I first went to Cochise Stronghold when I was 11….and that was a long time ago.We used to go out there when we visited my grandmother in St. David, Arizona; the (then) public road was right by her home, and from there it was about a half hour drive to the foothills of the Dragoon mountains, where massive piles of boulders make up the stronghold. It’s a very magical place.
I had a chance to revisit the stronghold today. One of my mother’s brothers, Thomas, lives in St. David and is very familiar with the area; the once public road out to the mountains is now private, and has a security code. The layout of the small forest service roads in the mountains is different due to human/drug smuggling that occurs in the area. So having a guide sure helped; also along for the ride was my mom and my brother Eric.
This is a view near Council Rocks:
I immediately remembered “shark rock”:
There are many, many metates in the area. Long before the Apaches lived in the area, ancient Mogollon peoples were a part of the land.
Here’s a great photo of my mom and her brother:
And here’s a shot of me, Eric and my mom:
And here’s another lovely photo of my mom; you can see in the background that the rocks in the background would be a very effective place to hide:
There’s also a ruin of what I believe was once a Butterfield Stagecoach station and inn; there’s even less left now than there was 30 years ago, here’s yet another shot of my sporty mom in front of what’s left of some of the walls:
I got a mug shot in front of the old adobe bricks, too:
It was a great day, not too hot this morning, and a long drive out there and back to Tucson; and when I got home, a huge storm hit, the strongest I think I’ve seen here. I think a microburst hit my neighborhood. Power poles are snapped just a few blocks away but I luckily have power; however, my palo verde tree was uprooted and currently sits at a 45 degree angle in my yard:
This would just be a big tree-removal bill, normally, but the top of the tree is resting against my electric power line. I’m hoping the power company will come out tomorrow and make this situation safer; no doubt I’ll have to pay to remove the tree. While it’s hard to see in the photo, about half of my fence blew down as well; the panels are now propped up so I don’t see the rentals to the north of me.
It’s always amazing to me how the summer skies here can be blue as a bell in the morning…..and then by 5:00PM you can be caught up in a frightening storm.
My friend and neighbor Bruce, who has a reliable rain gauge, told me we got 2.25 inches of rain in less than an hour today. Wow. Just 2 miles away, 3.65 inches in an hour was reported on the news.
Believe me, 2.25 inches is more than enough.
Wonderful pictures…sorry to see the palo verde down, are there any tree services that will straighten leaning trees? Are 1/3rd of the roots still alive because you might be able to save the tree. Palo verdes are amazing trees. I hope I am as spry looking as Aunt Monika when I am her age she is doing awesome!
Yes, my mom is spry! That’s a great word for her. I’m totally phlegmatic in comparison.
I had a tree company I like come out today to check out my tree; they pointed out that the top part of the tree was ripped off by the wind. They didn’t think it was a good idea to try and save it. I really don’t know how many roots are still alive. I’ve been thinking about this a lot because I love my tree, but I think it has to go. I’ll keep you up to date.