Rusty’s RV Ranch in NM and The Chiricahua Mts in Arizona…

We left Sierra Vista AZ and drove a mostly two lane road barely into New Mexico for our next destination, Rusty’s RV Ranch. We’ve stayed there before and knew that the sites are huge and mostly level. Most sites have great views of the the magnificent Chiricahua Mountains. Our site also had a view of the pond.

The pond is home to two black swans and two porcupines from South Africa. They are penned in and are fun to watch. The pond and the park have lots of trees and as such this is a pretty good place to birdwatch without leaving the park. Stargazing is great also since it is a dark sky park (meaning no outside lights allowed at night). One can easily see the Milky Way in all its glory. The park is also home to many captive birds from all over the world.

We stopped here to enjoy the nearby Chiricahua Mountains and the extensive birding opportunities offered. We birded each and every day during our stay. We also did a few day hikes and a few  scenic drives in the mountains. At the end of each day we were able to enjoy the large hot tub in the park.

The most well known birding spot in the Chiricahua's is the South Fork of Cave Creek. We visited this spot several times to try to find the elusive Elegant Trogon which is a unique species of bird found only in this part of Southeastern Arizona.

There is a nice hiking trail that runs along Cave Creek and we enjoyed hiking up this heavily forested creek in search of the Trogon. While we enjoyed a great little hike we were unable to locate the Trogon even though we were able to hear one off in the distance. We did see a lot of interesting birds on the hike and knew we would  keep coming back to see if we could see a Trogon during our stay.

Fortunately for us we discovered several people who live in the area who invite birders to sit in their yards to watch birds. These homeowners put out various feeders to attract a wide variety of birds.We were so excited to see many other birds at these places only seen in SE AZ. How cool is that!

Taking advantage of such places we were able to see to see a The Blue-throated Mountain-gem which is the largest nesting hummingbird in the U.S and it weighs about three times more than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. You can actually hear these birds flexing their wings anytime you are near one.

Southern Arizona is really is a great place to enjoy the great outdoors, whether it be hiking, birding or stargazing. It is certainly off the beaten path as there are no real services nearby but if you love the outdoors this should make its way on your list..