Rusty's RV Ranch, Rodeo, NM, Portal, AZ and the Chirachaua Mtns

On March 30, we left Tombstone and headed south on RT 80 headed for Rusty's RV Ranch in Rodeo, NM. I had heard about this park from a visitor at Butterfield's in Benson. The woman was from Alberta and her husband was an astronomer with a specialty in celestial photography and the area where Rusty's is located is noted as the 2nd "darkest" area available for astronomers in the US. There is almost NO light pollution. This caught my interest, so I googled Rusty's RV Ranch and came away impressed and with a decision to make it a stop on our way back east. But first, getting there. Heading south out of Tombstone took us through the famous mining town of Bisbee, AZ

The utter size of this operation is hard to describe

Looking down in to the pit

We continued on RT 80, next stop was Douglas, AZ where we found one of our regular stops while on the road.......

Walmart- where else.

Since we were going to a park that was pretty much "out in the middle of nowhere", it was time to stock up for the stay. A short time later we found Rusty's.......

And what a pleasant surprise. This was the clubhouse which is where the Happy Hours, Pot Lucks, and Socializing was done. Adjacent to it was a really neat little "park", complete with running water, a small pond, fish, and plenty of birds.

We got settled in at our spot and the website didn't lie- sites were pull through and over 200' long. Plenty of room.

Our site- with  a view of the Chirachaua's in the background

Our site - looking to the east and the Peloncillo Mtns. Note the awning was down for this pic. Later on that day we took it down because of the winds.

The park had some nice things going for it. First off, Rusty is a very friendly person and you can't help but like her. Her and her husband Tim have done a lot to make the place special. Together with the maintenance guy Bob they work to make your stay there enjoyable. I first have to mention the Geese......

The geese are the guardians. They have a pond with a resident duck population who are guarded by a pair of geese. Noone gets anywhere near their pond without being challenged by the 2 geese. Really something to see.

And then there was the walking path. They have created a graded path that goes completely around their property, with access paths at different sections of the RV Park. The distance around is a mile and a third. I got in the habit of doing 2 circuits each day which was a good 2.5+ mile walk. The sights and the sounds were incredible.......

A view from our site looking to the clubhouse. The "pool" is visible on the right.

Saw this sign on one of my walks and just had to take a pic. This park is literally in the middle of nowhere. There is no cell signal to speak of. No TV signal. But the park does have a good internet connection which we broadcast inside of our airstream with the help of our PepWave Router. I suspect this pic is why we had the good internet signal. Kind of ironic - no cell, no tv, but we did have Fiber Optic Cable.

Sights along the walking trail.

View from one of my walks

An Airstream trailer as seen during one of my walks. The Chiracahua's in the background.

After getting all settled in our first trip out of the park was down the road towards Rodeo and a visit to the Chiracahua Desert Museum

Quite a nice place. Yes we did contribute to the economy of the area and specifically the Desert Museum. Got some nice "stuff".

And then we ventured in to Portal and more specifically Cave Creek Canyon where we stopped at the Ranger Station. It was open this particular day and something was going on with the Rangers and a group of volunteers. It seemed that previous year they had had a serious flood in the valley and this meeting with volunteers had to do with preparation should a similar event occur and how they would deal with evacuation of campsites in the valley. It was pretty interesting listening to them considering that while this was going on, a full fledged thunder storm, complete with visible lightning bolts was going on......

Warning as you enter Cave Creek Canyon

Some of the volunteers showing up for the meeting with the Ranger

Day 2 had us returning to the Cave Creek Canyon area for a birding walk along the South Fork Trail. It used to be a road(one that vehicles could travel on) until the flood wiped it out. So now it is basically a restored trail until they figure out what they are going to do about a road. It was an enjoyable excursion. The trail runs along the South Fork of Cave Creek. We saw some birds and enjoyed the process. We also met and talked with some nice people who were very helpful to us.

Flood damage to the road was evident everywhere

Rest time to take some notes

M checking out a Rock Wren

Flood damage was evident 

Bridge where we saw a family of Sapsuckers

A view from the road

When we left South Fork we travelled up in to the Canyon and checked out Sunny Flat Campground. One of the people we met on our walk indicated that they were staying there and that it was a nice campground to be at if you were in to any kind of birding. So we checked it out.....

Pretty tucked away and pretty tight, but definitely secluded

Did have all the facilities including bear-proof trash containers

Day 3 had us going in to the village of Portal. What a great find this was. We had purchased a book on Cave Creek Canyon when at the Chiracahua Desert Museum and in doing some reading found that it highly recommended Portal and George Walker Inn as preferred birding places. So we started at the Portal Store and just walked the road up to the Post Office / Library area.

When we left Portal, we headed up into the Mountains looking for the Village of Paradise.

What a trip! Just over 5 miles of single lane Mtn road, unpaved of course. But we made it. The Village of Paradise was close.

What we were looking for was the George Walker House, and more specifically Jackie Lewis, the resident bird expert. Rusty had told us about her, that she was friendly and welcomed visitors to view here bird feeders. She did not lie to us. What a wonderful person.

Jackie Lewis' house. Her bird feeders filled the area under the trees. We sat on her porch and observed. It was a great experience. Jackie was great identifying the many birds she had at her feeders, almost all of which were brand new to us.

Yes, this is a famous, important spot. And we found it!

And then it was time to leave Paradise.....

We decided to take the scenic route -down Turkey Creek Rd to Cave Creek and then to travel to the Research Center and then on to Portal. The scenery was awesome.....

At this point we were in the vicinity of 5,000 - 6,000' in elevation. When Turkey Creek Rd ended at Cave Creek Canyon Rd, if we had taken a right and continued up we would have been in the area of 7,500' and eventually could have gotten to 9,000. Everything changes the higher up you go- trees, birds, animals. Which explains why Cave Creek Canyon is so popular with birders.

The Nature Shop at the Research Center. And yes, we did contribute to their economic program. Bought some books, maps, shirts......

On our way out of Portal, we made one more stop at a place on Foothills Road. This place used to be known as Dave Jasper's place, but is now the Jasper/Rodriguez place. There is a place to park, and a marked path down behind the house to an area that he has populated with bird feeders. There were 2 gentlemen there when we got there and again, were very helpful to us in identifying birds. Come to find out as we were leaving, Mr Rodriguez was one of the gentlemen that was so friendly and helpful to us. After leaving a donation (to help defray the cost of bird seed), we headed back to the truck for a return to the park. Before we got to the place, we had noted about a 1/2 mile down the road  a number of houses out in the San Simon Valley - all with observatories. Interesting. And explains the reputation that the area has for being artificial light free.

Our birding was a new experience for us and one that we thoroughly enjoyed. Among the many birds that we saw and identified:

• Bridled Titmose
• Chipping Sparrow
• Pine Siskin
• AcornWoodpecker
• Gambels Quail
• Cardinals
• Song Sparrow
• Yellow Rumped Warbler
• Black Throated Sparrow
• Rufus Hummingbird
• Magnificent Hummingbird
• BlackChinned Hummingbird
• Mexican Jay
• Juniper Titmouse
• House Finch
• Arizona Woodpecker
• Red Naped Sapsucker
• Scotts Oriole
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Green Tailed Tohee
• Canyon Tohee
• Inca Dove
• Cactus Wren
• Scrub Jay
• Road Runner
• White crowned sparrow

On our last day there, Rusty put on a Pot Luck for the residents. Main course was Chili. Not a lot of people there, but then again, this park is not like your average park in a populated area. The people were nice, the conversation pleasant and the food was good. A nice glass of wine was also nice.

And then it was time to go. We really left with mixed emotions. It was by far one of our more enjoyable experiences we've had. Rusty's is not for everyone. But if you are in to Birding, Hiking, Astronomy, or just plain enjoy nature, then Rusty's is for you. What you will experience there, you will not experience in too many other places. As I mentioned, cell reception is weak to poor to non-existant. Grocery buying is done in Douglas - 55 miles away. No TV reception. To be here, you gotta want to be here. Anyways, we will be back. It was that good.

Our neighbors getting ready to leave. Note the Trike loaded behind the cab of the truck. There is another motorcycle on a rack behind the trailer.

Leaving Rusty's

Perfect Pic- the Airstream, the Chiracahua's, the flowers.