If there is a list of underrated national monuments - Chiricahua is certainly on the list. I knew next to nothing about the park before visiting and it was such a delight. I learned more about the park during my trip planning and knew the rock pinnacles were the outstanding feature of the park, but I was still not prepared for how cool it would be. I thought there would be some rocks here and there with the best collection at the Heart of Rocks section of our hike - but they were everywhere. "A wonderland of rocks" is certainly an apt nickname!

Chiricahua has similarities to City of Rocks that we visited the prior day: a volcanic eruption and geological and erosional forces that millions of years later resulted in the rock pinnacles. For Chiricahua, it was an eruption of the Turkey Creek Volcano 27 million years ago that was the origin of these rocks. The superheated ash deposits compressed and fused together to form rhyolite, in which joints and cracks were created by cooling and uplift. Freeze and thaw cycles and erosion enlarged the cracks and eventually helped create a variety of spires, pinnacles, and towers. These rock pinnacles can be seen on the scenic Bonita Canyon Drive, which climbs 1700 feet in eight miles to Massai Point (elevation 6810 feet). To get an even better look at the pinnacles and to walk among them, there are multiple trails and loop options that are perfect for hiking. We parked at the Echo Canyon Trailhead (about half a mile before the end of the road at Massai Point) and hiked the "Big Loop" in a counter clockwise direction. The Big Loop utilizes most of the trails, traverses through multiple canyons, and includes the Heart of Rocks loop and the out and back trail to Inspiration Point. In total it is 9.5 miles and 1400 feet elevation gain/loss. The trail is well constructed and easy going - it is a wonderful hike with many neat views and rock pinnacles.

Chiricahua is a sky island: an isolated mountain range that rises up out of the surrounding desert "sea". The monument contains five biomes and is located at a crossroads between four major ecosystems - the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madre, Sonoran Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert. The park has 1,200 species of plants that vary by elevation, sun exposure, and precipitation. As a result the terrain is varied and interesting - we don't normally see prickly pear and yuccas by coniferous trees! Although coatis are present in the park, we had no luck in seeing any. We did have a fun encounter though with a spotted towhee. And we experienced all the weather had to offer. We had to drive through a dust storm on the Willcox Playa en route to Chiricahua (I didn't need to pull over, but visibility was greatly reduced and it was like being in a thick fog). We started our hike with sunny blue skies and it didn't take long before the clouds had formed and turned the sky gray. We were even snowed on while hiking through the Heart of Rocks and it cleared by the time we reached Inspiration Point. From Inspiration Point we could see out to the playa and the dust storms still blowing through there. This hike really had it all!

While chatting with a park ranger at the visitor center about other points of interest in the area she mentioned there still might be some Sandhill Cranes at a pond outside of Willcox. I had no idea Sandhill cranes winter in southeast Arizona and when I looked it up I found out it was a record year for them - 47,000 of them! There were 18,000 in the Willcox Playa area and while most had already started their journey back north, we were hoping to catch the tail end of them. So after we finished our hike at Chiricahua and drove back to Willcox, we drove out past the Twin Lakes Golf Course to the pond. At first we didn't see any birds, but when we rounded the corner of the lake they all came into view (and if we hadn't see them, we could have heard them). What a cool sight! We sat for a while to watch them and then I returned the next morning around sunrise, when they take off to feed, then return to their roosting area to loaf for the remainder of the day (yes, loaf. That is a quote from the Arizona Game and Fish Department). They were very noisy in the morning and took off in small groups for feeding, which you can see and here in this video I posted on Instagram. This was a terrific bonus for our stay in Willcox - I didn't even know to look for the Sandhill cranes. Thank you park ranger!