Dragoon Mountains

My thinking had been to next head to White Sands, but Connie had recommended the Dragoons as a small, very rugged mountain range worthy of some time. And, with rain predicted for the next day(s), it made sense to postpone the White Sands stop. So, I spent a day exploring this small, beautiful and historically interesting mountain range. They are best known as Cochise's "Stronghold" — the ancestral home of Cochise and a sizable group of Apaches. They successfully held off U.S. attempts to forcibly relocated them for many years. It's actually a pretty complicated story. The Stronghold is about 25 square miles of mountains made up of huge granite boulders and it is easy to imagine how they held off the U.S. Army. First, the flat plains to the west and east gave no cover for approaching parties (approaching horseback riders could apparently be seen two days away). Second, the boulders gave the Apaches perfect defensive and offensive cover.

I first tried to drive directly into the west side but was thwarted by a road closed by recent flooding. So, I retreated and drove around to the mountain's east side and up the narrow Stronghold Canyon where Cochise is thought to have lived and was buried. On my departure, I noticed a road on the map that climbed over to the range's westside just to the south of the Stronghold. Sure enough, the road was very steep & rough but it got me to the other side. I camped there for the night, in the shadow of the range's west facing escarpment. This area is called Council Rocks, where Cochise finally negotiated and signed a treaty. A few miles off to the SW is the infamous town of Tombstone.

Panoramas – Tap/click on a pano's thumbnail to show an interactive, moving panorama; use the on-screen control bar or your finger/mouse to move around:

Dragoon Mountains Sunset:

Dragoon Mountains Sunrise:

Image Gallery – Tap to view an individual image, then swipe to advance; use the top-right controls for auto play & other options (e.g, tap the curved arrow to open sharing options):