The Mogollon Rim

This afternoon, my husband, Steffi, and I went for a history lesson, and took a hike as well in the Mogollon Rim. It was quite a drive on an unpaved road. The road was not that bad though compared to the road going to Puraran in the Philippines. The fastest we drove was 30 miles an hour.

We went to see the battleground of US cavalry and Apache Indians. It was located at the Mogollon Rim (mountains) at 7,500 feet elevation . When it became impossible for us to drive further, we swerved right into the open space to park. Then, we began our grueling hike. The hill was precariously steep! I saw footprints and droppings of elks and deer. The trail was rather gloomy. I begged my husband to turn around because coming back was harder yet, and it was getting late. But, he stubbornly acted as if he didn't hear me and kept going. Steffi was right behind him. I maintained a good distance from them from behind because just in case he made a sudden turn around, I would save myself from traversing the challenging and slippery course. However, he carried on and so I walked a little faster as I didn't want to be left further behind. I caught up with them in no time.

The battleground was interesting. It was an open space where the US cavalry and Apache Indians fought ferociously. However, the Indians did not come out victorious in this fight, one of the few they lost. This battle was actually the last one fought between the US soldiers and the Indians. It was called the Battle of Big Dry Wash, year 1882.

The lake you see is called the Blue Ridge Lake. The water is green. I was thinking that should we get lost, we would be able to survive for a while because of our close proximity to the water although I doubt if we would be able to handle the freezing temperature at night Steffi was singing the whole time. I could hear her echo from the other side of the ridge. I urged her to stop because the place was eerily quiet and I was afraid of annoying the invisible people...hehe. She would not listen.

Steve had a hard time climbing the steep hill back. He called me chipmunk because I cruised right through it while he groaned and moaned. He took forever to reach the top.

The pile of stones you see is a marker that people put together to find their way back. I saw quite a bit of them. We followed the stones and took us right to our destination.