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| Walk / Tour | 0.50 Miles |
50 AEG |
| | Walk / Tour | 0.50 Miles | | | |
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| no partners | | I finally visited the site of historic Camp Rucker (1878-1880), which had been part of a working cattle ranch in its post military days. I never really knew where it was until I started doing some research. There is very little left of the original Army camp, with the exception of the crumbling wall of the commissary, the bakery building, and maybe what is known as the officer's quarters building (though that can't be verified and may have been built later). Almost all that you see when touring the site dates to the ranching days. That includes the water system and old water tank. The name stamped on the water tank is "W J Corbett, Tucson, Arizona." Corbett, part of a pioneer family first came to Arizona in 1877, and later returned to open the hardware store in downtown Tucson in 1890. After 80 plus years as mostly a ranching operation, the land was returned to the Forest Service in 1970.
Another bit of history about this area, is that it was another of Cochise's strongholds, before he ended up at the more well known one in the Dragoon Mountains during his last days. A battle between the First and Eighth Cavalry and Cochise and his men took place here on October 20, 1869. It is known as the Campaign of the Rocky Mesa. An online search for "the battle of rocky mesa" will yield some very fascinating reading.  |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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Route Editor
Route Scout
). I started with West Turkey Creek and finished the day down Rucker way. Visiting the two areas would entail 285 miles of driving from Tucson for the day, so I knew with the late start I couldn't linger too long in any one place. But, this trip was about enjoying the great scenery and doing photography anyway. The focal point was to see the work done at Camp Rucker. When I was there in 2019 it was pretty overgrown and difficult to see the pathways, etc. It is looking pretty good now, with the paths easy to follow. I liked that they left some of the buildings with doors ajar to keep them aired out, and make them inviting for a look see. 
