Tuesday, March 13
The rest of us made plans to do some off roading on Tuesday - with 2 Jeeps, Caldwell's and Schumacher's (not ours, although it is essentially the same as Schumacher's) so we'd have room for everyone and the added safety of 2 vehicles if there was a problem. We met at the Caldwell's RV at Orchard Ranch RV Park at 0845 for the long day of exploring Paige had planned. This trip was advertised as more scenic than technical, but we had a time constraint as the Schumachers RV was at a repair shop and needed to be picked up by 1800. The day's jaunt covered 164 miles, 90 of which were on Forest Service roads, including 4 river crossings (we'd know if the crossings were possible early in the first leg of the trip). Given the number of miles planned (some of the FS roads driven at 10 - 15mph), that meant not a lot of time to stop and explore.
 |
| One of many petroglyphs at Aqua Fria |
 |
| Catalina Indian paintbrush blooming by the petroglyphs |
We started at Bloody Basin where they 'de-aired' tire pressure for better grip in the rocks and entered Aqua Fria National Monument. Our first stop was above a cliff with petroglyphs which are not marked, and missed by those who don't know about them. It was a clamber down and along the cliff, but worth the effort. The petroglyphs were 'right there' and in one case, underfoot. Unfortunately someone felt the need to add a F16 to the ancient designs.
 |
| Pot shards |
We wandered through some pueblo ruins above the petroglyphs, and saw a number of pot shards - a first for us. It was interesting to see them scattered along the cliff and in the ruins. Tempting though it was, all artifacts are sacred and not to be collected. These ruins and petroglyphs are sacred to the native people, the Yavipai, in this part of Arizona.
 |
| Stone cabin down in the valley |
We made a short side trip to an old stone cabin before continuing on. Paige offered another side trip - not as short in this case (15 miles and return), which Leonard wisely rejected given that it was almost noon. We continued on to Sheep Bridge, a great shady place by a creek, for lunch. By then, the time crunch was beginning to be real (and miles to go before I sleep...). Bob tried to call and arrange to pay and pick up the RV after hours (they needed it that night), but with no cell coverage, and not likely to be any until we reached civilization close to I 17, we still needed to keep moving, just in case...
 |
Red-tailed hawk - I saw it dive as we approached a hill,
and there he was, just over the rise |
 |
| View of the road heading out |
We made a short stop to scope out the view from a big rock. There was a trail to the top, and Bob who has more experience off roading, wanted to drive to the top - Mike and Paige were more than willing, so we did. It was amazing to see what the Jeeps can do. The trip down was more interesting (always more interesting than going up), and with one wheel in the air, down they drove. Leonard and I walked down - I could have used my poles in the steep, loose gravel, but they were in the Jeep!
 |
| Bob backing up |
 |
| And starting down |
After that excursion, we only stopped briefly to take pictures a few times, but with 1 1/2 hours back to town, and a rougher section of trail ahead, time was getting very tight. Luckily, a grader had gone over the rougher stretch of road, part of Trail #41, a county road rated as moderate, which according to Mike, was much smoother than the last time they'd done the trip (it wasn't all that smooth, and we'd been wondering what, if anything the grader had done other than to make a track).
 |
Back in saguaro country - they don't tolerate frost -
we were almost in view of the Phoenix suburbs |
A back seat observation - it can be bouncy. I don't get motion sickness, but do regularly have 'land sickness', that spell when terra firma doesn't feel all that firm. The feeling lasted until I got into bed that night. That's on par for a lumpy day on the boat.
When we reached civilization, and they were 're airing' the tires, Bob contacted the garage and made arrangements to pick up the RV late (and learned that missing a part, the work had not been done). With some breathing room (we were some 50 miles S of Prescott) we included Paige's last stop, for pie at the Rock Spring Cafe in Black Canyon City, known for their pies. Life's short - eat dessert before dinner!
In hind sight, the trip was too long given the time constraint. It would have been fun to have time to stop and explore. Going off road does get you off the beaten path and a chance to see and appreciate more of the country. This trip was less technical than the one we'd done with the Caldwells to Chimney Rock in Tucson - no spotting needed for maneuvering through rocks, and the scenery was beautiful. Thanks Paige, for all the planning! We enjoyed the day.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
With Schumacher's RV back in the shop Wednesday, they made plans with the Caldwells to do some more technical terrain in the trails by Jerome. We were invited, but declined, much as I would have liked to see Jerome. We spent our last day in Prescott hiking, and getting ready to return home. I needed to pack and ship a flat rate USPS box - my collection of rocks and petrified wood, not something I wanted in my back pack or luggage.
 |
| Lynx Lake trail |
 |
| Abert's long-eared squirrel |
We hiked around Lynx Lake (very popular and crowded, especially since Wednesdays are free days at the National Park). Once around the lake, we took another trail over to the Highland's Center for Natural History. This trail had far fewer hikers (also more elevation change) and some nice views. The Center was busy with a kid's camp since it was a school vacation week. The return trail over to the road was more direct, giving us time to finish up packing and unwind after our whirlwind tour of the SW.
 |
| Gray-headed junco |
 |
| Female acorn woodpecker |
The Schumacher's stopped by for a visit, to check out our Airbnb (with novel shower) and pick up the last of our 'left overs'. In spite of trying not to over buy, we still had more fresh food (and wine) than we could eat.
They'd had a fun day, tackling terrain much tougher than the Caldwells had done before - lots of spotting to clear (or almost clear) rocks. They said we'd made a good choice not to join them, it would have been miserable in the back seat. One of the plastic trim pieces along the bottom of a door had cracked (removing all plastic when doing serious off roading is recommended). They'd added some Arizona 'pin stripping' along the sides (scratches in the paint from brush or rocks) and dents to the protective pan under the vehicle from not quite cleared rocks. Jerome sounded interesting (another ghost town), maybe some other time!
No comments:
Post a Comment