It's High Up Here!

We spent most of the winter at about 1300 feet above sea level. As we moved south during the past four weeks, the elevation gradually increased to 4,000 at Willcox, where we stayed last week. On Thursday, we drove to the Chiricahua National Monument, and our hiking trail started at 6,000 feet. We felt the altitude, but it wasn't a problem. Today was a different story. We are now in Silver City, New Mexico, elevation 5,938 feet. And we went out for our run. That is where 6,000 ft. makes a difference! We will adjust, but we're not there yet.

Back to the Chiricahuas: that is a beautiful place. The Apaches called it the land of standing up rocks. You can see why.







When we visited the Arizona Historical Museum in Tucson, we read about the CCC Camp workers that were at the Grand Canyon. That program and its workers also did a lot of the work at Chiricahua. Look at these stone steps.



Aren't this retaining wall and the steps I am standing on impressive? And to think all the work was done by hand. Everywhere we go, we see evidence of the wonderful things these men did and we are so grateful.



I love looking at this balanced rock and the chartreuse lichen growing on it.



From this angle, it looks like John's hat won't fit through that narrow slot. He did make it, though, and so did I.



I'm not sure what caused this pattern or shaping on this rock, but I sure thought it was interesting.



For more photos and information on Chiricahua National Monument, check out the blog I did when we hiked there last year.