2024-05-12 Aravaipa AZ

My 2024 trip to see the Texas eclipse provided an opportunity to visit some of my favorite people and places in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. After an all-too-brief stay, I had to return to my home in San Diego to resolve some medical issues. 

Before reaching my home, my last stop was to visit a dear friend Linda in Thatcher Arizona. She had been encouraging me to visit her friend Norma’s home in Aravaipa for quite some time. Aravaipa Canyon is very remote and requires a 40 mile drive over some very sketchy roads with several water crossings. During the rainy season, some of these water crossings can become dangerous, often requiring a few days’ wait for the waters to recede before becoming passable again.

US-70 carries its travelers from Safford to Globe and beyond, while crossing the San Carlos Apache Reservation. A few miles west of Pima, there is a saddle between Mount Graham and Mount Turnbull. Aravaipa lies beyond this pass.

A week prior to my visit, summer’s Monsoon storms drenched the arid high country surrounding the canyon where we planned to visit. Fortunately, the high water had receded by the time of our visit. Between the washboard and the dust, I was grateful to reach our destination.

Norma’s home rests under a high canopy of trees and in the shadow of the tall rocky bluffs that overlook the creek below. Such places bring a calming influence to me. Anyone who visits these places and doesn’t leave more centered and serene, has something wrong between their ears. I used the opportunity to wander the woods and nearby fields and look for wildlife.

Not long after starting my walk, I met a pair of curious horses. I stopped my walk long enough to allow their approach. I grew up around horses, and I’m comfortable in their company. After speaking softly to this pair, the leader came close enough to sniff me, which gave me the opportunity to rub her forehead. I know some folks may find it strange, but it also allowed me to smell her breath. I’ve always enjoyed that smell. When I continued my explorations, the horses followed close behind like a pair of puppies until they eventually got bored with me.

As I walked through the tall trees, I saw bird movement high overhead, but too high to promise opportunities to capture images. I didn’t bring my camera on this walk, so I just enjoyed the ambiance. The nearby open fields produced birds at near eye-level. I retrieved my camera gear and returned to pursue these birds. Those that cooperated were Phainopepla, Vermilion Flycatcher, and Yellow-Breasted Chat. Given the abbreviated time I spent, I’m sure the list could be much longer, especially if spread over all four seasons.