Arizona

After a brutal drive - freezing rain the second day and way too many consecutive hours sitting on my bum in the same position - I arrived to my little Arizona Cottage. Everyone asks me where I am, so: I am in the very southeast corner of AZ, in a tiny village called Portal, very close to Rodeo, NM, about 60 miles N. of Mexico. Because of the rough terrain, the sparse population, and the remoteness of the area, the illegal border traffic is becoming more of a problem. I spent three hours at a meeting last week with Border Patrol, local Police, politicians, and about 200 local people. I wanted to know more about the issue, living in Minnesota we are so removed from it.

The first photo is from a hike up to Silver Peak in the Chiricahuas. You don't see the head of Cochise on the way up, so on the descent is it quite a shock to look down and see this gigantic sculpture in front of you. The second photo is of a Javelina, or collared peccary. They are all over the village here, scavenging under bird feeders and such. Very cute!