Camping in Cutie RV: Bonita Canyon Campground, Chiricahua National Monument, Fort Smith, Arizona

It was a short drive from Birds and Barrel Winery after we walked through the vineyard with our coffee in hand to Chiricahua National Monument. We had been here to the Visitor Center with a tour of the Wings over Willcox Birding Festival last year but the road to the top was closed due to ice and snow. It was a beautiful sunny day as we set up camp in Bonita Canyon Campground which our site only had power and other had sewer hook up and water nearby. We took the drive to the top from the Visitor's Center and hiked the Massai Point Nature Trail. We then drove to Echo Canyon Parking Lot and too the hike to Echo Canyon Grottoes and continued on the Echo Canyon Loop for a total of 6.5 miles. We headed back to the campsite and after happy hour headed inside to cook dinner.

Our campsite at Bonita Canyon

Deer at the next campsite

The road to the top

The Massai Nature Trail

See Conchise Indian Head

All the trails

The grottoes

On Tuesday, Glenn cooked his corned beef hash and eggs indoors since it was a chilly morning and then we headed with our coffee to hike the Bonita Creek Trail, the Silver Spur Meadow Trail to Faraway Ranch. That was our turnaround before heading to the Visitor Center. We stopped to watch the birds, deer and wild turkey spotted off the trail. After lunch at the campsite we head to the trail head for the Natural Bridge Trail. That trail took us high up and across a plateau before we turned around and headed back as we ended up doing 7.8 miles. Glenn made pecan crusted pork schnitzel and sweet potato fried in the air fryer. We joined our camping neighbors by their fire to only realize the camper door locked behind us locking three sets of keys inside. The door should require a key so we were distressed to have to unscrew the back window for Glenn to crawl in and unlock the door. Our camp host helped us out but by then we were ready for another glass of wine to celebrate Christmas Eve.

Two woodpeckers

Doe

Buck

Civilian Conservation Corp fireplace

Flock of wild turkeys

The trail led us to the top, over plateau, then down and back

On Wednesday, Christmas Day, we took our coffee back along the Silver Spur Meadow Trail and ove to the Visitor Center and did not see any birds like the morning before. We headed back to the campsite to cook breakfast of green Chile sausage egg burritos on our outdoor cooktop. We enjoyed a second cup of coffee and managed to repair the window partially and duck tape it closed until we could get more screws. We then hiked back to the Visitor Center to take the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail to the top and by that time the wind was howling and we were exposed on the side of the ridge. We saw wild turkeys along the Rhyolite Creekbed. We headed back to the campsite after hiking 7.1 miles to pick up beer and pretzels to enjoy back at the Fairway Ranch where we could get cell phone coverage. This is our last evening here before heading back through Willcox on the way to Tucson.