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>> Chiricahua National Monument was first established by President Coolidge in 1924,
primarily for the protection of our pinnacle rock formations.
The pinnacle rock formations are the result of volcanic explosions that occurred
over 27 million years ago, some of the largest volcanic activity in the American Southwest,
and of course over millennia it has eroded to form just a beautiful array of pinnacles,
spires, and unique balance rocks.
>> The Apache called the Chiricahua Mountains the land of standing rocks
because you literally see the rocks that are out there that are standing;
just beautiful; a variety of shapes and sizes.
>> You can use your imagination and come up with dogs' heads and people's heads
and balanced rocks and anything you want to imagine you can probably see up there.
They-- they truly are, and geologically they're very interesting too.
>> The Echo Canyon Trail is the perfect introduction
for a hike at Chiricahua National Monument.
Half a mile down the trail you'll be at a incredible feature called the grottos,
which is a fun place to climb and explore.
The problem is you could call it a cave type feature, but it's once again caused
by water erosion, and if you look up above you there's a big boulder suspended right
above your head.
>> I've been here many times and I brought the boy scouts up many times as being a scout master
and we walked all the trails and camped in the campground
and it's a beautiful area for people to visit.
>> We're on our 50th anniversary trip and this is one of our stops to visit our relatives.
So we've enjoyed it very much.
>> Had you heard about this place before you came here today?
>> No. No not, you know, the cousin, so you've got to go see it so,
and he hasn't steered us wrong yet [laughter].
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>> So one of the dramatic landmarks you can see
from Chiricahua National Monument is Cochise's Head,
which is actually in the Coronado National Forest.
Look for the profile of a person lying on their back with their nose pointed up in the air
and that's how you know you're actually looking at this mountain.
That was named in honor of the famous Chiricahua Apache chief Cochise.
>> His name is synonymous with Southeastern Arizona.
After all Cochise County is named after him in Southeastern Arizona.
And Cochise's time of leading the Apache was back in the 1860s and early 1870s.
>> After he died of natural causes in 1874 his son Naiche took over as leader and Naiche
and Geronimo were the folks in charge of the Chiricahua Apaches
until their final surrender in 1886.
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Besides the very unique geology we are at a crossroads for four very different ecosystems.
From the Rocky Mountains to the north to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico from the south,
and also touches of both the Sonoran Desert by Tucson
and the Chihuahuan Desert to the southeast.
So as you hike the trails look for trees like the Apache pine mixed with the agaves
and the yuccas and cactus like the prickly pear cactus or toya cactus too.
>> We have a wide variety of flora and fauna; over 1200 species.
>> We saw a black bear, I don't know if you heard about that.
Everything is great; hikes, birds, animals.
>> Not only are the Arizona white-tailed deer common but you might be lucky to see one
of the wild turkeys that have been reintroduced into this mountain range in about 2006.
Really fun thing about the wild turkeys is that when you look at the origin
of the name Chiricahua it goes back to the opata or opata people
who were here before the Chiricahua Apaches and their word to describe this mountain range,
according to one translation, means place of the wild turkey.
>> I was a teacher for many years in this area and I'd bring my classes up,
and we usually took the mile trail down to the Faraway Ranch and went through the Faraway Ranch
and the kids just loved it and learned a lot.
>> Faraway Ranch was the original homestead for Neil and Emma Erickson, immigrants from Sweden.
So this is a classic pioneer tail.
Neil and Emma settled here in the late 1800s after the Chiricahua Apaches had surrendered
for the final time and transformed a one room log cabin
into the two story house that we see today.
We do give guided tours of the home because it's still completely furnished
with the family items ranging from the 1870s to the 1970s.
You'll have a chance to go back in time.
You might look for things such as the milk separate, which after they milk the cows you use
that machine to separate the milk from the cream, and then turn it into butter
or even use the homemade ice cream maker.
The original kitchen table still has the storage bins for [inaudible] 25 pound bags of flour
and sugar, however we no longer have the original wood burning stove
because by the 1940s the family was ready to upgrade to the gas stove
with its six burners and two ovens.
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The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC,
was one of President Roosevelt's first government work programs during the days
of the Great Depression, and after the monument was designated
in 1924 the first thing the National Park Service did was bring in the CCC
to make those needed staff and visitor facilities.
They were the folks who built the hiking trails, for example.
They even built most of the structures that we use today; the campground,
and here the original visitor center and headquarters area.
Chiricahua National Monument would not be what it is today
with all the many projects they were able to accomplish in that six year span of time.
>> People know more about the Grand Canyon and some of the other parks and monuments in Arizona
but Chiricahua National Monument is one of the top rated places to must see in Arizona.
>> In our busy world today it's hard to find somewhere you can go
and experience complete solitude, peacefulness, silence.
Here at Chiricahua it's often you have the entire hiking trail to yourself.
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