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

Hungry For Change

I'm sick as a dog and just hate it!  This flu is ugly.
When I start to cough and can't stop it feels like I could throw up all my insides!
I hardly ever get sick... but I take full responsibility for it.  It is my fault.
And I am beginning to see how far I have drifted so far off a healthy course.  Today I am starting a three day cleansing diet to purge the toxins out of my body.  Shirley just went to the store for fresh rich green vegetables, parsley, broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, celery and such.

The good that has come out of all this grief is I have watched a couple of really good documentaries about food on Netflix.  Here is a trailer to Hungry For Change... a film by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch.  It impacted us so much we watched it twice... and the second time I took notes.  Another similar film we watched is "Vegucated."  They both helped us.



Here are 13 quotes from "Hungry For Change."

1.  "One-third of all women and one-quarter of all men in the USA are on a diet." -Colorado University

2.  "More than 60 billion is spent each year on diet and weight loss products in the US." Market Data Report

3.  "Food marketers lie to you... they tell you their foods will make you sexy and skinny and cool... but in reality you are going to be obese and miserable and sick."

 4.  "Up to two-thirds of those on a diet will regain more weight than when they started."

Diets are built with failure in them.  What we need is to reprogram our mind to a new lifestyle and know how some of the processed foods we have been eating are like poison to us.

5.  "Sugar is the cocaine of the food world."

6.  "We need to realize that sugar is a drug just like Heroin." -Dr. Christine Northrup

7.  "When you see the high content of sugar in most kids cereals you might just as well roll up your kids sleeve and shoot in the heroin... because it is the same." --Dr. Christine Northrup

8.  "Fat free usually means loaded with sugar."

9.  "It is not fat that makes you fat.  It is sugar that makes you fat."

10.  "If you are upset don't eat." (Good luck with that one!)

11.  "Sleep more.  Exercise more.  Laugh more." written on a post it note.

(I learned if stress is costing you sleep you can gain gain two pounds in retained water.  So I am going to focus on sleeping more.  I guess three hours a night is not enough.)

12.  "Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life." -Anthony Robbins   This is about visualizing what you want to look like.  And there is a great part of the movie that deals with "Food and Beauty."

13.  "I am by nature a dealer in words, and words are the most powerful drug known to humanity." -Rudyard Kipling 1865- 1936


When Shirley read my list she was quick to remind me of Mark Twain's famous quote...

"Be careful reading health books.  You may die of a misprint." 

To see more Thursday 13 click here.

Gratitude... is Beautiful

Today I am grateful for friends and relatives who send me cool stuff.  In the little movie below you will see several things we should be grateful for that we never even give a thought about.

Before Christmas my cousin Janice sent me a link to a short movie that really spoke to me.  It has lots of time lapse photography and awesome photos... and a great message.  Can you spare six minutes?  It is so worth the time and inspiration.   I dream that some day I can make a short movie like this one.




This past week as we travelled back to Canada we reconnected with some friends we have not seen in over 22 years.  Nyren Compton taught our kids at Okanagan Adventist Academy in Kelowna, BC.  We visited over tea... and kind of caught up on parts of our lives.  Chris has started a new business... making gift cookies... and Nyren is helping with the marketing... they call it I Love Comptons.  Click and check it out.

I love good cookies and never can get too many home made cookies... and Chris has mastered this to a fine art.  We wish them all the very best as they grow their new enterprise.

Today we are grateful for Shirley's mother... who is just recovering from pneumonia.  When we decided to come here first before going home we thought she may be on her last legs... she had problems more than pneumonia.  Arriving in town last night we went straight to see her first... and she amazed us with her bright smile and warm welcome.  She never coughed once... and told us she was feeling much better.  She looked a miracle to me.

This afternoon she played scrabble with Shirley, Bobbie and Uncle Ben... and beat them all royally... complete with a 7-letter word!  Go figure.  It looks like she is pretty much back to normal.  PTL!

So tomorrow we are heading home again.

2013 -My Word for the New Year

What an incredible world we  live in!

I took a little walk this morning behind our community.

This is my first photo of 2013... a little dusting of snow on Mt. Lemon behind Tucson... and between the cactus and the mountains are the red tile roofs of Rancho del Lago.

On my walk I did some more thinking about my new motto or "word" for the New Year.

"Safety."

Which really is stronger in two words.  "Safety First."

This year I want to make every decision after looking thru the prism of "Safety... first."

I have really appreciated the perspective that Robert Kiyosaki has given in the three books I have read so far... Rich Dad, Poor Dad... Unfair Advantage... and Guide to Investing.  In his discussion about risk and safety... and the way to reduce risk in investments is thru financial literacy.  The more financial education you have the more intelligent decisions you will make.

That does not mean one can ever eliminate all risk... but the more cards you know are stacked in your favour the less probability of a disaster.  There will always be ups and downs... but the right choice should yield more ups.

Safety First means do your "due diligence." Look before you leap.

Safety First means making sure the footing under the ladder is secure... and scaffolding is anchored.

Safety First means living by the rules in every aspect of life.

It means driving carefully.  Working carefully.  Playing safely.  Eating properly and exercising regularly to keep, or get into top shape.

Safety First means living a living a life of balance... mentally, physically, financially and spiritually.

I believe and trust in God... and will spend some time every day with Him.

Safety First always has your insurance paid up... with the proper coverage.

One of my past mentors died this past year.  Zig Ziglar was an author, a motivational speaker and a devoted Christian who I met at a Century 21 Convention in Edmonton in the mid-80's.  (In a past life we owned a C-21 office in Peachland, BC.)

I want to conclude my New Years ramblings with one of his many quotes which I committed to memory.

"You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind.  You can change what you are and you can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind." -Zig Ziglar

This year I plan to learn a lot more and will read a lot more... and watch a lot less TV.  I am going to change what I put into my mind.  A month without TV waiting to get the satellite dish set up helped me read two books!  Let's see how many I read in 2013.

"Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs." -Zig Ziglar

Wishing you a fantastic year in 2013... and 13 is not an unlucky number unless you make it so.