Sierra Vista

 

We made our way across the New Mexico-Mexico boarder, heading west towards Arizona on route 9 that was as straight as a road could be. There was very little traffic. We passed through few small towns. Most of the time you could look to the left and see into Mexico: no wall. We did go through two Border Patrol checkpoints. It was a little disappointing to realize that we look like a safe older couple when they just waved us through and didn’t ask to look at anything. I wondered if it was also an example of white privilege. For sure it was grey privilege.

It was great to be back in Sierra Vista to visit our friends John and Marcia. The first thing we did upon arrival was to wash Shiny and Finey (the truck). That was a relief. Actually, we haven’t really named the truck so, if you have any suggestions, send them along! Larry met John via the internet years ago through a dating site. Oh no, that’s wrong. They met via Fiddle-L  which is an online fiddle music discussion site. They traded tunes for years, mailing them in CDs and then sending them online. They finally met in person last year when we came out on the train.

 John and Marcia took us to Brown Ranch which had a nice hike in and out and gave us a good idea about early 20^th century life on a remote ranch. Sierra Vista is at about 4,500 feet so it can get cool and of course it snowed while we were there.

The Border Patrol had a big radar blimp that we saw up in the sky. We were told that it uses radar to detect people crossing the border. We aren’t really sure what it uses but it was hard to miss. On the day we were at the Ranch, it was really windy so it was tethered close to the ground.

Our visit to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area was great with lots of birds and walks along the river that is lined with cottonwoods. They were washed with a light green color as the leaves were starting to bud out. The two cottonwoods that were over 200 years old were a joy to behold.