Visit Massai Point, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona

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Look deep into the Wonderland of Rocks. What ethereal shapes are set in stone? Early National Park Service and US Forest Service officials saw Massai Point as a major landscape viewing opportunity, and built a road, as well as trails, to the high plateau. If you've been up to Massai Point, you've probably seen a little viewfinder. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) added it as they were building the road and the trails. The viewfinder is on "speaker's rock" -- an artificial tower of rocks that overlooks the entire area. In 1932, the US Forest Service began constructing what they called “Bonita Canyon Highway,” a road that travelled up Bonita Canyon and ended on Massai Plateau (6870 feet/2094 meters). When Chiricahua National Monument shifted from USFS control to the National Park Service, the 1934 Dedication Ceremony took place at Massai Point. Over 6000 people in 1000 parked cars filled the area to its seams. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees, who had been working in the monument, leveled the area and cleared it of vegetation. The enrollees also cooked a massive feast, which included 1,000 pounds of beans, several tons of beef, 1500 pounds of bread, and 150 pounds of coffee with 200 pounds of sugar.

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