A Grand Adventure

Sunday, March 27

We arose early to start what promised to be a long drive, the first of many on the way home through the west and central U.S. However, since we'd driven all this way, we couldn't just leave without driving to Portal, AZ where the birding is said to be outstanding, especially for hummingbirds. Of course, the fastest way, no let me correct that – the most direct way - to Portal is over the Chiricahuas rather than around the mountains or “sky island.” Last night we camped on the west side of the range and Portal is located on the east, at the “portal” to Cave Creek Canyon, hence the name. Getting there? No problem. Just a small issue of unpaved, unmaintained forest service roads. What's that to Duffy, the adventurer? (Picture Lucy and Desi with their long, long trailer in the movie classic of the 1950s. Thank goodness we were pulling the short, cute and cozy Baby Beluga.)

Certainly there would be birds along the rough, washboard, one-lane road. That's mainly why we chose the route. The harsh reality of being between birding seasons began to hit when we either saw the same birds we've seen everywhere or no birds at all. Now, I don't mean to say that we're bored of seeing birds that excited us on our first sighting of them. It's just that there's so many more species to see. And, we're hungry to add to our annual and lifetime lists. Well, we saw a few birds, but not many. Perhaps the time of day was not prime. The forest was very still. About giving up sighting anything, we startled three white-tail deer by a stream. We'd hoped to encounter a ringtail (cat) or coati-mundi that inhabit these parts, but that was not to be. At the summit, we paused to take photos of the valleys to the west and east of this range, part of the Coronado National Forest.

When I say it was still, I mean nothing and no one else was on the road. Could it be that no one has ever driven the road and no one will again? That we're the only ones silly enough to brave the rugged and narrow terrain pulling a trailer no less? Of course, someone has driven it if only to build it. And, surprisingly, there were road signs all along, unlike forest service roads in Washington. Well, we're both here to tell you that we made it across that 25-30 miles of road driving in first gear at 10 miles per hour all the way in under four hours. We were so eager to come down off the mountain, which rose from 5,000 feet on the west to 8,000 feet at the summit and back down again, that we missed Portal. Now, to say that Portal is a metropolis would be to mislead. We did see the Portal Cafe, but did not know that this was pretty much the town. (Fellow campers had told Duffy Portal was a “cute little town,” so he expected more.) A few homes and, can you believe it, a post office, is all that was there, with other homes and ranches dotted around the countryside. I mailed post cards from Portal, so if they never get delivered, I guess I'll know why – maybe mail is only picked up and delivered here once a week, or month, or quarter. Hey, Henry, the bear had a great time; he appears in a number of photos taken on this adventurous ride. So, if post cards aren't received, we've got pictures to prove we were in Portal.

Back to my story. We actually turned around after passing this little speck on the map, because we were so eager to see the hummingbirds for which Portal is known. Again, the reality of between-birding-seasons hit - no hummingbirds, but we did see oodles of pine siskins, acorn woodpeckers, and sparrows of unidentifiable markings, better known as LGBs or LBBs (Little Gray or Brown Birds). Of course, it helped that the operators of the Portal Cafe have nearly a dozen bird feeders hanging outside by the picnic tables.

Next stop, somewhere southeast of Albuquerque. Well, maybe not. Too much time spent crawling across the mountain. All along our trek I could envision wagon trains setting out for new horizons, breaking new ground, fording streams, breaking down, building roads.  My imagination was obviously going wild.  The road we were on was much better than the ones the pioneers experienced. Our trek across the pass took up enough time that our drive for the day ended at...well - Deming, just a few miles over the state line in New Mexico. We can hardly call it progress. Besides we lost two hours when we passed into New Mexico. Arizona is on Standard Mountain Time and New Mexico is on Central Daylight Time. The day was pretty much over right after lunch at Portal in Arizona.

An aside: On the way to the RV park, where we stayed in Deming, we stopped for groceries. Duffy shopped while I stayed in the van typing this blog. (He was sure gone a long time. I think he was sleepwalking all around the store trying to remember what he was looking for.) While I waited, a dark pick-up truck drove alongside; the passenger motioned for me to roll down my window. It turned out the folks are Casita owners from Maryland, traveling the country from corner to corner, coast to coast over a period of six months. We've made new friends, Bonnie and Billy, and are camped near them tonight in the Little Vineyard RV Park, Deming. Part of the fun of traveling.  They are golfer, fisherman (he) and flower-presser (she); we are birders - no fishing poles along this trip.  She, too, blogs while her husband drives and keeps track of expenses on their laptop like I do.  Small coincidences, small world.

Until next time,

Pam