Two Tickets to Paradise - April 5, 2021

Two Tickets to Paradise - April 5, 2021

We decided to take a bit of a break in hiking to explore the dirt road that led from Portal to Paradise (FS 42B).  It was 5.5 miles to Paradise along a rough, dirt road until we arrived at a bridge that crossed Turkey Creek and turned left into the “town” of perhaps ten homes, and the George Walker House, a 100 year old home built by George and Lula Walker, now known to birders worldwide as a location for premier birding (and lodging).

We parked Fritz on the road just outside of Paradise and walked the roadway that bordered Turkey Creek for about 1.5 miles.  We never saw another vehicle and only saw one other walker ambling along the road.  Everywhere were signs for No Trespassing ... and what appeared to be utilities for homesites yet undeveloped.  I can’t quite picture development given that the only road in is dirt and can be closed during winter ... but, it may be a failure of my imagination.  Turkey Creek was mainly dry ... a few areas with water that came to the surface, but largely dry.  The canal would suggest a history of more vigorous flow, but at present, even with melting snow in the mountains, it was strikingly dry. 

We did come across signs for a Desert Tortoise Sanctuary, but no access to the sanctuary and no evident desert tortoises (most likely protected land).  

The map indicates a number of mining interests in this area just outside of the Chiricahua National Forest, but we did not take any of the mining roads to check out the mining activity.  What we could see from our dirt road were small scale operations that had long since been abandoned.  At one time, the town boasted bars, a barber shop, mercantile stores, hotels, a jail and a red-light district, but were abandoned when the mines closed.

We then decided to continue with the driving part of our day and went to Animas, New Mexico ... ostensibly to get fuel for Fritz, but actually to see what the town was.  We drove through it before realizing that was all there was ... it is the only place off of I-10 to get gasoline or diesel fuel, but it wasn’t much.  There was a high school, the Animas High School, known for holding the record for the longest number of consecutive state high school football championships in New Mexico (1984-1990) ... and that seems to be the area’s claim to fame ... and Fritz turned up his nose at the "no name" diesel and dysfunctional pump at the only location for fuel in town.  He drove on to the campground ... 

We returned home to feast ... and to watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Game between Gonzaga and Baylor.  After the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Game between University of Arizona and Stanford, this game was such a disappointment.  We had hoped that Gonzaga would win ... and expected, at the least, a good game ... Gonzaga got behind from the beginning and never caught up ... we bailed on the game and went out to see the real show ... the amazing star show that brings folks from around the world to view the heavens.

There are remote controlled telescopes, like this one, that are housed in small barns on rails and powered by solar charged batteries.  The barn moves out on the rails exposing a telescope (or two) on a concrete pad and the telescope is focused remotely and viewed from afar.  This one is managed by an astronomy group in Las Vegas.  All around here are “astronomy lots” for sale (10 acres for $14,900) and star gazing facilities that are individually or collectively owned by amateur astronomers.  Even in our RV campground, there are concrete pads for telescope stability and astronomers camping with their extensive equipment.  The RV Resort protects dark skies by asking that there not be any outdoor lights at night, that windows are covered and vehicles driving at night to only use running lights until out of the campground.  

The night skies around here are nothing short of amazing ... the skies having a dimensional quality with the brighter stars appearing in the foreground and a tapestry of shining diamonds in the background.  So much better than the basketball game ...