Fort Bowie Part II

These ruins have seen many moons since activity flourished at this fort.

There were numerous plaques along the trail to help identify plants and trees.This was once the Trading Post.

Riding out below the Trading Post... this really brings this site to life!

The foreground foundation was the Quartermasters Storehouse and the Infantry Barracks immediately behind.

The Quartermaster Storehouse... the hub of this community.  The Quartermaster was responsible for supplies, construction and maintenance of the buildings, contracts for forage and firewood, and all forms of transportation.  He also hired all civilian employees... teamsters, blacksmiths, carpenters and masons.

Soldiers drew equipment and clothing from this office and received work orders for post construction projects.

The infantry barracks appeared to be the largest building here.

Privacy was not a feature of barracks life.

The barracks were delightful to photograph... such interesting shapes remaining with windows and doors.

The Commanding Officers Quarters... an elaborate Victorian style duplex style structure had 13 rooms and cost a whooping $4,000 at the time.  This was the nicest rock foundation at this site.

This foundations was where the school was located.  On the left behind the new building is a Visitors Centre... a small museum maintained by the park with staff to answer question and sell memorabilia.

This Trading Post provided for sale items not supplied by the army... and provided a place for the women to satisfy their need to "shop."

I really enjoyed all these signs on each foundation here.  It helped to bring these ruins to life.

The capture of Geronimo marked the end of hassles with the Apaches... and soon after this fort was wound down.

This was Shirley's capture of the barracks ruins... we just loved coming to this place.

There were numerous plaques along the trail to help identify plants and trees.

The Yucca does not flower every year... but when it does the fruit yields black seeds.

This is a Soaptree Yucca before growing the stalk.

And here is a Yucca that has died.

The Engelmann Prickly Pear Cactus

Close up as we were heading back to the car and the sun was setting.

We saw a sign for this viewpoint of Fort Bowie on our way to the trailhead... it said 200 feet to the viewpoint... but we wisely passed it by until the end of the day on our way out.

If one had not been there first, how would you ever see Fort Bowie unless you had some powerful binoculars.

But with full zoom on the telephoto lens one can see the fort in the centre of this photo.  When you know where to look you can also pick out the original fort site and Apache Springs.

It was amazing to see the land that we walked to get to and from this incredible site... an unforgettable day.

The Hike to Fort Bowie Ruins

Yesterday afternoon we experienced a most enjoyable walk in the park.

Fort Bowie is about 116 miles east of Tucson.  From Wilcox we took Highway 186 southeast about 20 miles.

After turning left off 186 the last eight miles to the trailhead were not paved.

It is not a difficult hike... about 3 miles round trip.  But with stopping often to take about 300 photos it took us 3 hours.  If I had it to do again I would plan to stay longer... but we started too late and the sun was setting, so we hurried back to our car.

The signage in this park is exceptional and tells the history and details very clearly.  Fort Bowie was established to protect a small but important water source, Apache Spring... and also to protect this mountain pass, which was the shortest route between El Paso and Tucson.  In addition the fort was used to assist the engineers who were staking out the best route for the new railway across the land.

Apache Spring is just a trickle today... but they have an encatchment above this little water fall to supply the Visitors Centre.  Apparently water in these parts is pretty scarce and travellers soon learned where they could fill up their canteens... and where the next water could be found.

This old photo shows all the buildings at the second location of Fort Bowie... it was a bustling centre.

and this is what it looks like today.  All that remains are the foundations and a few masonry walls.

I was so excited to see this flag behind these structures I headed off the trail to get the best possible angle.  This shot was taken with full zoom on the 18-200 mm telephoto... so it was still pretty far away.

Shirley meanwhile was taking a picture of me breaking the first rule on the sign... "Stay on Trail."  I was pretty careful not to walk on any plants... especially those prickly pear cactus.

On a lower plateau, which was not nearly as level or large, we investigated the original fort site.

Every foundation had a sign identifying it.

This photo shows part of the original fort site in the foreground and the final site on the horizon to left.

From this original site looking back over the land we have traversed we can see the cemetery on a plateau left centre.... the Stage Station ruins just right of centre on the plateau. The tallest mountain in the background is Government Peak.

Originally 99 souls were buried here... but 72 soldiers were removed for reinternment at the San Francisco National Cemetery, leaving 23 civilian graves.

There were several battles with the Apache Indians... hence most of those buried here were not very old.

It was amazing to see Geronimo's son, Little Robe, age 2, buried here.

The Stage Station was built long before Fort Bowie, in 1858.

It was here the stage coaches would stop to rest and have a meal for 50 cents... bread, coffee, meat and beans.  There were also rooms to stay overnight here.

In 1857 the US government awarded John Butterfield a contract to carry mail between St. Louis and San Francisco... a 2800 mile route that took 25 days to travel each way.  Butterfield charged his men, "Remember boys, nothing on God's earth must stop the United States mail."  Little did he know of the hassles those Apaches would give him.

This foundation was for the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency... an onsite office to deal with Indian affairs. US. agent Thomas Jeffords governed some 900 Apaches in the mid 1870's until the Indian chief died. The tribe was split and in 1876 the government decided to move about 375 to the San Carlos reservation... but most of those soon left there too.

The Apaches used to live in these thatched wickiups... which were covered with bear grass and animal hides.  During the hottest summer days the covered ramada gave them some relief from the sun.

Fort Bowie was named after George Washington Bowie, a Colonel of the 5th California infantry.  On the right is General James Carleton who led the attack against the Apaches and founded the first "Fort Bowie."

Shirley caught me in front of this most significant stone building used for guns and artillery.

Powder Magazine, 1890

Every quarter mile along the trail is a marking post that helps hikers know how far they have come and how far yet to go.  This marked the end of the main trail to get to Fort Bowie.

Since there are just too many great photos from this site, stay tuned for Part II of Fort Bowie.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun

We always enjoy visiting the grounds and gallery of Ted DeGrazia.

It is always an inspiration to spend time looking around and taking pictures here.  To see the entrance to the Gallery in the Sun check out Shirley's blog header.

DeGrazia built this little chapel on his property... all made from adobe.

Interesting random holes in the wall provide some light and ventilation.

Small buttresses provide interesting detail.

A simple cross has a bell with a flag attached to the ringer cord, so when the wind blows it rings the bell.

Behind the chapel was this cross attached to a fence post.

Not far from the chapel is the original home where Ted DeGrasia lived.  

The kitchen was very basic... no upper cabinets.  Small wood stove.

On the threshold for the back door Ted put some horse shoes into the concrete... pretty cool, eh?

On a wall of the back patio was a little niche for this sculpture.  You can see over and over again in Ted's work he does not "over work" his art.  Ted is a minimalist. He does a little as possible to convey the feeling of his subject and lets the viewer fill in the missing parts.

In a documentary we viewed again in the gallery Ted said, "My work is completed, but never finished."  He leaves the finishing to be done by the viewer.

When Ted DeGrazia died in 1982 he was buried next to the chapel. Here is a link to his biography.

 I believe Ted built this monument next to where he would be laid to rest.

 People have left pennies on the stones.

 The top of the monument has three women watching over this site.

Both Shirley and I enjoyed taking many photos of the plants on these grounds.

This gorgeous agave plant is growing out of an old stump.

Did you know that there are about 16 different varieties of Agave plants?

There are also many different varieties of prickly pear cactus.

These have a nice purple mixed in... we have seen some of these colourful cactus in paintings at several different galleries.  I wish we could be here when they are in bloom.

Just as we were about to leave I captured this photo of three saguaro cactus and some palms from the parking lot.  We just love the saguaros... and wish we could have one by our house here.

Last spring when we were looking at real estate here we went thru a home "For Sale by Owner" and he had put a huge saguaro in his back yard.  He was quick to tell us that it cost him $20,000 to have that cactus tree moved to his property.

Quality is never an accident.  It is always the result of intelligent effort. -John Ruskin