I Have Even MORE Visitors!!

Grunt grunt!!  I KNOW THAT SOUND!!  I grabbed my camera and slipped out the door.  It's 3:55 am and the light is just beginning to break over the mountain.  That means it's dark outside!  It took me two quick seconds to change all the settings on my camera, to no avail.

These guys are fast!  I mean seriously, I've never seen anything move like this before.  I suppose that's what keeps them alive around bobcats and coyotes.  Sorry for the blurry pictures.

It's been almost two years since I actually caught one on camera, but I know they have been around.  The last time I had a geyser just outside my fence, it was because they bit a hole in my line to the water station.  That's why Dan suggested the PVC pipe.

That helped, but at the very top near the fence, the pipe is exposed.  It's obvious they have been snooping around again because it was disconnected, meaning I was watering the desert nicely.

They both took a quick drink and were off like Flash Gordon.  That's when I spotted THIS beauty.  He refused to pose for me, so this is the best I could get.  A ruby throat maybe?

It was a VERY busy morning, as even more visitors showed up unannounced.  This roadrunner is a young one that I've been keeping a close eye on.  I have a nest of baby dove in my palm tree, and I'm not about to let him get near.

At long last, I actually got OUT of the house yesterday.  Although I have a few ghost towns way down south to see, I got a very late start.  That happens when you blank out and put a huge load of laundry in the washing machine, only remembering you wanted to leave early when it was full of water.

I decided to check out Elgin instead.  It lies along the Babocomari River, although to be honest I never saw any water.  There is an incredibly unique little Characidae fish that lives there, extremely rare they say.  This sign into town doesn't exactly remind me of little fish!!  It looks like Elgin was a good time with the ladies!

Elgin has known the like of Gene Nelson singing Oklahoma, Glen Ford and Van Heflin riding the 3:10 to Yuma train and John Wayne in the movie Red River, driving cattle across the land.  I rather imagine this is because there are maybe 100 people living here, making for lots of filming with no cars or telephone poles.

There's really not much of the town left, but a few houses survive.  I can sure see why they chose this location.  There must be water around because it's green and beautiful, even in the summer.  By the way, it was a lovely 85 degrees on this day.

Elgin was established in 1882 along the Santa Fe Railway running the length of Sonoita Creek from Benson to Nogales.  Jesuit Priest Padre Kino had come this direction in the 1700's, encouraging his followers to develop the area.  In 1853, the Gadsen Purchase made this part of the United States and the land rush was on.

In the late 1850's mining became the name of the game and Elgin flourished.  Trains soon brought in ranchers who recognized the value of huge tracts of land with railroads close by for shipping.

In 1926 however, the tracks were washed out near Patagonia, and the railroad came to a halt.  Mining and cattle ranching followed suit.  

What has come along in the last few years is an amazing growth in wine making.  Who knew?  Apparently someone thought this ground was exactly like that of Italy, with weather to match.  Hoping it would become the wine capitol of the U.S., vineyards began popping up everywhere.

That's tomorrow's story however.  If you want to check out this new trail of business, take a designated driver with you.  You're going to need someone sober!!