As I drove south the morning of April 22nd the weather was nice. I was even greeted by a few wild flowers blooming along the side of the highway.
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But you see those clouds in the distance. Not a good sign. Nope, not at all... Stopping briefly in Willcox, I continued on to Chiricahua. I got to the turn off to the park, saw the dark clouds hanging low over the mountains four miles away and quickly turned around and went back to Willcox. I knew that the campground was in a canyon beneath a canopy of trees that provided a good deal of shade. Seeing that layer of dark clouds overhead, I also knew that there would be no sun penetrating into the valley.
I ventured a few miles to the west, over the next range of mountains, to the town of Benson where I knew there was a State Park (
Kartchner Caverns). When I got there, the weather looked good. It was relatively warm and the sun was shining. However, before long that changed. The dark clouds moved in as did the rain – the campground host said there was a possibility of snow that night!
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The view from the van, near dusk. It was getting cold.
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And this is the next morning, after I had cleared off the windows, which were caked with heavy, wet snow. It was just cold enough to make it uncomfortable. I left Kartchner Caverns a few minutes after this picture was taken. I stopped to use the internet and checked the weather....with the forecast in hand, I returned to Chiricahua National Monument.
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The mountains along the highway to Chiricahua were topped by a layer of clouds, but blue sky was starting to make an appearance, as was the sun!
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The view from Faraway Ranch in Bonita Canyon at the entrance to Chiricahua National Monument, taken in early afternoon of April 23rd. As I set up my tent, there was a brief sprinkling of a rain-snow mix but not enough to cover the ground. Within two hours the clouds had nearly cleared up and the sun was shining. It turned into a beautiful day!
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By evening, the clouds had moved back in, making for a dramatic sunset with the distant mountains as a backdrop.
1 comment:
We have toured Kartchner Caverns a couple of times - the cave tour is spectacular! But we have never checked out the campground. It sounds like you got the worst of the weather. Do take care....
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