Eurofresh/Cochise Stronghold
September 15 - 16, 2007

Highlights Only - Link to More Pictures at the Bottom of the Page



Started in Tucson at 5:30 a.m. and headed for Willcox.  Nice sunrise, huh.




Had breakfast at Rose's Cafe in Willcox then drove to the airport for the start of the ride.




Action Shot.  ;-)




The organizer of the ride was Wilcox Fire Commander Earl Humphries; he also rode in the event. 
Earl enlisted the help of his family and friends, and members of the Willcox Rural Firefighting Team
participated by providing vehicle escorts as well as offering other safety measures.
Here are three members of the Willcox Firefighting team as they arrived at Eurofresh Farms!




Below are some Eurofresh greenhouses.
Eurofresh ships over 2 million pounds of tomatoes every week, and are the largest greenhouse of this type in the world.
To learn more about Eurofresh, visit their website:  Eurofresh Farms




Back at the airport, and the end of the ride, Earl Humphries and his family greeted us. 
Big thanks to Earl and all of his helpers for putting on such a terrific ride.  It's one of the best we have ever experienced!
Side note:  Earl is pointing to his knee to show us where he had a little run in with the pavement when a truck came too close.






We visited a ghost town on Sunday morning.  See if you can guess the name of the town by this sign.  ;-)




There were some great old mud adobe structures in various states of collapse in the center of town. 
This one was especially interesting, as you could look through the window and out the door for a nice view.  You can see where the wall has caved in on the left hand side of this picture.




There are some shops in the center of town where you can purchase interesting items, such as an old toaster or waffle iron.
Be careful when plugging them in!




This tree, in the center of town, captures the essence of Pearce, Arizona.
Interesting and beautiful, but a little scary.




After surviving our visit to the ghost town, we drove over to Cochise Stronghold, which is part of Coronado National Forest.
Cochise, one of the most famous Indian warriors, was born and died here.  His body is supposedly buried in the Stronghold, but it has never been found.
Here's Tom, crossing over the bridge at the start of the three mile hike up to the top.




We met these two hikers, Derek and Wilco, who were here from Holland.
These greenhouse experts had been flown to Arizona by Eurofresh to work on its environment - heating, cooling, and humidity.
Derek is putting away his camera after showing us the picture he had taken of a rattlesnake they saw along the trail! 




"I want to take a picture of a rattlesnake too."




Here's Tom at the top of the Stronghold.
On the way down, it began to rain and there was thunder and lightning.




It was time to head back to Tucson, and we wanted to take a special route back, but the rains had flooded the roads.
The driver of this truck was able to make it through, but we didn't know if the Subaru would, so we turned back and took the highway.




As if this weren't enough excitement, we decided to stop off along the way home and see The Thing.
Turns out that there are a lot of "things" too look at, including old cash registers, stuffed tarantulas, and scary animals/monsters made of tree branches.
To see The Thing, take I-10 to Exit 322.  Admission is only $1.00!



For More Pictures, Click Here