Show Low
This CG is a sort of fort of tiny trailer houses all jammed together, with about 2' of space between them. That’s all around the outside, and another row inside that. From the air it must look a little like a lopsided Pentagon building. Lots of lizard people come here for the summer as it is high enough to not be hot, and then it isn't very far to drive their Oldsmobiles further south to an equally fort like enclave where the weather is nice in the winter. Which most of them already have. The actual RV sites are a little bigger, and it is all very tidy and well organized. Maybe I shouldn’t be so grumpy about this place. It is affordable housing in the sun belt. I guess people must like being this close to each other, and maybe if I stayed here a while I would make friends and like it. I just can’t quite bring myself to love the sight of nothing but big motorhomes or trailers wherever I look. Especially since there are pretty nice views in all directions.
We are at 6,000 feet here on the eastern edge of high country called the Mongollon Rim, and there are also the White Mountains here, which hardly count as hills compared to where we were yesterday and the day before.
We passed through the Apache-Singreave National Forest, where there are cedar trees as far as the eye can see, It reminds me very much of the Hill country of TX, same trees, same bony land, same rolling hills with occasional peaks of rocky outcroppings. Up higher where we are now, the ponderosa pines are dominant.
The Rim is an escarpment defining the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, and along its central and most spectacular portions is characterized by high limestone and sandstone cliffs. It was formed by erosion and faulting, and dramatic canyons have been cut into it, including Fossil Creek Canyon, and Pine Canyon. The name Mogollon comes from Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón, Spanish Governor of New Mexico from 1712-1715. (Wikipedia) Wickipedia give the pronunciation as something like maheyon. We didn’t stay here long enough to actually ask someone how they say it here. I suspect that pronouncing it in pure Castillian Spanish would get you a blank stare. At first glance, one is inclined to say Mongolian.
And of course, the town of Show Low requires and explanation as to its name.
According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 10,000 with 25% of them having Mormon heritage, which doesn’t exactly square with the origin of the name: ( again from Wikipedia):
According to the legend, the city was named after a marathon poker match, where the stakes were a 100,000 acre (400 km²) ranch. After no one seemed to get the upper hand, one player decided to end the contest by declaring to the other, "show low and you win". The other player produced a deuce of clubs (the lowest possible card) and won the ranch. Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance.
And its best trick is being about 150 miles from Phoenix, and usually having temperatures 30 degrees cooler. We do some geocaches, walking in piney forests, and in gravely cedar groves. One cache is on the Rim, and to the west we can see rolling forested hills, while under our feet are sandstone cliffs, another cache is up a rocky hillock that could easily be in the Hill Country of TX, except that the rocks tend to be reddish. Above the town, we walk to a wetlands area created by the waste water plant that is full of ducks in the right season. The water has made it greener, but under foot are loose volcanic lava stones that make walking difficult. These are the same lava rocks that are used in gas grills, and as a landscaping stone ground cover. Funny to be walking on, and tripping over, the same rocks people spend money on in other parts of the country.
There are elk tracks and poop among the rocks, and every now and then a pick up will have skinny elk legs sticking up out of the bed. The mountain highways are full of elk warning signs, a better picture on them than the more familiar deer signs. Hitting a deer is bad enough, but elk are pretty big, probably big enough to cause a fatal accident like the deadly moose further north. We saw two dead ones by the side of the road, so the warnings are for real.
We are at 6,000 feet here on the eastern edge of high country called the Mongollon Rim, and there are also the White Mountains here, which hardly count as hills compared to where we were yesterday and the day before.
We passed through the Apache-Singreave National Forest, where there are cedar trees as far as the eye can see, It reminds me very much of the Hill country of TX, same trees, same bony land, same rolling hills with occasional peaks of rocky outcroppings. Up higher where we are now, the ponderosa pines are dominant.
The Rim is an escarpment defining the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, and along its central and most spectacular portions is characterized by high limestone and sandstone cliffs. It was formed by erosion and faulting, and dramatic canyons have been cut into it, including Fossil Creek Canyon, and Pine Canyon. The name Mogollon comes from Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón, Spanish Governor of New Mexico from 1712-1715. (Wikipedia) Wickipedia give the pronunciation as something like maheyon. We didn’t stay here long enough to actually ask someone how they say it here. I suspect that pronouncing it in pure Castillian Spanish would get you a blank stare. At first glance, one is inclined to say Mongolian.
And of course, the town of Show Low requires and explanation as to its name.
According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 10,000 with 25% of them having Mormon heritage, which doesn’t exactly square with the origin of the name: ( again from Wikipedia):
According to the legend, the city was named after a marathon poker match, where the stakes were a 100,000 acre (400 km²) ranch. After no one seemed to get the upper hand, one player decided to end the contest by declaring to the other, "show low and you win". The other player produced a deuce of clubs (the lowest possible card) and won the ranch. Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance.
And its best trick is being about 150 miles from Phoenix, and usually having temperatures 30 degrees cooler. We do some geocaches, walking in piney forests, and in gravely cedar groves. One cache is on the Rim, and to the west we can see rolling forested hills, while under our feet are sandstone cliffs, another cache is up a rocky hillock that could easily be in the Hill Country of TX, except that the rocks tend to be reddish. Above the town, we walk to a wetlands area created by the waste water plant that is full of ducks in the right season. The water has made it greener, but under foot are loose volcanic lava stones that make walking difficult. These are the same lava rocks that are used in gas grills, and as a landscaping stone ground cover. Funny to be walking on, and tripping over, the same rocks people spend money on in other parts of the country.
There are elk tracks and poop among the rocks, and every now and then a pick up will have skinny elk legs sticking up out of the bed. The mountain highways are full of elk warning signs, a better picture on them than the more familiar deer signs. Hitting a deer is bad enough, but elk are pretty big, probably big enough to cause a fatal accident like the deadly moose further north. We saw two dead ones by the side of the road, so the warnings are for real.
posted by Thistledown24 at 7:58 AM
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