On Friday morning, October 9, twenty Trailblazers and family members head southeast to Willcox, Arizona, on their journey to the Chiricahua National Monument.

We stopped in Willcox for lunch then on to Fort Bowie, which was used by the U.S. Army for military operations against the Chiricahua Apaches for control of the region.

Our next stop was the Chiricahua National Monument, called the “land of the standing up rocks” by the Chiricahua Apaches, for our two day campout at the Bonita Canyon campground, led by Michael Humphrey. Monika and Nancy chose to stay in a hotel in Willcox and met us on Saturday for our hike.

It was overcast on Saturday morning, but the sun eventually burned off the clouds and it turned into a beautiful day.

Some of us hiked the 10 mile trail starting at the Echo Canyon Trail, continuing on the Hailstone Trail, the Mushroom Rock Trail, the Big Balanced Rock Trail, the Sarah Deming Trail, and back to the Visitor Center via the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail.

Others hiked the 5 mile trail starting at the Echo Canyon Trail, and continued on to the Upper Rhyolite Canyon Trail and finishing up on the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail and back to the Visitor Center.