After a leisurely start we took a road trip up Mt. Graham. That's the snowy peak above camp. It's a long rugged road climbing up through many levels of forest that differentiate the various climates one gets while rising from 3000' to 9000'. We rose about 6225' in our drive. That's more than the height of Mt Washington from sea level. Think of Smuggler's Notch but 15 miles long. And the road is at of the edge of the mountain rather than in the notch.
One cool critter we saw was Abert's Squirrel, or "Tassel Eared Squirrel", which lives in the Ponderosa Pine areas of AZ, NM, CO, WY, UT. Definitely a high elevation squirrel down this far south. Check the photo to understand our interest. I called him a rabbit ear squirrel.
Later afternoon we checked out the Cluff Ranch. It is a former ranch now owned by the State of AZ Game & Fish Dept. It is managed for fishing and some limited hunting. The tourist aspect is rather small. We met the manager who told us it used to be better but funding ran low until it is now seen as an urgent need for attention, so the money is once again coming. Somewhat anyway.
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| Is that a road or an EKG? |
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| Abert's Squirrel |
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| Map of Cluff Ranch |
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| Northern Shoveler |
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| Phainopopla |
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| Doesn't look like many people come read the signs |
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