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Sunday, April 1, 2018

Easter Sunday and A Ride through The Las Cienegas National Conservation Area

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Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018

We started our day at The Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church for
9:00 AM  Mass to celebrate Easter.
The parishioners at this parish are very welcoming and it is always a
joyful experience attending Mass here.
This church has been serving the community of Tombstone for over 135 years.

We then went over to the Longhorn Restaurant for breakfast.
I remembered to take a picture when the food arrived then I realized
 the waitress had brought me the wrong meal.
 So when mine arrived I took another picture. 

We took the time to stop into a couple of shops and then headed back home. After changing we headed out to take a ride through the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. We had read about this area in Doug's Blog Miss Adventure Travels and a woman I am in contact with on Facebook had also mentioned this area. So being curious we went to check it out.


We turned onto the main road 6900 from AZ-83.
This is a beautiful area and the grasslands seem to go on forever.

It feels very peaceful here and we can see why people would enjoy
spending time parked out here.

We did make a stop at the Empire Ranch. The signs and the pictures pretty much tell the story



We took a walk down the Heritage Discovery Trail.











This was one

large tree.


I did take a closer picture of the New Ranch House but I really liked this
one with the cottonwood trees in the background.


Above is the Visitor Center.
We did pick up a Walking Tour Brochure here.

In the brochure it describes the various rooms and mentions looking in the
windows to see them. I am guessing that was before they fenced in the
buildings and started the stabilization project.








We did not go in and tour this area, next time. 






Leaving the ranch we continued down the road to check out the various listed areas designated for camping. We also picked up a map of the area at the Visitor Center which was very helpful. It is the same one on the boards at various locations but having one in hand is always nicer. I did not take any pictures of the various camping areas as there were people parked in all of them.




We just happened upon this there was
nothing about it on the map.





Again, the grasslands are beautiful and seem to go on forever.

We have turned out onto AZ-82 and are headed home.

Tonight's sunset

followed by a very nice afterglow.





We enjoyed our ride through the conservation area and will certainly take the time to go back as there are a lot of areas to explore. The question we had before we went was would we decide to dry camp here and the answer to that question for us is no. If we had a smaller rig or a 5th wheel we might consider it but with the motorhome we have presently we would not feel comfortable taking it down some of the roads. Since, we had to get off the road to let two RV's that were leaving pass our concern is what would happen in the motorhome if we had this happen. The Stinger "B" would not be able to pull off anymore than either of the two RV's we met could. One thing we always talk about is, if everyone wanted to park in the same place it would get very crowded. We can see why others love parking in the area you can feel the peacefulness as you ride along but for now we will not be adding to the "crowd".  Though we may contribute to the dust as we drive through.



Tom and I Hope you had a Wonderful Easter!

If you would like to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

12 comments:

  1. The Empire Ranch and area has quite an interesting history, We were able to walk through all the rooms last year before the they closed it for renos, truly amazing. Too bad some of those giant cottonwoods had to come down, enjoy your tome there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was an interesting place to visit and we hope to re-visit when they are done with the renovations.
      It is to bad about the giant cottonwoods but from what we read, better that they cut them down then having them fall down.

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  2. It is nice to see that you enjoyed the conservation area, it looks pretty. Of course seeing anything desert like right now is appealing to me!
    Too bad you can't camp there, but not all spots are for everyone as you say. :)
    Great pictures of the area and of course the sunsets.
    Happy Easter you two!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a beautiful area and we can see why parking there appeals to so many.
      We plan on soaking up all the warmth that we can for the next couple of weeks before we have to point north and reality hits...:)
      Stay warm.

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  3. The church is beautiful! All 3 of your breakfasts look incredible! Beautiful drive through the conservation area! Enjoy those temps while you can..27 degrees this am in OK. At least Yerington is 42..haha. Beautiful sunsets. Love that you two are enjoying life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that little church in Tombstone.
      The conservation area is beautiful and definitely worth the visit, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
      We are enjoying the temperatures and are hoping we get to enjoy them for a couple more weeks at least. Stay warm.

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  4. LOVE that area ... and the Longhorn Restaurant. We must have had the same server because they got my food wrong too!! The Empire Ranch is amazing. Glad they are trying to keep up some of the buildings. Too often today they just tear things down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We love this area, also. It is one of our favorite stops, Tom's for sure.
      It is wonderful that they are trying to save the buildings. Like you said to many places just tear things down and with it the history.

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  5. Looks inviting but like you, I agree not all places are for everyone. Thanks for the tour though.

    Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an inviting area and we enjoyed the ride. We would certainly visit the area again.

      Safe travels to you and Riley.

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  6. Thanks for showing us around the Park. I enjoyed reading Doug's posts on where he had parked and the tours he was on. I can certainly see the attraction. We'll have to visit that area.....but maybe find a campground close by and not in the grasslands.
    For being such massive trees the Cottonwoods don't have a long life span. Too bad as they are magnificent trees.

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    Replies
    1. You are welcome. It is a beautiful area and there are some lovely spots to park. We are probably more cautious then a lot of people about what roads we go down with the Stinger "B".
      The Cottonwoods are beautiful.

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