HUMMING BIRDS AND ROCK WONDERLAND
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| Heart of Rocks |
When southerly winds blow in springtime, flowers are in full bloom in the Sonora desert that straddles the border separating Mexico from Arizona and New Mexico. In April and May the desert is most beautiful with red and yellow flowers. Birds flock to sip the honey of the cactus flowers. Bird watchers also arrive.
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| Broad-billed Humming Bird |
The beautiful humming birds are the main attraction for the visitors who come mainly in May and regard them as "flying jewelry." After wintering in Mexico the humming birds congregate in the southwestern United States from April to September. They look cute and svelte while airborne, moving their wings like bees and sipping nectar from blossoms. No other area probably has more humming birds than Sonora. The birds make an intense buzzing sound like bees. Flowers ensure a plentiful food supply for the birds that stay all summer to raise their young before returning to warm Mexico in the autumn.
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| Balance Rock |
The famous place for humming bird watching is in the small village of Portal located in southeastern Arizona. It takes three hours to reach the village from Tucson. Southwest of the village is the Sonora desert and the Chiricahua desert is on the East. Cold northern winds blow from the Rocky Mountains, while warm air flows from Mexico. The clash of the two weather fronts has made the village into a unique oasis where humming birds can nest and feed on sweet desert flowers. Many local residents in the village welcome the birds and provide feeders with sugar water for them especially when there are few bird watchers.
Chiricahua National Monument is located near Portal. This place is famous for its uniquely shaped rocks. The best known site is the Heart of Rocks. Although it was exciting to observe and photograph the humming birds, I changed my venue to climb the nearby mountains that enabled me to look at the unusual rocks that have been photographed so many times. Most of these rocks can be seen from Bonita Canyon Drive near the visitor center. However the Heart of Rocks can be seen only from Mount Chiricahua where it is located. One has to climb the mountain to view the rock. Within the park boundaries, there are many trails. The most physically demanding trail is to the Heart of Rocks, a round trip of about seven miles. One park ranger suggested that hiking this trail was easy as "it takes two hours, one way. Four hours, round trip." I didn't take this seriously and soon I had a problem.
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| Mockingbird |
The trail begins on top of a hill at the end of the Bonita Canyon Drive. Soon after starting to hike, my backpack shifted and I fell and sprained my left ankle. The stabbing pain was sharp but I did not stop hiking and walked slowly down hill. My thought was that it would be wonderful to reach the valley bottom where I could cool my feet in the river. However I was disappointed to discover that the scorching sun had dried up the riverbed.
Nevertheless, I continued to hike to the top of the mountain on the other side of the river. It was an uphill hike on a steep and stony trail as the mountain top is elevated 1,000 feet above the riverbed. The desert sun was burning my neck. Soon I discovered my second mistake. I had brought only one bottle of water, expecting to find more water in the river. Now I had to resist my strong desire to empty my bottle, and I slowly sipped water to moisten my mouth. My thirst was excruciating. Finally after three hours of limping on the trail, I reached the last hurdle--the Heart of Rocks Loop.
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| Chjuckwalla |
Instead of feeling tired, I was exhilarated. It was exciting to be surrounded by uniquely-shaped rocks which I had never encountered before. Apache Indians had long known about them though white settlers did not learn about them until the 1880s. This unique rock group was created by magma flowing from a volcano about 27,000,000 years ago. The high and low temperatures as well as the strong desert winds eroded the rocks and shaped them into unusual forms. However I felt that this place was like a cemetery of rocks where spirits gathered and human beings should not intrude. When I listened to the whistling wind, it was as though the rocks were whispering to cast a spell. There was no one else present with me. A scary feeling overwhelmed me as my thoughts focused on a spiritual place away from reality. I realized that there was little time to take photographs. It would soon be time to return to the trail before darkness fell.
My left foot was swollen and my knees were buckling as I walked down from the mountain. Instead of a four-hour trip the hike took seven hours. Finally, my difficult escape from a land of unusual rocks had ended. When I look at my pictures from Mount Chiricahua, I still remember a strange rock world. There are still places that human beings probably should keep inviolate.
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Chiricahua National Monument 13063 E. Bonita Canyon RD, Willcox, AZ 85643-9737 Phone: 520-824-3560 www.nps.gov/chir |