We were up a bit before the crack of dawn, 5:30 to be exact, and groggily climbed into the truck for our rendezvous with some cranes. Mom had gotten a tip that the crane's leave their sleeping pond at first light to head to their feeding grounds for the day, so we decided to go check it out. We weren't quite sure what to expect. Did all the cranes leave at once in a giant flurry? Do they trickle out one or two at a time? Can you get close enough to see them? The answer to all of our questions turned out to be "yes."
Remy even made a new friend, saguaro-man.
We drove a few miles down a dirt road to the White Water Wash (big shallow pond from what Dad could discern). We parked the truck and as soon as we cut the engine the sound of the cranes was overwhelming. Either there was one or two really loud cranes or there were about a billion of them. We followed the sound along a path toward the water. It was still quite dark so we couldn't tell exactly where we were going. We passed lots of ducks, loons, and other small waterfowl before rounding a bend and walking out on a bridge of land that cut between two water bodies. On our left was a smaller pond, and on the right was a slightly larger pond that was absolutely chock full of cranes. Hallelujah!
We stood in the freezing cold (mid 20's without the sun) and watched the cranes take off in varrying numbers for almost an hour. Dad's fingers were frozen. When we left there were still more, and the sound of their calls never ceased. The population is estimated to be around 20,000, but it certainly seemed like more than that to us.
Back in the car, and with feeling finally returning to our fingers, we decided to head into Bisbee for breakfast and a stroll before packing up the trailer.
Bisbee is an old mining town that has embraced it's old town charm. There are six antique shops for every person that lives there, the streets are narrow, and all of the shops and houses are built into the hillside with hidden alleys and staircases snaking through them. Remy loved it.
We had breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club, the very definition of a diner, and then walked the street to look at all of the old cars and retro gas station pumps that have been left in place. We spent an hour or two walking through Bisbee, went up a few hidden staircases, grabbed a pretzel from the bakery, and bought a small toy hot dog cart. All in all an enjoyable morning.
We stopped briefly in Tombstone after putting in a few miles, but found it not to our liking. Remy enjoyed looking at the horse draw carriages, and we did get ice cream, but it was too crowded for us. We pushed on and eventually settled into a state park outside of Tucson. The open desert is much more our speed.
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