Day 3 - Chiricahua

PAC Tour has great oatmeal every morning with fresh fruits/berries and nuts.  Today a bunch of us opted for full breakfast in a restaurant attached to a gas station across the street from our motel.  The server seemed overwhelmed by our numbers. We ate and hit the road on the early side because it's a 90 mile day with a good climb up to Chiricahua National Monument.  

Today's terrain was quite beautiful and not the usual scrub, dirt and desert.  We had some rollers (short undulating hills) and some slight grades for a number of miles. The winds were calm in the first couple of hours.  Wahoo!

As we turned up the road towards Chiricahua, the scenery began to change.  There was more vegetation and different plants and trees.  Temperatures were rising but luckily it got cooler as we began to ascend to the top.  The Chiricahua National Monument is famous for it's extensive vertical rock formations, many of which look like they've been stacked. Some resemble sand castles where each 'drop' of sand forms a separate form upon the one beneath it.  The skies were beautiful and the views absolutely stunning.  Those of us who went all the way to the summit stopped up top to take in the views, snap a few photos and take a moment before descending.  If you ever happen to be around here, it's definitely worth a drive up.

The descent was uneventful, but temperatures were rising and the winds had really picked up.  We are still trying to figure out how a head wind stays a headwind no matter which way you turn!  It was a bit of a slog on the way back to our hotel in Willcox.  Hot, windy, slow and the same expansive drab view.  We skipped the coffee stop today and headed straight back to shower and have dinner.  We ended up getting food from the Safeway Supermarket deli, as there are slim pickings within walking distance of our hotel. All good.  Another great day on the bikes.

Echelon - serious winds out there.