03-10-2025 A Surprising Treat near the Chiricahua National Monument

This will be a short story today, before I continue writing about our travels in Arizona and our turn west toward home.  Because I knew nothing about this location when we visited, I needed to do some research before I wrote about it.

Overview of the location of the Fort Bowie National Historic Site

As I wrote in the last post, it was still early in the afternoon when we turned north on Highway 186 to return to Willcox.  Neither of us wanted to end our day at such an early hour, and as we approached the dirt road leading toward the east, we decided to take it, despite the rough, unpaved surface.

Apache Pass to the right of this photo along Highway 186

The sign said, "Fort Bowie National Historic Site Trailhead - 3 Miles".  Ok then, with only three miles to go, we decided that the washboard gravel surface would be tolerable in the Tracker.  We will avoid washboard gravel roads at all costs in the MoHo, but the Tracker is a 4x4 and handles rough desert roads with ease.

What wasn't clear from the signs was the actual location of the Fort Bowie Site, and as we approached the trailhead after 3 miles, we learned that the fort site was reached via a three-mile scenic loop hike.  But along the way, we also saw signs that indicated there was an "accessible" route to reach the fort.

We passed right by the trailhead, where there were several parked cars and some hikers with poles leaving their vehicles to begin the hike.  However, additional signs said that people needing the accessible location should continue over the summit of Apache Pass another 3 miles.  After reaching the summit, the road descended toward the valley and the town of Bowie, located adjacent to Interstate 10.  Within a couple of miles, the dirt road turned to pavement, and we had no way to figure out where we were headed since the phone wasn't working well in this part of the desert.

This is the road sign along Apache Pass Road traveling back west toward the pass from the town of Bowie.

Once again, we saw a sign with an arrow pointing to the accessible parking for the Fort, and once again, the road was rough and unpaved.  After meandering around a bit, with some interesting looking homesites along the way, we came to the park boundary, and finally, around the last curve, we saw a parking lot, some residence trailers, and the park headquarters.  There was one lonely accessible parking slot, and we were lucky to find it empty.  There was another sign pointing uphill toward the Visitor Center and a phone number to call for a shuttle to pick up anyone who couldn't do the walk.  Except there was also a sign saying that the Visitor Center wasn't open on Monday, and it just happened to be a Monday.

Short trail from the park headquarters to the Fort Bowie site

I decided to take the walker on the rather steep road so that I could at least have somewhere to sit if I had trouble.  After all, we had been hiking in the Chiricahuas most of the morning, and I was a bit worn. We figured it wouldn't matter too much to miss the visitor center, but in hindsight, I wish we had done a bit of research before attempting to visit the site without any historical background.

View of what remains of the Officer's Quarters at Fort Bowie

Meandering up the hill, we saw our first views of the old fort grounds.  Most of the site is a group of ruins, in varying states of decay, and black and white or sepia photographs of what the ruin looked like when it was in use.  

Most of the time, we walked around the area. We were the only people there until a young man caught up with us on the trail, and another couple with a dog followed us toward the mess hall ruin.  At first, it was merely interesting to see the old ruins, but then a particular photograph took my breath away.  

We were standing on the edge of a meadow area that was the exact spot of the surrender and detainment of Geronimo.

The mountain behind the group of people at the fort in the photo was right in my line of sight, making it even more dramatic to be standing in the exact spot where Geronimo stood.  I remember so many stories as a kid of the terrifying Apache and the evil Comanche and of Geronimo and Cochise, who were supposedly the "bad guys" in all the stories back in the 50s when I was growing up. The stories have changed, and the perspective has shifted. They were merely trying to survive the invasion of the white settlers into their ancestral lands.

Image of Fort Bowie in 1894 (photo copied from the park information website)

Fort Bowie was built in 1862 by 1,500 Union Troops whose intended job was to drive Confederate forces out of New Mexico Territory, which included Arizona at the time. The reason for building the fort was because of a battle between the Chiricahua Apache led by the great Cochise and a local rancher who falsely claimed Cochise had kidnapped their son. You can read about this battle at the link here.

Then, in 1862, another clash occurred between the Chiricahua and the Union troops over control of Apache Spring, a water source needed by both groups, resulting in the death of 10 Chiricahua and two soldiers, known as the Battle of Apache Pass.  While researching this battle, I came across this film called "The Battle at Apache Pass".  I have no idea how to view the film, but it might be fun to see if I could find it.

In 1868, a second Fort Bowie was constructed for use as a military base of operations against the hostile Chiricahua. By 1872, most of the Apache had been captured and relocated to reservations.  However, one group led by Geronimo escaped and avoided capture for another ten years.  Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886, and his group was brought to Fort Bowie.  

As we walked the grounds toward the Visitor Center, the silence of the golden afternoon was mesmerizing.  Mo and I sat on the porch of the Center, rocking in some beautiful reproduction rockers.  In the silence, I could imagine the sounds of horses and men and all that would be part of a busy, working fort in the late 1800s.

I was a bit sad that the Visitor Center wasn't open because there were many areas of the fort that were labeled but still a bit hard to understand what they may have looked like at one time.  Some areas had old photographs and others only had labels near crumbling adobe ruins.  I think a visit to the center may have added a great deal to our understanding of what we saw as we wandered around the grounds.

I especially wish I had taken a photo from the elevation of the high wooden porch at the Visitor Center, but by the time we were settled into the rockers to rest a bit, I had to turn off my phone.  I had neglected to carry the heavier camera that late in the day and forgot that with even a little bit of ambient heat, my phone would get very hot.  It is an issue that I plan to resolve the minute I can upgrade this Galaxy S22 Plus, which has overheated since I got it almost three years ago.  Longtime readers may remember I got a replacement for this phone back in Maryland on our cross-country trip in 2022.  It was a huge kerfuffle! I carry an ice pack in my purse most of the time, but I certainly didn't think of that at the end of a long day of hiking and traveling rough roads.

Yes, most of the time, when it isn't too hot, it takes great photos.  I will be upgrading to an S24Plus, which my daughter has had for some time now and insists it NEVER overheats.  We will see.

I thought perhaps I should explain why I took so few photos on this interesting exploration into an area we had barely heard of before visiting.