TUCSON (part deux):

You'd think they would have told us. The government. I mean, it was their website that I got the scenic route information from. Oh sure, they told me where to go and how to get there. They told me what I would see; that "if" I had film left by the time I reached Montezuma pass, I could use it up as I took in the panoramic views over 6,000 feet below, including peering across the border into Mexico. But uh,...it seems they left out a few teensy lil' details. Drive with me.

(yes, we saw this rainbow in the way up)

(and if you look closely, we spotted a horizontal rainbow on the ground; a first)

So the last day of our trip to Tucson, we decided to take the scenic drive from Sonoita, AZ up into the Huachuca mountains to Montezuma pass. This drive was to take over 2 hours and included 25 miles of paved road and 25 miles of dirt road. Now, I could have wondered about the safety of the dirt road but the website specifically mentioned other routes as requiring 4-wheel drive vehicles. This drive, however, was suggested as okay for all. Great!

So, we began our day in Tombstone, AZ, home of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Carl and I had been there before but the kids had not. It's a neat step back in time to the days of cowboys, mining and such, enhanced by the preservation of many of the buildings in their original state. We took in a gunfight show, walked the streets of the town, and visited Boothill graveyard before moving on.


(how authentic is this guy?)

Leaving Tombstone, we then made our way toward Sonoita, which was the start of our scenic drive. Now, you have to take in the unique landscape of the Senora desert to appreciate that there is more of a greenscape nestled down in the higher elevations, just an hour or so outside of Tucson. In Benson, for example, the landscape is suddenly a lush, familiar green. Fields of prairie grasses and the appearance of trees are noted (the only "trees" you'll see in Tucson are basically in the Fabaceae, or legume, family and we would identify more with them as "shrubs" here in the Midwest.)

And as we began to climb in elevation, the scenery went from one beautiful terrain(Senora desert) to another (the grasslands of the Huachuca mountains).
It was, simply put, breathtaking.(the terrain went from this...)

(...to this...)
(...to these beautiful cattle ranch grasslands in little more than an hour.)

We passed enormous cattle ranches that encompassed hundreds and hundreds of acres of grasslands. This area has been used for grazing livestock since Spanish missionaries first brought cattle into the area in the late 17th and early 18th century.
So much beauty to behold.
So much history to ponder.
(one of many isolated and enormous cattle ranches in the Huachuca mountains)

(we spotted this jack rabbit on our way up)

*******
One sight in particular intrigued me.
Let's see, you've heard of home churches, yes?
And how about truck stop ministries, you've heard of those too, right?
Well, what about cowboy churches?
Uh huh.
This unique group of ministers reach out to their own, farmers, ranchers, cowboys, horsemen, rodeo contestants, and their families.
We passed Canelo Cowboy church and I just had to hop out and take a picture. There's just something awesome about seeing the body of Christ come together in big ways and small ways.


After snapping a quick photo of the cowboy church, we pressed onward toward our personal Everest, Montezuma pass. The road became more challenging as we continued, often being covered in low lying spots by passable water from previous rains. And in fact it sprinkled a few times as we drove along, a concern I pushed out of my mind in favor of wanting to make the "summit" before dusk (the sun sets earlier and much faster in Tucson than the same time in Indy).


By the time we reached Parker Canyon lake, the sun was low in the sky (Rats! I had hoped to take in the beauty of the lake before moving on.) I knew we had at least 10 miles to go to reach Montezuma pass. A concern. Also, at this point we had passed through several water covered areas on the road, along with many ruts in what was now the dirt road part of our trip. Another concern.



My mind began wandering.

Why didn't the website mention the water covered roads?
Or the beautiful but dangerous cliffs we were now driving along?
Or the extreme isolation up here?
Or the absence of gas stations or convenience stores or any real sign of human life what-so-ever?

We were in major remoteness, I tell you.
Dusk was coming fast.
And we got rid of our cell phones just a month before this trip.
No access to gasoline.
And I just began to feel...unsettled.
What to do???

"Honey, I don't think we should go any farther. I mean, it's still a long way up and the road conditions are worsening. This little town here at Parker Canyon lake is probably the last sign of life, other than cattle, until we reach Montezuma pass. I'm disappointed that we didn't get an earlier start because I wanted to go the whole way but...it's just too scary for me now. Let's turn around."

"We came this far and I can see the pass."
(Carl's not bitin'. Ya takin' this dialogue in?)

Me: "Yeah, well I can see huge boulders waiting to fall down off those peaks. And I also see that winding road that goes straight-freakin' up and I don't want to be on it."
"Really? Where? Oh, I see it now!" Carl inches the van in the direction of our personal Everest, embracing the winding uphill road ahead with great excitement. And honestly, problem is we couldn't have turned around even if we had wanted to. There was simply no safe place to do that now. Think one-lane dirt road worn into a mountainside.
(look carefully; we just traveled that winding road on the right side of the photo)

The air was getting thin (perhaps due to my near panic attack?) as I pondered,
"There's no base camp!
No Sherpas!
I'm going to expire up on this big rock and no one will ever know."

Truth be told, I wanted to see the "summit" too, but at the same time I was terrified. Truly! And it didn't help not one eensy bit that Carl is a sight seer. He needn't be the driver on death defying scenic routes because he's always looking for deer. And here in the Huachuca mountains he thought he just might catch a glimpse of a bear or mountain lion (he didn't, btw, and the only growling he heard was from the passenger seat next to him). Swell, so he's sightseeing. But not such a great activity when he was hugging a straight-up mountainside (with huge boulders hanging in the balance) on his side of the van, whilst my side was waaay too close to the most dangerous cliffs I've encountered in my entire life. I mean, there was an absolute sheer drop and it was intimidating. And while he assured me we had "plenty" of room to pass another car, I can tell you there was absolutely nowhere to turn around (who you sidin' with?) so suffice it to say we barely found a spot to pull over as border patrol passed. Carefully, dh pulled to the side...

Wait!
Did someone say "border patrol"?

Oh yeah!

Not just one vehicle either.
There were two.
On that first pass.
Then another.
And another.
And another after that.
And....
In fact, we passed at least 8 descending border patrol vehicles as we neared the summit.
Hmm, strange. We hadn't seen any earlier.

Climbing, climbing, climbing toward the summit in a race against the setting sun.
Carl the hunter was spotlighting for big game (less the spotlight, of course).
The kids were in the backseat with their hands in the air, pretending to be on a rollercoaster ride as they shouted, "Weeeeeeeee!", my 1yo included.
Reece was babbling, "I love cliffs. This is like the Hoosier Hurricane. Wee, wee, weeeeee!"

I was now a lovely shade of pasty green.

So border patrol was everywhere (no doubt discussing clueless tourists like us with some not-so-pretty adjectives).
And I was feeling faint due to anxiety and a serious case of vertigo brought on by my fear of heights. Because let's face it, hugging the edge of the biggest cliffs you've ever encountered is, well, freakin' unnerving.

Oh sure, I saw wildlife; a jack rabbit for example. But I also thought I saw silouettes moving in the shadows too. My imagination? Read on.
And I also worried about the setting sun, absence of cell phone, treacherous cliffs, and.....

"We made it!"
Carl was elated.

Straight ahead was a sign that read, "You have made it to Montezuma Pass, elevation 6,500 feet."

Well, sweet glory be!

But now there was a new scare.
Another sign with a less than welcoming message.


Chills passed through me from head to toe.
What smuggling activity specifically?
Are we talking drug smuggling?
Or illegal immigration?
Or human trafficking?
Just what exactly are we dealing with? The government website didn't say anything about this. Nor about the treacherous cliffs. Or the poor road conditions. Or the need for cell phones and water (not that I wouldn't know some of these things, but really, the sign? I cannot believe we were not forewarned.) Overwhelming. Yet,....
I was now literally on top of the world (or at least on top of Arizona) with one of the most incredible views I've ever taken in. I was terrified to get out of the car, but....

"Lord, keep me safe for another 30 seconds while we take a quick look-see, then get back in our van and try to make it off this mountain in the near dark of night that is soon be upon us. Amen and amen."
(the photos look so one-dimensional. This is actually a glimpse down below from 6,500 feet up, but it wrongly appears that I am level with the land in the shot)
(looking down from Montezuma Pass, across the border into Mexico)

It was really just too awesome to pass up.
We were on top of the world.
We made it and we needed to get out and see it.
So we jumped out, read a few historical markers, learned that indeed we were looking out at the landscape of Arizona and the Mexican border, then I of course panicked over the unsafe cliffs surrounding us on all sides. Complete drop offs in every direction. And other than the parking lot we stood in, there was no sign of life. Just a foot trail further up into the hills (oh sure, like that was going to happen) and the access road that that descended down in one of two directions; back the way we came (it took us a good 2½ hours to make it up in daylight, mind you) or down the other side. The very steep and nauseating other side.
What to do?
Whaaaat to do?
(see that winding road? Yep, our way down. And pictures do it NO justice, because beyond that red rail is a drop off that rivals the Grand Canyon, no exaggeration.)

Just then, a border patrol agent pulled into the lot (How many is that?) The kids and I were literally running to the car due to the gusting wind and cold temps at that elevation (we had shorts on and it might have been 60º up there). Carl approached border patrol to find out what the best route is off the mountain.
Border patrol stepped out of the car.

WHOA!
With a gun.

A freakin' MACHINE gun, people. What the heck???

Okay, so now it was written in stone. Those warning signs were not to be taken lightly (not that we did).
Couldn't wait to google it when I got home.
My thoughts returned to the dilemma at hand.

Must get off mountain.

NOW!

Border patrol told Carl that we should descend in the opposite direction because it was "less treacherous." Well, he surely couldn't be serious. Because I looked down that way and it scared the heeebie jeebies out of me. That,...that side, with its switchback road and steep decline. Is that border patrol agent a rational being? Didn't he see our family wheels (oh, that the rental car company should so appreciate the risks we took with their vehicle) And didn't he see our four lovely chitlins? We uh, needed to actually make it out of there alive.
I mean, I was half expecting him to call in the rescue helicopter (yes, seriously).
He didn't.
How rude.

Down, down, down we started.
Straight...
flippin'...
down.

The kids were "weeeeeee"ing again.
Carl was chatting incessantly (I do think I told him sternly to stop, as I was under extreme duress by now). I kept repeating, "Slow down. Watch the road. Oh my. Watch the road. Oh my. Please be careful. Oh my." Not sure he heard me. It seems he was enjoying the switchback road too much to notice.

Down, down, down.

Then he threw it in reverse.

Oh yes you did too hear that right.
Uh huh. Night was upon us. So was "illegal smuggling" (whatever that meant specifically).
And treacherous cliffs were still sticking to our sides like bad potatoes. And yet, my dear husband threw the van in reverse on the worst best ride of my life.

"Why?"

Glad you asked.
Because he saw a bug.
A big bug.
A big, BIG bug.
In the road.
You know it had to be a big bug if he could spot it in the dark of night, in the middle of the road.

A tarantula.
All together now.
Ewwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm relieved to say that I can now sing "Happy Trails" to you, as we did obviously make it safely down out of the Huachuca mountains. The view was breathtaking. And the experience, while well beyond nerve wracking, was intense and intoxicating. And just as the combination of sweet and sour can be conflicting yet wonderful, so too (for some strange reason related to the human condition) can the combined experience of fear and invigoration.
Had we known about the safety issues beforehand, we never would have found ourselves on this, uh hem, "adventure." But we didn't know, and we added another facet of incredible life experiences as a result. For that, I'm grateful. Glass half full.

If you ever get the chance to go to Tucson, don't miss it. The Saguaro is such a beautiful rare treasure and the sunsets are beyond incredible. Kids will love the Senora Desert Museum (think zoo or game preserve, but specific to desert dwellers).
(coyote on rock)

They'll also love the geckos that roam freely in the desert and in suburban landscape beds. We (the adults) loved San Xavier Mission Del Bac and our drive through Saguaro National Park, just to name a few.

(the "white dove of the desert", San Xavior mission, on the Tohono O'dham Indian reservation; founded in 1692 and building reconstructed in 1783 after Apache Indians destroyed the original structure)
(ornate ceiling inside the mission)

If you care to read more about the warning signs and what exactly we had unknowingly ventured into, check out the links below. Then thank God for our freedoms in this great nation and pray for those whose lives are in danger as they continue to protect and/or defend those very freedoms on our behalf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-qTifbUmPQ&feature=related
http://www.desertinvasion.us/

Toni