Just Another Day in Paradise
My first stop today was a quick sight-seeing detour through Tombstone. I knew I was going to be disappointed when I saw dozens of signs for "Live Gunfights Every Day!" I really didn't want to see the cheesy, touristy, Disneyfied version of Tombstone. Unfortunately that's what I got. This picture doesn't look too bad, but in real life it seemed (and was) very staged. It looked like a set for a bad movie, possibly "City Slickers 3." I moved on quickly.

My next stop was an unexpected gem -- Bisbee, AZ. Not an inspiring name in my mind. I had only vaguely heard of it. All I was thinking was another town to hit a gas station, grab a Gatorade and move on. I was amazed when I crested the ridge and looked down into Bisbee. The whole town is built within this narrow canyon. The houses and business are built into the mountain, with the back ends on stilts over the edge of the canyon. The pictures I took from a pull-off don't look like much, but when I saw the town I immediately thought of looking for available houses, or maybe a bar with an apartment on top.

Next was a drive through Douglas, a town that's claim to fame is a large open-pit mine. The scenic overlook looks down a few hundred feet into an old copper mine pit. Interesting enough to take a picture, not interesting enough to post.

My final destination for the day was Portal, AZ. Portal is a tiny town, I saw one store/cafe, there's no gas station, no working pay phone. There were cattle walking around on the roads. The only road into Portal from the west is a dirt road through the mountains. To get there on pavement I went around the mountains, into New Mexico, than approached from the east. (After my issues with the dirt road through Madera Canyon, I felt the pavement was a better choice for me.)

The big selling point for Portal is location, location, location. (OK, that's three selling points.) Portal is right on the edge of the Coronado National Forest. CNF is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I was in awe. This post is already out of hand, so I'll save you from anymore commentary. Just enjoy the pictures.

There are several campgrounds within CNF and I took my time picking out where to set up camp. I'm not planning on staying more than one day, so I wanted to choose which of the many trails I would try, and camp as close to them as possible. I went with the Sunny Flats campground, as there were two nice trails nearby. There were plenty of people there, but there were still several nice sites to choose from. Honestly, the worst site there is still better than any other campground I've seen. The photo to the left is the view from my site. Not bad for $10 per night. Unfortunately there aren't much in the way of amenities. (The KOAs are nice that way -- sleeping in a tent but still getting a nice hot shower in the morning.)

I picked up four lifers on my way into the park -- including dozens of Acorn Woodpeckers. I'm hoping for many more species tomorrow, but I'll settle for a birdless hike through this beautiful place. Below is a view from the road leading into the park. I like the symbolism of the road leading me into the unknown. (Corny, but it works.)



Paradise
On my way towards Portal, I saw about a dozen presumably illegal immigrants being detained by the border patrol. I believe they were about 50 miles within the US border. I was struck by a number of thoughts: Did they know how far they had gotten? How much farther before they would have cleared the border patrol's sights? What happens to them now? Will any of them die during their next attempt? Ironic that they were looking for a way to get to a better life, make a better living, and they were going through Portal toward Paradise (the next town over).

My thoughts then turned to how lucky I am. I live in a country where I can disagree with my government, live where I want, vacation where I want, date and marry who I want. The possiblilities for me seem limitless -- or maybe limited only by my will to explore them -- compared to people who are detained for committing the crime of seeking a better life.

Immigration is a tough issue for me. The social liberal in me is saying that every one here except the American Indians is descended from immigrants. The fiscal conservative in me worries about the drain on resources that saps money from schools, WIC, Medicare, etc. Maybe if it were legal for Mexicans to work here, they could pay taxes to help support the programs they use. But that would mean that Walmart, ADM and every mushroom farm in Delaware would have to start paying minimum wage. I could really go off on a rant here, but I don't want to start a big political discussion on this blog. I'm just providing a little insight into the things I think about while my throttle lock is on.