Is Paradise Perfection?

Back in 1990 Tremors was released.  The first of 4 movies followed by a single season of 13 TV episodes, the series became a cult classic.  Developed by Stampede Entertainment  the original idea was a germ born in the deserts of California.

The geographical location for Tremors is the small town of Perfection, Nevada.  But where did the idea for Perfection originate?  Was there a template that gave rise to Perfection?  Is there some place which combines all the characteristics of Perfection Valley that actually exists in the desert southwest?  Could Perfection valley actually be a compilation of Paradise and Portal Arizona, with Rodeo New Mexico, in the San Simon Valley?  There are a number of correlations between the fictional setting of the Tremors series and this valley in southeastern Arizona/southwestern New Mexico and anyone who has spent time in this isolated valley can easily imagine graboids inhabiting the area.

No cell phone service characterizes Perfection Nevada and over 20 years after the release of Tremors the San Simon valley still has no cell service.  The rumor mill is constantly reporting “it will be next month“ and there will be cell phone coverage.  In fact it is walkie talkies or radios which are frequently used by local residents.  Local businesses have introduced femtocells and other devices to create small areas of cell phone reception within the valley, but there is no general cell phone coverage.

Perfection valley is orientated north/south while the San Simon valley is also orientated north/south as part of the basin and range province of the southwest.

Perfection valley is bounded by mountain ranges on both the east and west.  While the San Simon valley is bounded by the Chiricahua mountains to the west and the Peloncillo mountains to the east reaching its narrowest point between Rodeo and Portal.

The reported length of Perfection valley is between 30-50 miles.  This corresponds to the length from 1-10 south to the San Bernardino valley, basically the length of the Chiricahua mountain range.

The north end of the valley is described as composed of cliffs.  The San Simon valley actually ends at the base of the Mogollon rim, the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau, although much further north than depicted in the movies.  While the southern edge is described as a rock ridge.  The San Simon valley rises to the south with a drainage divide separating it from the San Bernardino valley in the Gerinomo lava field.

A single road through the area connecting Perfection with Bixby.  Rodeo sits on Highway 80 the only paved north/south road through the San Simon valley.  A portion of the original coast to coast highway known as the Broadway of America, this segment of highway 80 runs from I-10 in the north to Douglas (on the way to Bisbee) in the south.

Hot springs are described and the source of heat to incubate graboid eggs.  The San Simon valley has a number of geothermal resources of it’s own.  Including the Hot Wells Dune Recreation Area, and several hot springs are located to the north in the valley.  Residents on the east side of the San Simon valley around Rodeo also have hot wells.

A silver mine plays a prominent role in Tremors 4.  The Chiricahua mine above Paradise as well as the Cochise Mine, Hilltop mine, and other small claims in the area produced a variety of minerals including silver. 

Perfection was founded in 1902 the same year as Rodeo.  Although Rodeo was built by the railroad and utilized for cattle shipping, not as a mining town.  The town of Paradise was a mining community.  Paradise received it's post office in 1901, a year earlier than Perfection.

Perfection is described as the only town in the valley, south of I-10 Rodeo is the only community out in the valley.  Both Paradise and Portal are within the Chiricahua mountains.

A small number of residents.  Paradise only has a couple of full time residents.  It along with the valley is isolated with a population density of about 1 person/square mile.

A single Asian family is prominent in Perfection operating Chang's Market for several generations.  In the book “A Portal to Paradise” an Asian ran an establishment in Paradise during its heyday as a mining town.

Changs Market, the only store in Perfection is old red building measuring 60 x 30 feet and bears a significant likeness to the Portal Peak Store, in Portal.

Scientists abound around Perfection.  The American Museum of Natural History has maintained a research station for over 50 years in the canyon outside Portal.  Known for the high biodiversity in the Chiricahua mountains there are many scientists who not only live in the area but also study the wildlife.

The closest town is the fictional town of Bixby.  Bisbee lies in the San Pedro Valley on the west side of the Chiricahua mountains (outside of the San Simon valley).  Although not the closest town it is perhaps the best known.  Bisbee lies 65 miles (straight line) from Paradise.  Like the fictional town of Bixby, Bisbee is also the location of the Cochise County Sheriffs administrative offices and jail are located.

The final episode of Tremors actually takes place in Cochise County, Arizona, the county where Paradise and Portal are both located.

While correlations are not causation the number of similarities suggests one of the creators or writers spent time in the area and used their observations in creating the geographical setting for Tremors.  Alternatively, to much time was spent out fencing in the hot sun.

Note:  This Mimbres style pictograph from the Chiricahua Mountains is labeled as a dragonfly, but it may also be interpreted as an AssBlaster, the aerial morph of a Shrieker,  suggesting these "death-dealing denizens of dirt" have been in the valley for a longtime.

Chiricahua Mine with the Portal Rodeo Hiking Club

This weeks hike with the Portal Rodeo hiking Club began in the historic former mining town of Paradise Arizona north of Cave Creek Canyon.   Paradise traces its' roots to 1901 with the Chiricahua Development Company work on the Chiricahua mine.   Two shafts were sunk and several other adits are found in the area as well as a 2 story stone building just south of the shafts.

The area was heavily burned in last years Horseshoe Two fire and evidence of high intensity burn are visible.  While the hillsides are covered in grasses and new growth, little new growth at the base of the trees is apparent.  The stream bed experienced significant down cutting with erosion channels up to 5 ft deep in places, a result of last years monsoon rains.  With the loss of vegetation the geology and evidence of past inhabitants is visible across the landscape.  The route along the old road is littered with artifacts from the development of the mine.  Small donkey shoes, tools, and pieces of machinery were found along the stream bed as well as iron/iron ore and evidence of copper.

Granite is visible at the mine entrance and in the mine dump indicating the shafts reached through the overlying limestone into an intrusive granite zone that was probably the source of the copper ore which filtered along the contact zone resulting in mineralization.  Although the mine was not successful it gave Paradise its start.

The hike covered 5.7 miles (including the detour up a side drainage) with an elevation change of 750'.  Thirteen hikers and 4 dogs made the trip including the Gypsy Carpenters who were back in town for Portal Irish Music week.  The map for this hike may be found at the following link.

Hiking route to the Chiricahua mine above Paradise. 

Erosion channel

Building site at the Chiricahua mine.

Shaft at the Chiricahua mine

Oak tree above Paradise

Chiricahua Mountains: Then and Now

Below is a compilation of historic and modern views from Cave Creek Canyon and Paradiase AZ in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona.  The historic photographs were located online, then overlaid on Google Earth to locate the site where the original photographer made the image.  A series of trips into Cave Creek Canyon and to Paradise followed to locate the place found on Google Earth, then a replicate photograph was made.  Replicate photographs were made from:

1. The intersection of Portal Road and Forest Service Road 42B at the mouth of the canyon.
2. The entrance to the Coronado National Forest on Forest Service Road 42.
3. Just before the entrance to Sunny Flat Campground on Forest Service Road 42.
4. At several locations in Sunny Flat Campground.
5. Half way up the ridge on the NE side of Paradise just before the bridge across Turkey Creek off Forest Service Road 42B.

The historic and modern photographs were then aligned with respect to one another in Sony Vegas Pro.  Since no information was available about the original camera and owing to differences in lens between the original camera and the modern camera used to replicate the view, the aspect ratio of each photograph was not maintained allowing better transitions between the historic and modern photographs.  The tops of the mountains (or ridge lines) were visible in every historic photograph and the skyline was used to initially align the photographs vertically and horizontally, followed by compressing or expanding the vertical aspect to align elements in the fore ground.

Found It, Geocaching in the Chiricahua Mountains

Having found the Rodeo, New Mexico geocache and the Silver Peak geocache, and with a couple of free hours another search for a local geocache was started.  After reviewing the map of geocaches in the Chirichua Mountains in southeastern Arizona, 2 seemed straight forward candidates for an afternoon search.  Both caches lay off Forest Service Road 42B, the road from Portal to Paradise, and both were named for the near by town of Paradise, Arizona.  "The Road to Paradise" and "Eternal Paradise" were straight forward discoveries and involved short strolls through the lower elevations of the Chiricahua Mountains.  The Road to Paradise was found next to the road along the base of the ridge that extends north of Limestone Hill.  While Eternal Paradise was just another mile up the road near the Paradise Cemetery.  A stroll through the cemetery was an interesting way to spend a couple of hours and there are some unique markers especially the cast tree limb with a spider web.  The earliest birth date is 1828.  It is interesting to note there is a cattle guard at the entrance to the cemetery, an unusual feature.

Road to Paradise Geocache

Eternal Paradise Geocache

Paradise Cemetery with Cattle Guard

Gifts to the Dead