Chiricahua National Monument- Perspective, Perception, Balance

After leaving Tucson, we headed to Chiricahua National Monument, about 2 hours south and east of Tucson. Though we had passed the turn-off on I-10 many times, we had never stopped before….but our friend, Becky, had said how beautiful and unique it was, so we decided to see for ourselves. We were not disappointed.

We spent 3 nights at the campground which had only 25 spots total, no hook-ups, and a maximum trailer length of 26 ft. – Our camper is 25 ft, a tight fit, but Fred got it backed into place like a pro!

We took several nice hikes – and were just amazed at the beauty of these unusual rock formations. These rocks formed after volcanic ash from MANY years ago solidified forming a kind of rock called Rhyolite. As this Rhyolite weathered and fractured from freezing and thawing, it formed these unusual shapes.

Our hikes took us all around and in between  these ‘stacks’ of boulders…….

And allowed us a different perspective.

Sometimes it makes me feel quite small…..other times, cosmically large and connected……

But, always, I marvel at the intricacies of nature.

With a shifting perspective, one begins to see things differently. Can you see the face in the mountainside, like someone lying on his back? Legend has it that the face is that of the great Apache warrior, Cochise.

And we begin to see other things….an alien, a camel’s head, rocks kissing, and even a giant mud dabber nest. (That last one was our interpretation, but one tends to see in things what one is familiar with.)

And everywhere we were aware of balance………..

Rocks impossibly balanced on a tiny point……and evidence of what happens when one loses ones balance.

Nature’s perfect choreography of perception,,,,,,perspective…....and  balance…..