Tuscon Area, AZ - Coronado National Memorial

Another great day in Arizona! We drove to the Coronado National Memorial, stopping in Sierra Vista to have an amazing breakfast at Cafe O-Le... it was heart-stoppin' good!

We were surprised at how well-developed Sierra Vista is; this town is much bigger and far nicer than I expected. Fort Huachuca is located there but there seems to be more to the area than just the Army base.

After breakfast, we continued on to the Coronado National Memorial and were surprised to see very definite change in the desert flora... about 10 miles south of Sierra Vista, the Sonoran Desert gives way to what I can only describe as a Desert Grassland. This may not be the correct terminology, but it aptly describes what we saw. This ecology change may be because this area gets more rain than the Tuscon area and is not as hot in the summer months.

The Coronado National Memorial commemorates the first organized expedition into the Southwest by conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. Coronado would go on to lead other expeditions resulting in the discovery of many physical landmarks, including the Grand Canyon, but he failed to find the treasure-laden cities he sought. The Memorial is located on the international border between the US and Mexico, on the southeast flank of the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista.

The Memorial has a small but friendly visitor center that offers a video about Coronado along with the usual collection of pamphlets, trail maps, naturalist guides, and a small gift shop. The ranger on duty was very outgoing and helpful. Visitors can enjoy their choice of numerous hiking trails of various lengths and also a very nice picnic area. And there is also a scenic drive on an unpaved road up the mountain side to Montezuma Pass - this is perhaps the most outstanding physical feature found in the Memorial.

At an elevation of 6,575 feet, the the Montezuma Pass offers sweeping views to the east of the San Pedro River Valley and to the west over the San Rafael Valley. The Montezuma Pass also marks the boundary between the Memorial and the Coronado National Forest. With a suitable vehicle, visitors can continue eastward to explore the area on forest roads. We enjoyed the scenic drive very much and took photos that barely do the scenery justice... see pics below.

I was interested to see that the US Border Patrol has what appears to be a tactical radar system positioned at Montezuma Pass, constantly scanning the the San Rafael Valley toward Mexico. The US Border Patrol has a strong presence through southwest Texas, and southern New Mexico and Arizona. Your tax dollars at work.

On our way back to Tuscon, we checked out the RV park at Fort Huachuca: it is nice enough, but not as big or as well set-up as Agave Gulch here at Davis-Monthan AFB.

Once we got back "home" to Davis-Monthan AFB, we gave Sydney and Barley a bath. Boy, they sure needed it!  As I write this post, the inside of the motor home looks like 20 pillows stuffed with dog hair have exploded. Sigh. We will vacuum and clean tomorrow. But at least our fur-friends smell nice now!