There were some very interesting out-of-the-way spots in Southern New Mexico, too numerous to present in their entirety here. There are some great hidden gems in the Gila National Forest and Wilderness area.
Historical Fact: The Gila was the first area set aside as Wilderness largely due to Aldo Leopold, who hiked and romanced the Mogollon Mountains.
The "Cat Walk" over White Water Creek |
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We drove through the magically remote areas of highway 180 between Silver City, New Mexico and Springerville, Arizona. The road leaves Silver City and the Mogollon Mts. to travel through the northern parts of the Arizona White Mts. We lolligagged in the meadows of the White Mts. long enough to acquire a forest service map of the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.
Onward we traveled to the fair city below the beautiful San Francisco Peaks... Flagstaff, Arizona. Although it was painful to see that development had swallowed up alot of the once pristine and beautiful meadows here, there are still one or two fields of daisies left to soothe the concrete ribboned eye.
Paul in a field of daisies below the peaks |
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A trip through Flagstaff is never complete without a visit with the Grand Patriach and Matriach of Vertebrate Paleontology- Ned and Margaret Colbert. Paul also got to meet Matthew Colbert's parents for the first time and see where Matt, aka "the Bean", actually came from! Matt's folks had just so happened to have taken Amtrak from the Big Apple to visit Ned and Margaret, Matt's grandparents. Oh yes. Did you know about the Colbert's delicious well water?! While Paul was happily filling our water tanks he got to hear Ned Colbert, 93, tell him of his world travels from India to the Antarctica- an inspiration!
Coco with The Colberts |
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