My Journey

tgil.....I've always thought that she has the most beautiful smile.....yet she's a dog.....

Broshaker.....fellow wanderers.....thank you very, very much.....





I laid my road atlas on the table and thought "where now ?" Life can be difficult in a truck camper sometimes.....and all roads must lead to Tucson.....sometimes.....always right now.....


We backtracked once again, drove north, then west and our next stop was at Cochise Stronghold.....just a name on a road atlas that caught my eye.....I had no idea of what I should expect to see or experience here.....

Approaching from the east from miles away you could see an unusual formation of rocks in the mountains.....and generally speaking, we were headed that way.....

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And eventually the tarmac road turns upward from the valley floor and just a few miles prior to entering the canyon the sometimes winding road turns to dirt.....

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I was fairly excited to see this place.....I had not Googled it in advance.....

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Whenever we are traveling we are constantly on the search for that free and remote campsite.....not bothered by the noise of other campers.....generators mostly.....

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The canyon was narrow and free sites were limited. We parked the rig in a small lot and walked along the entrance road and soon came across the Shaw House.....

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It wasn't at all impressive to me but there were several informative signs posted which of course we always read.....

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What was impressive here at Cochise Stronghold were the rock formations.....jaw dropping beautiful.....

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We continued walking along the entrance road just taking in the views.....

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.....and eventually the road ended at a small campground.....maybe 15 sites and nearly every site was occupied. Honestly, even the best site here did not meet my requirements as one site was built nearly on top of the next site. The nearby trailhead sign was inviting.....

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.....this stone signpost.....pretty cool.....

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The sun was beginning to fall behind the mountains.....

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.....and we needed a place to stay. We drove north after our brief visit and spent that night in a trash filled field near Benson, Arizona.....left early the following morning after looking at my road atlas and thinking "where now ?".....

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ITTOG

Well-known member
I wonder how Chief Cochise pronounced his name? I am having fun saying it as cocheese.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
 

longhorn1

Observer
The weather has been unusually nice for the past week although I was thinking that maybe I'm not so qualified to use the word "unusually" in this sentence since.....well, I'm not from around here. Our camp is perched on a mountain overlooking the river and in the distance is a snow covered mountain chain. This week the mountains surrounding us have been turning from a lush, bright green to a wonderful yellow.....quite amazing to watch. Our camp, perched up high, we seem to get a slight breeze throughout the day, the skies are nearly always blue allowing the sun to warm us, and with temperatures in the low 70's.....just about as perfect as perfect can get.....

Just wanted to share a selection of pictures of what we've been seeing and experiencing this past week. And there's more to come.....it's paradise.....

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❤️❤️
 

longhorn1

Observer
ITTOG.....she's been on it since January 5th when the veterinarian said that he suspected she had cancer. Every night I get up at midnight to give her a 5 mg dog treat with CBD. Its been a huge help in my opinion.....




Another special place that we all liked to hang out here was at Bonita Creek.....

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We could drive the Jeep right to the edge of the creek.....

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And then the road continued up the creek and would then criss cross the creek multiple times.....we would drive here.....and we would hike here.....

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It was a wonderful place to stretch the legs.....

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Like the canyon, this place was special for a multitude of reasons but none moreso than Yukons ability to access the water and play.....

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Love her smile❤️
 
The weather forecast was calling for a major storm from the southwest in a few days time and that was just something that I did not want to deal with. These days Yukon just loves to spend her days outside.....as a matter of fact she won't reenter the camper in the morning and will stay outside until well after sunset.....but that's not unexpected really.....we have pretty much always lived our lives outdoors.....it's fitting that her last days are spent surrounded by nature.....

And so it was that we drove southeast with the idea in our heads that we would miss the impending storm. We were now driving, once again, towards Douglas, Arizona and once again we passed by the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area but this time I decided to check it out.....

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And so it was that we would spend that night sleeping here.....

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The dirt access road into the area was good.....

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And the views from the road were outstanding.....

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I felt as though we had lucked onto a small gem in the high deserts of southern Arizona.....

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Yukon chose her tree and worked diligently on her little dirt bed under a tree.....she just loves to dig a dirt bed these days.....

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While Yukon rested under her little tree, Tanner and I headed out to explore.....

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The big trees in the distance called out our names.....

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A hike consisting of several miles of dirt roads and then followed by bushwacking, crawling under barbed wire fences, and scaling small dirt cliffs brought us to a ravine where the trees grew large.....

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I thought this might be a place to see wildlife but only a lone owl was to be seen.....

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The wonderful trees, really, was all that we needed.....we are blessed when we are one with nature.....

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Now as remarkable as this place was and is, it isn't actually this place that I'll always remember here but it was the skies that passed overhead while I was here that I'll never forget. Maybe it's me......and maybe it's just this time in my life.....but never do I recall seeing such unusual and unforgettable skies.....

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When Montana passed away several years ago I saw lots of rainbows after his passing and to this very day when I see a rainbow I always, and I do mean always, think of Montana first. I think now that Montana is my rainbow dog, it's only fitting that Yukon will be become my sky dog.....

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The blue afternoon skies would change much too soon as I often now find myself wishing to stop time.....

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But evening skies here were impressive too.....

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The night came too soon.....

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.....and then it was yet another day as the sun rose once again.....

Sunrises and sunsets are forever that's for sure.....

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Yukon.....my best friend.....

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longhorn1

Observer
Now as remarkable as this place was and is, it isn't actually this place that I'll always remember here but it was the skies that passed overhead while I was here that I'll never forget. Maybe it's me......and maybe it's just this time in my life.....but never do I recall seeing such unusual and unforgettable skies.....

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When Montana passed away several years ago I saw lots of rainbows after his passing and to this very day when I see a rainbow I always, and I do mean always, think of Montana first. I think now that Montana is my rainbow dog, it's only fitting that Yukon will be become my sky dog.....

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Very fitting❤️
 

Pacific Northwest yetti

Expedition Medic
I spent most of this month in response too flooding, that swept through two states and 3 counties including a reservation,
Got back yesterday, and the first thing I did after showering was start reading to catch up,

Thanks for posting. Thoughts are with you and the family.
 

tgil

Well-known member
Those pics of the sky really are fascinating! Fitting way you will always remember your girl.

Post #2559, the pic of your rig looks like it should be on a brochure advertising the camper company or the truck.
 

Sticky9

Member
"Sky Dog"

It's only fitting that Yukon can share a nickname with the greatest southern rock guitar player that ever lived, Duane "Sky Dog" Allman... maybe you should play some Allman Brothers for Yukon next time y'all are driving down the road and see if she likes it lol. Stay strong Jerry, we're all behind you.
 

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