Cave Creek and the Chiricahuas

Our trip this year was to Cave Creek, on the eastern side of the Chiricahua mountains in Arizona.

We stayed at Cave Creek Ranch, a beautiful place that's especially good for wildlife watchers. Their far-southern location puts them near migration flyways, so they get lots of interesting migrants and accidentals from Mexico, and they have an incredible bird feeding station and also put out food and water that all sorts of animals take advantage of. I saw several birds and mammals I'd never seen before (species list). The wild animals are remarkably tame and used to being observed, and people come from all over to bird there. (There's a $5 fee if you're not staying there.)

The area is beautiful and excellent for hiking.

Blog post about the trip: Cave Creek Hiking and Birding Trip.

• Getting There
• Around Cave Creek
• First Day: the Burro Trail to Horseshoe Saddle Saddle
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Ash Spring: an easy hike on the last day
• Birds at Cave Creek
• Mammals at Cave Creek
• The Trip Home, and Lincoln