Postcard from Chiricahua

This is another example of the amazing rock formations you find at Chiricahua National Monument in Southeastern section of Arizona.

I show you this picture because I was there again last week. My friend and fellow photographer Dave from Wenatchee was down here to do a couple of art shows. As he had never been there, we drove to Chiricahua and spent the day exploring.

We took no pictures, so this photo is from my last trip to this wonderland of rocks a couple of years ago. The light was not very good last week and there were no clouds. For Dave, it was a scouting exhibition to see if he might want to comeback sometime in the future to take photos for his shows.

Chiricahua is one of the most remote National Parks/Monuments in the continental US. From Tucson, it is a 2.5 hour drive. The Apaches called it “The Land of Standing Up Rocks.” There is the lower part of the park where you first arrive. After an 8-mile drive, the road eventually climbs up to the high country.

Up there are 3 main sites with fantastic views of these standing rocks: Sugarloaf, Echo Canyon, and Massai Point. This photo was taken along the Echo Canyon Trail, my favorite trail in the park.

There are several points of interest with such exotic names as Echo Canyon Grotto, Organ Pipe Formations, Cochise Head, Sea Captain, and China Boy. If you go there, be sure and stop at the Visitor Center to learn more about the park.

By the way, the park gets its name from the Chiricahua Apache Tribe. 

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com