatoes, etc. but they only had one person at the grill, so it was an easy 30 minute wait for any food. The quality of the food was one star below McDonalds.

We don't have our truck. RV City didn't have a truck with a gooseneck hitch, so we told them to use ours to tow the trailer. We also needed them to check the brake controller, so it made sense.  Ari didn't take any of the tack out of the trailer because normally we would stow it in the truck and did I mention we don't have our truck? So, he can't ride until we get our trailer back.

The axles were replaced, but there was a dispute on Thursday about replacing the tires. All four tires on the trailer were worn and needed to be replaced because of the bent axles. Dexter, the axle mfr, was supposed to ship four replacement tires to RV City, the RV repair shop. The tires never arrived. We spoke to Tom, at SMC, the trailer mfr, and he told us the tires were shipped, but I never got an email notice about that. I had assumed that SMC/Dexter had worked out a deal with RV City to reimburse for the tires. Tom said he would have to call Dexter first thing Friday morning to find out what was happening with the tires as Dexter had already shut down for the day.

This meant another night in a rented room. We opted to rent a room at the campground where we are staying. They have portables set up - similar to the portables schools use for classrooms - that they have converted into motel rooms. The rooms have a bathroom and a bedroom. We were assured that the internet was really excellent in these rooms, but it was actually worse than the Landmark Lodge because not only didn't we have wifi, but we had no cell service. 

So, we were feeling pretty down. For lunch, Helen and Jeff, who are also staying at the campground offered to drive us into town to pick up food.  Ari ended up going shopping at the Family Dollar store for groceries so we wouldn't have to beg for rides into town.  No produce at this store, so Ari brought bread, lunch meat, some chocolate chip muffins for breakfast, water, etc. to keep us fed until we get the LQ back.  There is no GrubHub or Uber in the Tombstone area. 

Friday morning I called Tom at SMC only to be told HE NO LONGER WORKS THERE.  Panic ensued as Ari & I have been working with Tom since we purchased the trailer and we had no idea how much his replacement knew about our situation. His replacement, Chris, seems OK and he was able to arrange for RV City to put on the replacement tires and bill SMC.

Today is Good Friday, but we still don't have our LQ back. We are heading into Easter weekend and there is a good possibility - Jeff and Helen tell us - that there are no crappy rooms for rent in the area because apparently tourists flood Tombstone on Easter weekend.

I have told Ari we need to get our truck back today one way or the other, so we are not stranded the entire weekend. That way we can at least get a better hotel room in Sierra Vista (about 30 miles from here). Helen and Jeff have offered to take care of our horses if we don't get the LQ back this afternoon.

Snow? In Tombstone?

We were surprised Saturday morning by a snowfall early in the morning. Ari had taken the blankets off the horses after feeding them, but when the snow started to come down we went out and put the blankets back on.

The snow continued to fall steadily and finally stopped around 1 pm. None of it stuck around, but it looks to be cold and freezing temps for the next couple of days.

Lennox bent a panel of the pen he has been in by leaning against it.  The property owners ended up replacing a couple of the pen's panels with stronger ones to ensure Lennox and Mercutio don't get out and no more damage is done.

Supposedly, the replacement parts for our trailer are going to ship next week. I have surgery on my foot scheduled next week, so we may actually be able to leave in early April and continue our journey.

 

Riding to Monument Guest Ranch, Tombstone, AZ

 Wednesday morning, I got a call - the Iowa Gang (Dwight, Julie, and Bill) would meet Ari at the petroglyphs outside our campground and ride to the Tombstone Monument Guest Ranch.  The guest ranch is an all-inclusive dude ranch. If you stay there, you can't bring your own horse, but equestrians in the area can ride in, tie their horses up in the arena area, and hang out at the saloon which offers food and drink.

So, Ari met up with them...happy to join a group ride and get out.

Here is Ari and Julie with Bill's horse - a dappled gray.

On the ride, Ari spotted several abandoned mines. These mines are now used as shelters by migrants travelling across the border. They will spend one or more nights in these man-made caves to rest up before continuing North.

The Monument Guest Ranch is basically a replica of down-town Tombstone, except the store fronts are now casitas for ranch guests.

Inside the bathroom stall

Outside the bathroom stall

Ari called me when they got to the guest ranch and asked me to drive down and join them (and bring his wallet so he could buy a round of drinks), so I drove there. I expect the horseback ride in was more pleasant as it was a hard pack dirt road about a mile long to get into the guest ranch.  But the saloon was charming. I visited the women's lavatory and enjoyed the mural.

I had a prickly pear margarita - which was quite good.

Council Rock, Dragoon, Arizona

 We connected with some equestrian campers staying at the Tombstone Livery about two miles down the road. They agreed to trail ride with Ari and one of them, Bill, agreed to ride my horse. Bill's horse had gone lame - abscess in one of his feet.

Sunday they had organized a ride to Council Rock. This is where Geronimo met with  the US Cavalry in March 1872 to negotiate a peace between the Apache tribe and the US government. It is considered a sacred space by the local tribes.

Bill riding my horse

some petroglyphs

some more petroglyphs

It is a 16 mile unpaved road to the trailhead, but it looks like a really worthwhile adventure. 

Tombstone RV & Campground, Tombstone, AZ

 While Dayna, Steve, and I were playing tourist, Ari & Jaydon, Dayna's son, rode to the nearby Tombstone Gulch.

It was such a nice ride Ari & I decided to do it on Tuesday.

When you reach Tombstone Gulch, pass under the abandoned train trestle, turn left, and look at the rocks on your left to locate the petroglyphs.

 

Cedar Creek Ranch - Arrivaca, Arizona

 

Cedar Creek Ranch is a few miles from the Mexico border. I thought it would be interesting to stay at a place so far South. No interest in going into Mexico, just thought it would be cool. We drove through a border patrol checkpoint - which was unstaffed.

I don't know if this is the camp mascot, but it is a very colorful yard ornament.

The camp boasts a clubhouse - similar to Ride Out and Hay Creek.

This is the outside of the clubhouse. The small white trailer is the camp dumpster.

The LQ sites are full hook-up with plenty of space.

The horses are in large pipe corrals with covers.

First thing Lennox does at any new place is take some rolls and stretch out to make the place cozy.

The trails are right down the road from the ranch. There is a huge area of public land where you can ride for hours.

The trails are pretty easy and it is open high desert country. Lots of wind in the afternoon.

We plan to stay here a week and then move on to Tombstone.

The Canyon Loop Trail - Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona

 

Our final day of trail riding at Catalina State Park, we rode the Bridle Trail to the Canyon Loop Trail. I was overjoyed to see so many water crossings - which always make a ride a little more interesting and relaxing. It was an easy ride with some beautiful views. 

Catalina State Park is a definite winner.