WOW!! What an absolutely awesome, spectacularly stunning, knock-your-socks-off kind of morning we had at the Wings Over Willcox (WOW) celebration! The wings refer to the feathered kind, not the man-made ones with ailerons. In my younger days I thought "bird-watching" was for "old" people but now I am one of them... a bird-watcher, not an old person!
In particular, we went to see the more than 30,000 sandhill cranes that "winter" in the Willcox area. They begin arriving in Arizona in late September and remain until mid-March when they return to the northern U.S., Canada and even Siberia. Some species are as tall as five feet with a wingspan of six to seven feet! In other words, they are impressive birds!
Our day began waaaaay before sunrise* when we arrived at a manmade lake where the cranes sleep- no predators in the lake! It was short ride (in a school bus!) to the parking area and then about a half mile walk to the lake. (*It looks light only because of the 2.5 second exposure.)
Just as the sky began to pink up, we heard rustling and vocalizing that sounded like "kar-r-r-o-o-o kar-r-r-o-o-o!"
Soon, the first wave lifted off... graceful and beautiful.
And then another wave! Hundreds of them! Keep in mind these birds are about FIVE feet in height!
We could hear the flapping of wings and their song as they spiraled higher and higher. Incredible!
Each wave was more impressive in size and sound than the previous one.
It was like a carefully choreographed dance as they flew close together but never bumped into one another... swooping and soaring... before heading off to breakfast.
And yes, Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" did flash in my mind a few times!
At times it looked as though they were "writing" a message in the sky!
They are impressive birds... agile and powerful.
Wave after wave lifted off as the sun crept closer to the horizon. It was incredibly quiet except for the birds "talking" and flapping... very tranquil.
Mist continued to rise off the lake as the last late-risers took off.
What freedom as they flew through the sky!
By the time the sun hit the mountains off in the distance, all the cranes were air-borne. In less than 15 minutes, we watched thousands of sandhill cranes ascend and fly away to their favorite "breakfast spot!"
We walked back to the bus and headed to the breakfast spot of choice for sandhill cranes- a harvested cornfield! They eat the vegetation and also the rodents that inhabit the fields.
The little specks are smaller birds flushed out of the brush. The cranes are people-shy so we stayed pretty far back.
Our guides identified other birds for us but the only one I remember is the peregrine falcon (lower right). We enjoyed the serenity and beauty as we watched birds flying freely in the sky.
After fueling up with more coffee, it was time to backtrack a bit to Benson... and "The THING!" Billboards cautioning you not to miss "The THING" are everywhere in Arizona and it was time we saw it for ourselves. How wonderful we live where people have freedom to promote their business!
Back behind the gift store at a truck stop are three tin sheds. "The THING" is in the last one.
For just one dollar you can enter the first shed and follow the yellow footsteps until you reach "The THING." The first two shed are filled with "antiques" and exhibits.
This is the sign just above "The THING"- if you want to know what it is, you'll have pay a buck just like everyone else. I will say, it is worth a buck =)
After our quick stop at "The THING," we were on our way to Clifton to see the Rock Jail (#31). Nothing makes one think about freedom more than having it taken away.
Clifton is one of three mining towns in close proximity that boomed in the 1860's when copper was discovered. Morenci and Metcalf were soon swallowed up in the ever-expanding open-pit mine (Morenci was later rebuilt) so Clifton was home to the rough and rowdy miners and others who passed through town. The need for a "detention facility" quickly became apparent and the mine hired Margarito Verala to construct one.
Verala wisely decided to take advantage of the town's other natural resource (cliffs!) in making the jail. He bored straight in to the side of a cliff and carved out two cells. They shared a grated door and a narrow grated window. It was in use for many years with no escapes. The ironic part of the story is that its first prisoner was Margarito Verala, its builder! He indulged in a little too much "celebrating" at the dance hall after finishing a laborious contract job and after shooting the place up, was promptly arrested and thrown into the clinker!
We walked down into the cells... definitely not the place I'd want to frequent! The outside, however, was covered with beautiful rocks, kind of like a mosaic- perhaps a reminder of the freedom its inhabitants were missing.
Thumb Up Or Down: Three Thumbs UP! (yeah, even The THING!)
Miles Round-Trip: 546.3 miles
Miles To Date: 2814.7 miles
Percent of List Completed: 25%
Date of This Trip: January 14, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment