Noisy trail

As a commercial seaplane pilot, I'm used to airplane noise. When I hike on my RV trips, though, I don't want to hear airplanes or anything else except the sounds of nature. A couple of weeks ago I hiked seven miles on a trail from Saguaro National Park to our trailer at Tucson Mountain Park. The trail wound far enough back into the hills so that no road noise reached my ears, but oh the aircraft! Airliners, military jets and private planes roared or buzzed by overhead constantly, harassing me like a swarm of harpies. I had not a single second of peace on the entire hike.

The experience reminded me of a recent friendly disagreement rvtravel.com editor Chuck Woodbury and I had over generator noise at National Park Service campgrounds. I maintained that the NPS should accommodate generator users because the campgrounds are often set in trees, where solar panels are useless for battery recharging. Chuck said generators should be severely restricted or banned at NPS campgrounds so they don't disturb campers' enjoyment of nature.

After that noisy hike, I know how Chuck feels.

Suspicious junk

In most places, the junk I come across while hiking off-trail is fairly innocent--rusty tin cans, strands of barbed wire, shotgun shell cases, broken beer bottles, and so forth. In southern Arizona, though, the frequent sight of Border Patrol vehicles on the roads makes me suspicious of many items I find in the desert there. We're currently boondocking about 25 miles from the Mexican border. On one recent hike, I saw the shoe, the backpack and the plastic jug in the photos, as well as a pile of blankets, all in different locations within a two-mile radius.

The shoe was in fine conditions except for a broken lace. Whoever left it must have been in a such a hurry that he or she couldn't afford the time to stop and retie. The backpack was empty and also usable, although it had been repaired in several places. Had a drug smuggler discarded it after delivering the contents to a courier? The plastic jug had probably held water for a desert crossing and was tossed aside when empty. The blankets were under a palo verde tree on a hillside about a half-mile from Highway 85. I envisioned several illegal immigrants resting on them, watching the road from behind the tree, waiting for the cover of night to proceed.

My imagination might have been overactive, but it's a sign of the times that such thoughts came to mind.

Air mail

Perhaps this lofty mail box is for carrier pigeons to make deliveries for snowbirds who want extra fast service. Or maybe the owner wanted to thwart attempts by nosy neighbors to peek at his mail. In any event, the box probably doesn't see much action, except possibly as a bird's nest. It's located on Highway 85 in Why, Arizona.

Family on the road

When my wife and I told relatives we were spending the holidays boondocking on BLM land, they worried that we would be lonely and bored. If we had to go RVing instead of being with them, couldn't we at least stay at a developed RV park? "Out in the desert all by yourselves!" one of them lamented.

Well, in a sense we are by ourselves. We want privacy and elbow room, so we parked about 200 yards from the nearest RV at this dispersed camping area near Why, Arizona. But lonely? Bored? Only if we want to be. The variety of people-oriented activities posted on the bulletin board near the entrance proves that no one need be lonely or bored here. When we arrived, the host told us about other activities not mentioned on the bulletin board, such as Christmas Eve festivities up in Ajo. Beneath the board is a large plastic box with magazines and paperback books. Take what you want, donate your own.

If we pass close to another RV on walks, people wave and greet us. Three couples, members of the Escapees, invited us to join them by their campfire.

The Why BLM area is not unique; many such dispersed camping areas are just as social, just as friendly. It's always nice to be home for the holidays, but RVers are our family on the road.

Balanced rock

Nature has lots of balanced rocks, including the famous one at Arches National Park. I came across this anonymous one while hiking cross-country in Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Balanced rocks occur when softer material erodes beneath harder rock. Eventually, as erosion continues, this boulder will probably topple from its pedestal. That may not happen for hundreds or thousands of years, but I wouldn't feel comfortable camping beneath it.

Two perspectives

Winter storms in the desert can produce dramatic combinations of cloud and light, as in this scene looking southwest from our site at Gilbert Ray Campground in Tucson Mountain Park. But the low overnight temperatures (mid-20s) accompanying the same weather system threatened some non-native plants at nearby Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Late in the afternoon the staff placed cups on the sensitive tops of these cacti, found mostly in Mexico. Larger plants were covered with bags. The scene made parts of the museum grounds look as if pranksters had gone on a rampage. Local plants, according to the museum staff, can survive temperatures down to 5 degrees. The record low in the area was 6 degrees, set in January 1913.

The good old days

More than 300 westerns and TV segments were filmed at Old Tucson Studios west of Tucson, but that was before a fire in 1995 destroyed about 40 percent of the set. These days, the complex serves mainly as a western theme park. While my wife and I were staying at a nearby RV campground, we visited the place and spotted this coyote in the parking lot. Although it was there to scrounge a free meal from tourists, I got the image of an old bit-part actor just hanging around, reminiscing about the western movie heyday when he played the symbol of the West, hoping for another such role in one of the occasional shows still shot there.

Mirror image

The windows in our fifth-wheel trailer have a reflective coating, which is great for privacy and summer cooling. But certain birds see their reflection and think they're being challenged by a member of their own species. While we were dry-camping in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area near Sonoita, Arizona, this fellow spent a whole morning confronting his image in our big rear window. My wife's "Field Guide to North American Birds" identified him as a plain titmouse. He'd flit back and forth inches from the window, irritated that the other bird--by coincidence also a plain titmouse--would mirror his every move, feather for feather. Then he'd alight on a rung of our ladder for a few moments or fly around the trailer once or twice. Occasionally the bird would bump against the window, trying to get at his sassy alter ego.

Due to the reflective glass, he couldn't see my wife and me watching from inside. Eventually, after none of his antics enticed his antagonist in the window to come out and fight, he gave up and flew away.

My photos of the bird airborne came out blurry. Here's a clear shot of him on the ladder.

Boot Hill

The grave markers in Tombstone's infamous Boot Hill attest to the violence that plagued the area in its early days. One marker reads, "Cowboy Bill King, Shot by Burt Alvord." Another says, "Geo. Hand--1896, Murdered by Indians." Several of the deceased met frontier justice, including, "John Heath, Taken from County Jail & Lynched by Bisbee Mob in Tombstone, Feb. 22, 1984." "Will DeLodge, Killed Playing Cards, 1883," reads another marker. Many of the deceased are unidentified, such as, "Unknown, Found in Abandoned Mine, 1882."

Despite the dangerous times, Tombstone residents saw humor in some deaths, as these two photos indicate. Most markers in Boot Hill are replacements of wooden originals. At the gift shop leading to the cemetery, you can buy a pamphlet that provides details on many of the deaths. The unfortunate Mr. Johnson had innocently bought a stolen horse, according to the pamphlet. And Mr. Moore was a Wells Fargo agent who quarreled with a customer over a package.

Generator hours

I love national parks and national monuments and have camped at many. But I have a complaint: the generator limits at campgrounds without hookups are unrealistic. The hours posted in the photo are at the Chiricahua National Monument. At some facilities, such as Death Valley National Park, they’re even more restrictive--7 to 7. And a few National Park Service campgrounds, including Cottonwood at Big Bend National Park, prohibit generators altogether. The problem is that many of these campgrounds are in wooded areas, where solar panels are ineffective. Not all RVs have solar panels, anyway. A generator is often the only way to recharge batteries. But with quiet hours beginning so early in the evening, many RVers return from hikes and day trips too late to run their generator. The NPS's reasoning apparently is that generator noise bothers campers who go to bed at 7 or 8 or want to listen to the night. Some generator restrictions are necessary, but the cut-off should be later, say 9 or 10 p.m., to accommodate those of us with recharging needs.

Read the results of an RVtravel.com survey: Should generators be allowed in National Parks?

The town too smart to die

Tombstone, Arizona, bills itself as "The town too tough to die." A more accurate slogan would be, "The town too smart to die." Thanks to Hollywood's glorification of the October 1881 shootout at the OK Corral, Tombstone has learned to capitalize on its colorful past. Today the town is a frontier western theme park with stagecoach rides, historic-photo galleries, reenactments of the famous gunfight and dozens of shops that sell western memorabilia. Some of the town's 1,504 residents contribute to the atmosphere by wearing 1880s attire. The promotion brings in 450,000 visitors a year.

It's fun, and many RVers like the live western music in the saloons. Still, Tombstone has become a common tourist trap. In fact, such tasteless practices as placing historic dates on new buildings and renovating old structures with modern materials caused the National Park Service in 2004 to declare the town's designation as a National Historic District threatened.

To its credit, the town is trying to retain its NHD designation. For instance, it has removed the paving from some streets to restore them to their historic unpaved status. And you can't really blame a community for trying to prosper with whatever resources it has.

Historic dump

Civilized people have always had to depose of trash. On a day trip to the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeastern Arizona, I explored off-trail and came upon the fort dump. At first I assumed some 20th-century trash had been added because of the hundreds of flattened, rusty cans--I had thought cans were a more modern invention--but research showed that cans were in widespread use during the fort's 1862-1894 active years.

With daylight running out, I had only a few moments to poke through the debris. Here are several interesting items I lined up on my hankerchief to photograph. From left to right, an old bottle neck, a a 45-70 cartridge case, an old-style nail, a slug from a percussion rifle, a colorful piece of pottery and a rock with a hole in it.

Gila Box directions

A reader asked for directions to the camping site in the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area I mentioned in a previous item. It's easy to find. From the town of Safford, Arizona, drive east on Highway 70 to Sanchez Road at the tiny community of Solomon and turn left (north). Bear right at the intersection with Airport Road. After several miles, bear left at the Gila Box sign. You'll now be on an unpaved surface. Follow the road for another mile and a half or so to the pull-out at the west entrance of the Gila Box area, identified by the sign in the photo. This is where we dry-camped. The site has a concrete patio with a picnic bench and a spectacular view of the river below. The road continues, but this is as far as you'll want to go if you have a large RV. By the way, the BLM office in Safford, (928) 348-4400, can supply you with a great Gila Box brochure.

Circle of rocks

Indians used the area around the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeastern Arizona for thousands of years. While based at an RV park in nearby Willcox, I visited the fort and hiked into the higher terrain looking for evidence of their occupation. On top of a grassy knoll with a panoramic view, far from any trail or fort structure, I noticed a circle of rocks. It had a diameter of about eight feet, with four rocks positioned in the center. All the rocks had settled into the ground enough to indicate they had been there a long, long time. Had the arrangement served some ceremonial function? The location in the open, exposed to the wind, seemed to rule out an old fire ring or the anchors for a shelter. I sat by the four center rocks inside the circle and had lunch. As I gazed at the surrounding canyons and cliffs, I wondered what other secrets the area had to offer.

The circle of rocks, top, was difficult to photograph because of the grass, which I was unwilling to disturb. Look carefully. The bottom photo shows the four center rocks.

Rex Allen Museum

How did I miss Rex Allen? When I was a kid, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were my cowboy screen heroes. Allen was their contemporary, but I never heard of him until I arrived in his home town of Willcox, Arizona. After checking in at a local RV park, we drove in for dinner and noticed the Rex Allen Museum.

The museum quickly made it clear that Allen, 1920-1999, deserved top billing. He starred in 19 westerns and had his own TV series ("Frontier Doctor"). His 35-year singing career included the hit, "Streets of Laredo," and he was the voice behind many animated characters. The front part of the museum is devoted to Allen, with various displays and memorabilia. The rear section celebrates everyday Wilcox-area cowboys and has a tiny theater where you can watch a Rex Allen western. While you wander around, Allen's country songs play over the speakers. Visitors can buy Allen videos, CDs, T-shirts and other items.

Across the street, in front of a bronze statue of Allen, his ashes are scattered atop the grave of his horse, Koko. Step aside, Roy and Gene. You've been outdrawn.

Gila River history

Much of history took place on or by rivers. We just spent five days dry camping above the Gila Box section of the Gila River in southeastern Arizona, looking down on a flood of history--and prehistory. According to archeologists, the first people in the Gila Box hunted wooly mammoths 12,000 years ago. Hohokam, Mogollon, Anasazi and Apache Indians later built settlements there. The Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado and his soldiers passed through the Gila Box on a 1540 expedition. The famous fur trader James Ohio Pattie trapped beaver in it from 1824 to 1828, and during the Mexican War General Stephen Kearny led an army through it on the way to California. Confederate soldiers hid in the area during the Civil War. Then, in the early 20th century, farmers began settling in the Gila Box valley.

Everybody's gone now, even the farmers, subdued by the economy of the 1930s. History won't record our visit to the river, but in camping there we've sensed a bit of the history.