Nomad Life - Day 70

Last day in the Mountain Time Zone - it will get harder, from here, to stay on the East Coast schedule...  I was awake this morning (only with an alarm) at 0500 and started teleworking immediately.  Despite having slept relatively well, I'd been hearing loud truck noise for a lot of the night and couldn't figure out why.  Hearing the sound of raindrops in the early AM, I looked outside and found the window was open!  While closing it, I noted a surprising amount of rain had fallen overnight.  During a short break from teleworking, I made arrangements for my next week of lodging and headed to the lobby of the Econo Lodge to get some breakfast (0700).  I'd hoped to see the three CDT Thru Hikers who were supposedly staying at the hotel but none of them ever appeared - too bad.  The rain stopped by 0730 and I took another break from work so I could drive a little more of the CDT (where it was synonymous with the road) and locate trailheads.  After passing through Lordsburg on Main Street (retracing last night's walk), I figured out how to cross Business Loop 10 and access US-70 towards the north.  As I drove, I passed two (SOBO) CDT hikers - they waved to me!  After I'd reached the junction with NM-90 (almost three miles of driving), I forked right and started watching for indications of the trail.  After a bit of looking, I found a lone CDT sign posted above a barbed wire fence.  This scant evidence seemed to indicate that the trail headed east (NOBO direction) from there but I couldn't find a stile or any other signs of the trail itself.  Realizing that I probably wasn't going to get any better results, I retraced my route into Lordsburg and followed Main Street towards the Shakespeare Cemetery, where I expected to locate another CDT Trailhead.  Fortunately, I was not disappointed and I found a nice sign/kiosk and several really good trail signs (0805).  After getting some good photos and a better idea of where the trail traveled near Lordsburg, I took a quick detour (via gravel road) to explore the nearby "Shakespeare Ghost Town".  The place seemed vaguely familiar (did we visit in 1977?).  Perhaps I'll never know the reason for the deja vu but the venue was closed so a visit wasn't possible in 2025...  Returning to the Econo Lodge, I resumed my teleworking until just after 1200, when I checked out of my hotel room.  Before getting on the road, I did a little bit of work in my car.  When it was time to depart from Lordsburg, I got back on I-10 and headed west.  About 20 miles later, I crossed the border into Arizona, my 25th state in 2025!  There was a time change near the border (gained another hour) and I decided to make the best of the extra daylight.  About that time, I started to see scary dust storm warning signs - hope I don't see one of those while I'm visiting...  Earlier planning indicated that I might be able to visit as many as three National Park Units and the first one was close to the town of Bowie.  I exited the Interstate there and topped off my gas tank with some expensive fuel at the Chevron station (1145 PT).  After verifying the map directions, I headed south on Apache Pass Road - my goal was the Fort Bowie National Historic Site.  Along the way, I passed through groves of pistachio trees, saw evidence (cows on road) of the Open Range rules and encountered fearless Mule Deer.  At one point, I had to switch to gravel roads - there were also trails that could be used to reach the NHS but I didn't feel like walking in the desert for long.  During this time, I lost cell signal and didn't regain it (except for two short exceptions) for a few hours.  While driving, I saw signs for the visitor center and that there might be (limited) handicap parking.  Knowing I was taking a big chance of arriving and then having to backtrack, I kept going.  My instincts paid off when I encountered no gates or impediments and arrived at an empty parking lot.  After verifying there were no handicap restrictions (1215), I walked a few hundred miles into the middle of the ruins of Fort Bowie, an Apache Indian War era stronghold that allowed the US Government to negotiate with Cochise and Geronimo. The temps at the park were pleasant (60s) and, with the limited cell service, my Merlin app picked up about five new species of bird.  Perhaps being near Mexico is going to really pay off for my birding hobby!  I was a bit surprised to see that the visitor center was located at 6000 feet elevation but this was Apache Pass,  I explored for a little while but decided not to tarry because I had two other units I wanted to visit.  Backtracking down the mountain, I got back on Apache Pass Road and made my way (south) through the famous gateway to the Chiricahua country.  The terrain was so beautiful and got even better when I reached the interior valley - wow!  I continued on gravel roads until I was finally able to get on NM-186.  The paved roads, however, were narrow and I still had no cell signal.  Before long, I made it to the junction with NM-181 and then headed east until I reached the entrance to Chiricahua National Monument.  This park, like a few others I've seen during the government shutdown, had an open gate (yay) and I was able to freely drive the long, scenic road into an ancient Apache refuge.  The temps were still pretty good (70s) and the sky was clear.  I made several brief stops while I was exploring the beautiful rocky plateaus - the whole place reminded me of Bryce's Canyon.  There were lots of camping opportunities, horse stables and hiking trails - nice!  At the visitor center, I encountered friendly (begging) Mexican Jays.  I had almost reached the top/end of the drive when I got a cell signal and checked on the time required to drive to Phoenix (1330).  Since I'd made plans (at 1900) with Ty J. there, I realized that it would be advisable to retrace my steps to civilization quickly.  Saying goodbye to the wonderful park (lots of good camping, interesting birds, remote comfort), I backtracked to NM-181.  Continuing west, I first thought I could visit Coronado National Monument (my third park unit target).  However, the timing looked too risky and I redirected to the town of Tombstone.  As I was driving in that direction, I began to wonder if doing anything else in this remote area was worth the risk of missing my planned get together so, instead, decided to target the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (closer to Phoenix).  Just after that decision, I reached US-191 and headed north.  Also, I talked to Bob W (told him I won't be able to visit Las Vegas during this leg of the Nomad Life).  When I reached the town of Pearce, I saw signs for the Cochise Stronghold but didn't go over there.  Instead, I got on Dragoon Road and continued west.  Along the way, I saw some ominous looking signs that said something about "Caution: Fault Lines May Open" - yikes!  Before long, I got on I-10 and headed towards Phoenix.  Meanwhile, the temps rose into the mid 90s - I'd forgotten how uncomfortable that can be...  The traffic showed a tendency (like in Virginia and Arkansas) to drive in the left lane without anyone in the right lane so I ended up passing a lot of cars while just staying in the right lane.  Encountering traffic and construction on the east side of Tucson, I decided to stop for some late lunch (chili cheese dog) at an A&W (1600).  While waiting for my food, I made plans with Ellen & David and John & Anne, while updating Ty on my ETA.  Back on I-10, I grudgingly made my way through the traffic and construction zones, passing the time with more audiobooks and some peppy music.  After finally getting out of the grip of Tucson, I continued north - I later passed the Pinal Air Park (commercial aircraft boneyard), which featured many, many more planes there than I remembered seeing my last visits (1990s, 2010).  More "left lane parkers" made the drive into the Phoenix area quite annoying but, fortunately, I exited the Interstate at NM-287 and drove north to the town of Coolidge.  My revised target, as mentioned before, was Casa Grande Ruins National Monument but, unfortunately, the gate was closed when I arrived.  I'm not 100% certain this was the result of the government shutdown or the normal hours but there was no way to enter the property, which was located across the street from several commercial buildings.  The park itself was really just a huge field or open area that featured the ruins of a distinctive Native American structure in the middle.  I could see that, at least, so will count this NPS unit on my list.  At 1725, I set my Google Maps coordinates on Ty's home in Phoenix and headed west again.  By this point, it was sprinkling and I heard (from at least three people) that I should be very careful driving because rain was coming.  Following NM-87, initially, I made my way across another set of mountains (the only ones nearby) and found fields of Saguaro cacti on NM-387.  At the end of this scenic road, I ended up at a frustrating stop sign before I could cross the road back on to I-10.  Fortunately, I made the crossing Ok and then continued (into increasing darkness and precipitation) towards the downtown area.  After passing Sky Harbor International Airport, I drove a short distance across the north side of the city (with huge, dark, ominous storm clouds to my right) and exited the Interstate at 7th Avenue.  I reached Ty's house, located to the north of a pretty landmark called Encanto Park, at 1820.  We visited for a short time but then departed his home in search of food and beer.  We ended up at a nearby place called Zipps Sports Grill, which had lots of good menu options and the Thursday Night Football Game on TVs around the room.  We started our meal at 1850 and had a great visit, updating each other on things that had happened in our lives since our last real conversation (early 2010s).  Feeling filled and tired, I asked Ty if we could leave (2020) and we headed back to his house.  Even then, in the dark and with an impending storm, the temps were still in the mid 80s (lower elevations, about 1000 feet, make the difference).  I needed some gas so I followed Ty to his favorite station, a Circle K and topped off my tank with expensive fuel (2050).  After saying goodbye to Ty, I drove through a maze of city streets and finally reached I-17, which I then  used to drive north to AZ-101. After a bit of a drive, I exited at Bell Road and headed west until I crossed the Agua Fria River - it was raining by this point.  I found my hotel, the Comfort Inn & Suites, in the town of Surprise.  After getting checked into my room (2125) and verifying the internet worked well, I left the hotel (in  sprinkling rain) and took a walk (over two miles) nearby - after a while under an umbrella, I was able to finish my 10K steps in dryer conditions.  Once I was finished (2220), I returned to my room and got ready for bed immediately (no reading, no games, etc.) because I had set my alarm for 0400 (0700 East Coast time) for the next morning.  It's going to be an early one! CDT Today = 3.3 miles / Grand Total CDT = 34.2 mile