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Day 22: Saturday 4/7/01 Coronado National Forest, AZ. 32° F this A.M. – calling for 2 blankets and a goose-down sleeping bag last night. Our campsite is located beside a 30-foot boulder and surrounded by Arizona Cypress, which according to the book, seldom exceed 40 ft – ours must be at least 80 ft. One-seed juniper, oaks, and sycamores (huge) are also here. Behind us and across the creek, vertical cliffs rise thousands of feet. We like this spot best of all we’ve seen so far.
Cookies for breakfast, then hiked the birding trail just beyond the campground. The trial meandered through riparian woodlands for a short distance, than headed uphill through mesquite shrubland and high desert, punctuated with wooded hollows here and there. We shed the wool jackets as soon as we came into the sunlight. Saw Scott’s Oriole, Ash-throated flycatcher, Zone-tailed hawk (circling Woody?).
T he Chiricahua Mountains, Coronado National Forest.Back at camp, Bob set up a humming bird feeder and within 10 minutes had Blue-throated hummingbirds. Two of 'em duked it out for possession throughout the afternoon. We lounged in the sun for a couple of hours. While Bob may look like he's loafing, his mind is constantly at work!
At ease in Coronado National Forest(planning sabattical work). Later, took the short drive to "town" to bird the yards and feeders. Saw Abert’s Towhee and Ladderback Woodpecker. Shopped at the store, peered into the library, and met with several people outside the post office. The local realtor talked with us for a half hour about the virtues of the area. He was preaching to the choir.
Left town and drove up the canyon as far as we could – only 3 or 4 miles since the road over the mountains is closed until May (snow). Returned to camp for dinner and to watch the hummers fight over the feeder. Temperature cooled as the sun disappeared behind the cliffs, but still much warmer than last night. All in all, a lovely day. Tomorrow we hope to find Elegant Trogon up the South Fork trail.
Day 23: Sunday 4/8/01 Coronado National Forest, NM. 38° F this A.M. , but it will warm up by 10:00 or so. The schedule today is all birding: first, back to town to bird the yards and feeders, then lunch at the Portal Peak Café, a hike up the South Fork Trail in the National Forest (just in case the Elegant Trogons have returned from their winter vacation in the south -- not likely, according to regulars here), finally more birding at the Spofford's and Jensen's (private homes that open their feeding stations up to birders).
A wonderful day -- Curve-billed Thrasher, Western Scrub Jay, Gray-breasted Jay, Gambels Quail, Rufous, Black-Chinned and Blue-throated hummers, White-crowned Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Cactus Wrem. Townsend's Solotaire, Yellow-eyed Junco, Hooded and Scott's Orioles, Bridled Titmouse, Cassin's and House Finch, Abert's, Spotted, and Canyon Towhees -- to name a few. Dave Jensen’s spread is our favorite location-- we sit in the desert scrubland viewing the hummingbird feeders, water pans, finch feeders, platforms, and open ground that Dave Jensen so diligently maintains. We were lucky enough to talk with him a little before we settled in to watch birds. He is concerned about speculators buying up the land which borders his.  View from the road as we leave Portal and drive to the South Fork Trail, just 3 or 4 miles away in the Coronado National Forest. Vegetation changes quickly in those few miles.
After Jensen's (the best birding of the trip), we move on to Tucson. This time we take paved highway 80 back to I-10 instead of the 20-mile torture road we came in on. Hwy 80 takes us back into New Mexico for a short while. 
Just outside of Dave Jensen's gate, A 3-hour drive to Tucson, arriving just at dusk – about 7:00 P.M. I think (time is fuzzy -- we've changed time zones somewhere and we've sprung ahead to daylilght savings time -- but not in Arizona -- so where does that leave us at 9:00 P.M. Wisconsin time, which is what my watch reads . . .). Exited at Kolb road and drove through acres and acres of military airplane scrap and graveyards (Bob wants to buy something.) Found a La Quinta Inn and crashed. Tomorrow, the Desert Musuem.
Day 24: Monday 4/9/01 Tucson, AZ -- La Quinta Inn. Laundry and web page updates first, then the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. Meant to get to the Museum before the crowds but (due to technical difficulties) didn't make it untill 1:00. Stopped along the way for fast Mexican food at a one-of-a-kind drive-through. Huge burritos with strange-tasting meat -- cheap though. Very crowded at the Museum -- however, we got a chance to see 14 or so species of hummingbirds at one fell swoop in the aviary. We actually got pictures of birds here:
Also a chance to see many desert flowers all in one place, and wearing labels.
After the museum, south on Hwy 19 to Coronado National Forest – this time the Nogales Section. The only available public camping is in Madera Canyon – Bog Springs Campground. It was about 70 degrees at the museum, but 50 miles south and up in the mountains its windy and cold (40s). Alternating snow and sunshine. Altitude sickness – or something – is getting to me, so sandwiches for supper.
Our site at Bog Springs
Campground, Madera Canyon,
Day 25: Tuesday 4/10/01 Coronado National Forest, AZ, Nogales Section. Bog Springs Campground. 35° F this A.M. and Snowing. A good morning for a leisurely breakfast -- pancakes and bacon. That done, we cross the mountain to Highway 83 – heading for Patagonia, population about 1000. This is a place we have heard much about. Birding in general is good here, but one family in particular is famous for the number of hummingbirds they attract to their feeders – 12 species (or 14?). They have opened their yard to visitors -- we've looked forward to this visit for a long time. But first the drive from Bog Springs -- another twisting, turning, dirt road through canyons and up mountains. We think it was beautiful, but we couldn't see much through the snow . . . just enough to scare us. Passed no other vehicles on the 15 mile (1-hour) trip.
Made it to Patagonia and found the Paton's. Other birders were there – from Oregon, California, and Michigan. Nine very busy hummingbird feeders hang from the eaves. Broad-billed, Anna’s, Costa’s Violet-crowned, Rufous, and Black-chinned hummers buzz around the feeders. An awning and chairs are set up for guests. The owner talked to us from her window, explaining that the cold weather is keeping the number of species down.
Birding at the Patons. We also see Stellar’s Jay, Gila Woodpecker, Green-tailed and Aberts Towhee, Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Gambels Quail, Brideled Titmouse and Scott’s Oriole at the fruit and seed feeders. We decided to return in the morning. Drove 15 miles down the road to Patagonia Lake State Park. Set up camp. Made 6 key lime pielets. Saw Say’s Phoebe and Yellow Warbler, Great Blue Heron, Vermillion Flycatcher, Thrashers, Comorants, and others on the trail that skirts the lake. Mounds of blue flowers (phacelia) bloom along the trail.
For the first time, we are undecided what to do, where to go tomorrow. Will review maps in the A.M.
Day 26: Wednesday 4/11/01 Patagonia Lake State Park, AZ. . 38° F this A.M. (65° F by 11:00 A.M.). Slept late (til 8:00), then discussed our route.
Returned early to Patagonia and Paton’s back-yard hummingbird circus. In addition to Costa’s, Black-chinned, Rufous, and Broad-billed Hummingbird, saw Bewick’s Wren and Black-headed Grosbeak. From Paton’s we decided to head to Sierra Vista, a town 50 miles to the east. The goal is a national forest campground in Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. We plan to camp tonight and hike the canyon in the morning. Ramsey Canyon is one of the most visited birding spots in the U.S. – managed by the Nature Conservancy (they reclaimed it from its earlier use as an access-route to high mountain ore mines). But, finding and getting to the nearby campgrounds is another story – we took a very scenic forest road -- about which Bob has something to say. Here’s his story (note that it begins with an excuse):
We selected a campsite and meditated awhile, wheezing in the high mountain air (there might even have been birds around. . .). Then we about-faced and went back down (better to get it over with -- I couldn’t have slept knowing I had the drive ahead of me). The trip down, in first gear with tired brakes, took about a decade.
The edge of the road, no guard rails
Day 27: Thursday 4/12/01 Sierra Vista, Mission Inn. Up at 6:00 to study maps. After Ramsey Canyon this A.M., we plan to head for Pachico Peak State Park (between Tucson & Phoenix) for the night. From there, Joshua Tree National Monument in California, and then the Sequoias. We are working our way slowly towards the Grand Canyon, but hoping it will warm up over the next few days. First, Ramsey Canyon, and a 2-hour walk with the park naturalist. We saw or heard many birds: Magnificent, White-eared (an extremely rare visitor), and Black-Chinned hummers, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Strickland’s Woodpecker, Black-throated Grey Warbler, Plumbeous and Hutton’s Vireo, Grace’s Warbler. Ramsey Canyon has the greatest variety of plant and animal species to be found in the continental U.S., due to the overlap of four primary climatic regions in this unique area: Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, Rocky Mountain, and ? (I forget). The Nature Conservancy’s mission at Ramsey Canyon is to protect that biodiversity.
Back at the bus, there's a spontaneous change in travel plans. We are getting travel weary -- ready to park for a few days – set up camp and not move. Portal and the Chiricahua Mountains would be the perfect place. We cancel the original plan and leave Sierra Vista/Ramsey Canyon area for a return to Portal -- South from Sierra Vista on Hwy 90 through Bisbee and Douglas, then North on Hwy 80 to Portal. This time we plan to stay 3 nights. But surprise – not a site available in all of Coronado National Forest, . Even the roadside turnouts had tents. We parked beside a No Camping sign at Idelwilde campground and spent the night camped next to the restrooms, hoping to find a site in the morning.
Day 28: Friday 4/13/01 Coronado National Forest, near Portal AZ. 32° F. Nothing opened up at Idelwilde -- we head up the road to see what's available elsewhere in the forest. About 5 miles up we found an unimproved (no facilities – not even a fire ring) site in open oak/juniper woodland, obviously used by horse campers. The site was beautiful, deserted, out of sight of the road, and totally isolated – perfect. Bob hung the hummingbird feeder and quickly drew two unidentified females (hummingbirds that is) and later a Rufous male. By 10:30 A.M. it was 70° . We sat in the shade and read most of the day -- a nice change. Saw Brideled Titmous, Aberts Towhee, Rufous Hummer, Mexican Jay, Turkey Vulture, Robin, Townsend’s Solitaire, and Juniper Titmouse.
We've been listening to books-on-tape in the evenings. Tonight we finished Jurassic Park.
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