Chiricahua National Monument

I know, I know, I KNOW - I couldn't sound more like a broken record if I tried. But I AM BEAT! I am in a ton of pain and sick - but dangit! I am going to get my photos if it kills me! I didn't fly out to Arizona to just lie about and snivel ...

So - first stop today was Chiricahua (cheer-ah-cow-wah) National Monument. The rest - the cute little towns to adorable little Bisbee, to the discovery that this is the busiest week in Bisbee and in dire need of a hotel room, to finding the last room in a bed and breakfast house that is decorated to the HILT, to me collapsing on the floor in a heap while I downloaded all these photos - is going to have to wait for some other blogs ...

Took a pretty hefty hike for me ... well - picture yourself with severe pain in all your joints, pain in all your muscles and a cold and flu on top of that and meandering up and down icy covered rocks for a mile in search of an elusive grotto ... that pretty much sums up what did me in today. Hopefully with some rest tonight - I will be raring to go and off to Tombstone, Boot Hill and maybe some caverns tomorrow.

Man - I'm a gripey little bitch today ... aren't I? (Yes, my father the Stake Patriarch will read this, as will my mother and be horribly disappointed in my potty mouth - it increases exponentially with my pain and depression - go figure ...)

So - off we went to the Park. I am too wiped out to think straight and used two cameras today - my large canon and my wide angle medium canon - and I didn't put like shots from the cameras together because my brain is firing too much in the pain and stupid centers to make any sense of my photos - so you will wander through the park twice - once with one camera - and then again with the other. I apologise if there are duplicates because I liked a shot with both cameras ....

Just for a little info - this was volcanic rock that was thrust upward and a bit sideways causing vertical cracks. Water seeped in causing the rock to disintegrate into columns, then spires and balanced rocks - all of which you will see here. Was a beautiful park and me going? I wouldn't have it any other way ...

LOVED the glowing tree:

These columns and spires were SO COOL but at the time we got there, we were shooting into the sun ... never a good thing:

AGAIN with the snow! And just a hoodie - except this time I was working for the photos so not as cold as shopping for jewelry ...

Beautiful balanced rock:

Another beautiful balanced boulder:

Yet another:

And a reasonable shot of it without the 'artsy' sun spot:

Balanced rock yet again - they were everywhere!

And THE GROTTO!!!! I made it to the grotto without dying ...

Cool shot of the sky and rocks (and an annoying bush) through the grotto:

Breathtaking view off the side of the road on the way to the spires:

I liked this tree a whole lot - thus a TON of photos ..

Actually the first balanced rock we saw - we were SO EXCITED:

Um, OK the grotto again and looks like the same shot as above (just different camera) - as I said - I'm stupid, stupid, stupid right now ...

All in all a beautiful, fun filled - albeit pain filled day. A few pangs of guilt about leaving mom tending 4 boys - but they are older and she said dad rarely goes down when she tends them - so no change from other times she has tended them - so I will probably get over kidnapping my dad for a photo run .... I will live ....




....well, maybe ....