It was another beautifully sunny day when we woke up Tuesday morning at the Spirit Tree Inn. Mary Jane’s husband Tom was in the kitchen of the ranch house by 6:30 a.m. fixing breakfast for the guests. There were two other couples staying there besides Nancy and I. One couple was from Boise and the other from Green Valley, AZ. We talked while drinking tea/coffee and watching Tom prepare breakfast. The breakfast itself was great, with the best grits I’ve ever tasted, egg and ham muffins, and pineapple.
After breakfast, Nancy and I moved our luggage to the car, but hung around the grounds of the inn for another hour or so, finding more birds. The other guests, Mary Jane and her husband left for the day, so we had the yard and birds to ourselves.
We decided to go into Las Cienegas National Conservation Area before going to Hereford, our next hotel spot. The grasslands conservation area was recommended by Nolan, our owl guide, as a good place to see birds and it was along the way to Hereford. It was a vast area of rolling hills, a few mesquite trees, a few springs and dry river washes. At first the road was paved and traveling was easy, but the road soon deteriorated into a rocky, difficult way. We saw some birds and some pronghorn antelope. We finally turned around as the road got worse and we encountered a gate.
We continued on to the city of Sierra Vista, where we looked for a lunch spot that preferably wasn’t fast food. We found a German deli that served authentic German food and we enjoyed some Black Forest ham sandwiches. It was about 2 p.m. by that time, so there were only two other people in the deli besides the German lady owner and us. After lunch, it was time to find our lodgings near the town of Hereford.
We drove to our upscale B & B, the Casa de San Pedro, and arrived a few minutes before the 4 p.m. check-in time. One of the owners, Patrick, met us at the gate to the inn’s courtyard and showed us our two rooms and the grounds. What a beautiful place! There are 10 luxurious rooms surrounding a courtyard with gardens and a fountain. Bird feeders and bird nest boxes surround the outside. A large sitting room with tall windows looks out on the courtyard. The dining room adjoins the sitting room, where breakfast is served and there are a selection of pies laid out on a countertop for any guest to help themselves in the afternoon. Desert gardens, a shady ramada with a barbecue, labyrinth, and pool are also outside. It was a delight to walk into my cool room after being outside in the sun and dust.
After being shown around, Nancy and I walked through the gate pictured above, into the San Pedro River conservation area that adjoins the B & B. Notice the rattlesnake sign. Patrick said he had seen the first snake of the year earlier in the week. It was a short but hot walk to the river in the afternoon. We didn’t see any snakes and only saw a few birds, so we returned quickly and got ready for dinner.
Patrick had suggested a couple of restaurants, so we drove into the spread-out town of Hereford to one of them. At Mimosa Italian, we ate a light and late dinner, then returned to our inn for the night.
Lori's Travels 