Fort Bowie National Historic Site

Fort Bowie National Historic Site - October 8, 2003

Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie National Historic Site is about 20 miles northwest of Chiricahua National Monument. After I had completed my hike at Chiricahua, I headed over to Fort Bowie to see what was there.

Fort Bowie is literally out in the middle of nowhere. I write that a lot (and say it just as frequently), but it is very true in this case. Fort Bowie was built (twice) at Apache Pass in the latter half of the 1800's to protect travelers and settlers from the Apache Indians. It was initially established by soldiers from the 5th California Volunteer Infantry, and named after the regiment's commanding officer, General George Bowie. (I had thought it was named after Sam Bowie from Texas - shows how much I know.) It's existence lasted from 1862 to 1894.

To get to the Fort, one parks on a dirt road (a well maintained dirt road but a dirt road nevertheless) in a parking area on the side of the road. Then you must hike to the Fort, a one and a half one-way hike. So a three mile roundtrip. The hike is not well covered - you are pretty much out in the open and in the sun. So I got quite hot. And burnt.

The thing I liked about this hike was that there was a lot to see as you went along. About every quarter mile or so, there was some sort of attraction or ruin and a sign to explain it. Attractions such as the Site of the Wagon Train Massacre, the Route of the Butterfield Stage, the Stage Coach Station ruins, the Cemetery for Fort Bowie, the Site of the Battle of Apache Pass, the First Fort Bowie ruins, and the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency ruins. There was a nice creek, which is the main reason Apache Pass was so attractive to everyone - water.

What I didn't like was that, once I finally reached the Fort, there was no one there. I had no problem being the only visitor, but there was no ranger. There was a sign on the door of the visitor's center saying he/she was out patrolling. I was at the Fort about an hour, and never saw a ranger. The sign never moved from the door. I have an issue with this. What if I had fallen, or some wild animal (like the one I saw below) did something? What if I was suffering from the heat? There were rattlesnakes out there - what if I had been bitten? How long would I have had to wait for help? To me, this is inexcusable.

Enough of my soapbox.

I spent an hour there, just resting from what turned out to be a long walk and looking at the ruins. The walk was made longer because it was in the sun and, therefore, I was very hot and even more burnt. Yes, I know I should wear sunscreen given that I have a fair complexion. And I do. But once you sweat, it just goes away. I should have worn my hat, however.

The ruins are really ruins. The "walls" are very short, when they exist at all. But there were posted signs with some information about the "building" and some interesting tidbits about how the "buildings" were used.

And I saw some wild animals. The first one I saw is in the picture below. I had no idea what it was when I saw it. It just ambled (ambled being actually a word that incorrectly describes its progress as "somewhat fast") up to and across the road and onto a bridge. I was about 100 feet away from it and took a few pictures. It has the body of a large cat and a snout. I did some research and I believe it is a coatamundi. They are relatives of the raccoon family.

I also saw some dear. Two adults and a teenager. I tried to get a picture of them but they could smell me, even though I was some distance away, and ran off.

Coatamundi on bridge at Fort Bowie