Garden Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, June 2, 2021

For our wedding anniversary (22 years, June 5) trip this year, Mary Ann and I travelled to the Huachuca Mountains. We drove to Garden Canyon on the first day, and stayed overnight in Sierra Vista. The next day we went to Huachuca Canyon. This post is about our first day in Garden Canyon.

There are a lot of canyons in the Huachuca Mountains (Miller Canyon, Carr Canyon, Ramsey Canyon, Florida Canyon, Hunter Canyon, etc.). Two of them can only be accessed by entering the Fort Huachuca Army Base. Visitors to the base must get a pass at the Visitor Entrance, which is good for one month. We left home at about 7:30, and got to the base at around 10:30. The Visitor Entrance was busier than any time we’ve been there before, and there was a line to get passes. We didn’t get into Garden Canyon (about a 20 minute drive from the entrance) until after noon.

We stopped at several spots along Garden Canyon Road. Our plan was to drive to Parker Canyon Lake. However, we discovered that the road got very rough, and we weren’t sure whether it would be open to the lake, so we decided not to try it.

On the way out of the canyon, where it transitions from mountain to grassland, we saw some female Pronghorns. It was the first time I’ve seen one. Pronghorns are only found in North America. They are the second fastest land mammal in the world, second to the cheetah. Their top speed is about 60 mph. They are faster than the cheetah in being able to sustain high speeds for longer periods of time, e.g. 35 mph for 4 miles.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Sierra Vista. Our usual place, Sierra Suites, had increased dramatically in price. For some reason, all the hotels in Sierra Vista were more expensive than past years. Maybe the higher rates were due to the time of year, or maybe somehow related to Covid.

We had dinner at the La Casita Mexican Restaurant. It was nothing special, but good, typical Mexican food.

My next post will be about our visit to Huachuca Canyon, the next day.