My adventures on the backroads of Arizona - visiting ghosttowns, mines, cemeteries, and any other areas of interest in remote areas of Arizona and the surrounding states. In addition, we are underwater explorers, so you may occasionally see underwater explorations being posted as well! Welcome to my fantastic life! My name is Bobbi Jo Claywell, and exploring is our thing!
The Verde River at the start of the Red Creek Rapids
Its starting to get hot in Arizona. Paul and I haven't been camping since January when we did the Mohave Trail. We both ended up sick part way through that trip, and we just haven't been camping since. I mentioned to Paul earlier in the week that we should go camping - and that I didn't care where. He suggested the Red Creek airstrip and I immediately agreed. The Red Creek airstrip is a backcountry airstrip that is maintained solely by the pilots who periodically land there. The airstrip itself is only 1200 feet long, and has a long history of causing small aircraft crashes (6 that I can find info on in the past 15-20 years) due to the unevenness of the terrain, as well as the potential downdrafts and crosswinds of the several canyons coming together. The Forest Service does not encourage the use of this airstrip, but people use it regularly despite this. The Forest Service has a brochure on the Red Creek airstrip due to the safety issues.
Cooking breakfast at Camp 7 Springs - I'm freezing and Paul gave up his jacket!
We decided to head out on Friday afternoon, not to get to the airstrip, but to get up to Camp 7 Springs in the Tonto National Forest for our first night of camping. We stopped and grabbed some In-N-Out on the way out of town, and headed down the long FR24 (Camp 7 Springs) road. We pulled into the dispersed camping area before the sun went down, and although neither of us are fond of dispersed camping areas, we decided to stay put and set up so we would be set up by dark. We hurriedly set up the tent and got it all closed up because there were mosquitoes everywhere. Because Friday is an early day for me as well as Paul, by the time the sun had gone down around 8 or so, we were ready to turn in for the night. The camp area was not crowded, which surprised me. A nice family with two younger kids and a 9 month old baby showed up shortly before we crawled into our tent, and their kids were thrilled to be camping, obviously!
Red Creek - absolutely stunning views!
Paul and I watched the stars through the top of our awesome Marmot 6P tent and slowly drifted off to sleep - I vaguely recall asking Paul to turn off the moon because it was so incredibly bright... Around 10:30 I woke up to the sound of something sniffing around outside our tent. I assumed it was the family across the way's dog - but no - there was more than one animal, and I could hear their dog whining. And whatever they were, they sounded BIG. I tried to get Paul's attention, but he was sleeping the sleep of a man who had never slept, so I slowly put on my glasses and lifted my head to look out the back of the tent, worried we were going to have javelinas or some other large but unpleasant animal. But there was a herd of horses just standing around, occasionally eating leaves or grass shoots around our tent. They were avoiding the tent, but they were aware I was sitting there looking at them. The horses hung around the campsite area most of the night. Early in the morning when Paul and I first woke up, we were freezing cold (the temperature was 37 degrees outside) and the horses were still around. We pulled the quilt over us both and we snuggled down and went back to sleep for another couple of hours.
A grumpy little cow I named "No Face" after the Ghibli Spirited Away character - my kiddo loves Studio Ghibli
We woke up as the sun was just cresting over the ridge behind us - me insisting that I wasn't getting out of bed until the sun was up because I was freezing. Paul got up, got a jacket, and made me my hot tea and I finally crawled myself out of the tent to make us some breakfast. Paul bundled me up and he and I set up our camp kitchen so we could make our usual camp breakfast - eggs with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and avocado (well, avocado on mine anyway - Paul isn't a fan - I know, he is weird) with a side of cherry wood smoked, thick-cut bacon. By the time we were done with breakfast, the sun was warming us both up and we tore down camp, packed the truck, said goodbye to the family across the way, and headed out for Red Creek.
More gorgeous views of Red Creek...I mean, you can't take a bad picture here!
The trip up FR24 to FR269 (aka Bloody Basin Road) was uneventful. We then traversed Bloody Basin for a few miles before turning off onto FR18 towards Red Creek. The road was easy and not at all difficult. Until we dropped into Red Creek. Then things got fun. Lots of big rocks to crawl over, huge trees with root systems sticking out everywhere, more rocks to crawl on, and lots of sand and water. Red Creek flows along a stunning green canyon and the road through it to the Verde is full of stunning views! So much green in a red dirt canyon. Absolutely gorgeous!
The rock obstacle on the way to the Verde
Another beautiful view - until you see the dead cow on the left and all the turkey vultures. It smelled terrible...
As we came to the first obstacle (a big gnarly tree with a huge root system you had to maneuver around), we saw a young man with a canoe and a kayak. He seemed to be by himself, and there were no vehicles around (there had been a few up at the top before we dropped into the creek). We asked the young man if he was okay, and he indicated he was, so we proceeded on. After the first obstacle, we then dropped into Middle Red Creek (which Red Creek flows in to). At the confluence of the two creeks, we saw another man with a kayak. He waved, so we stopped and rolled down the window and he asked if he was headed towards the Verde, and we said yes, but that it was 3.1 miles away. He said okay and went back to walking...with the kayak.
Getting ready to do some rock crawling to the right there...
On we went, over the obstacles, through some fun tippy spots, and then we finally came out of the creek at the Verde River - right at the Red Creek Rapids. We were so excited to be the only ones there, and we were able to set up right by the river so we got the rustling of the cottonwoods, the sound of the rapids and the cool breeze that runs up the canyon. We set up camp, then decided to drive up to the air strip. The trail from the Verde to the airstrip up on top of the mesa is sketchy and has been washed out and repaired, but there are a few spots where we were dangerously close to the edge. Like if I had opened the passenger door to step out I would have fallen 50+ feet straight down. I held my breath and Paul, as he always does, navigated the Lewis & Clark right up and over everything safely.
While this sign states that this is part of the Matazal Wilderness, that is actually across the Verde...
The fire pit, picnic tables and horseshoe pits. Behind the bush to the right are the tools to maintain the airstrip.
Looking east down the airstrip. All takeoffs happen this direction.
The windsock, which I was shocked was up and flying. Everything I've read stated it may or, more likely, may not, be flying.
We were surprised at the airstrip. You cannot see it until you are right on it due to the brush being so tall out there. On Google Earth, the mesa looks like a giant flat surface without much on it, but in reality, it is heavily covered in desert brush and the airstrip is even rougher than I expected - particularly at the east end where the planes touch down and take off. Pilots have done an excellent job in keeping it fairly groomed, and there are tools out there to rake and groom the strip with. There is also a picnic table and a set of horseshoes. Paul even threw a ringer! Other than that, this desolate little airstrip is just a red dirt strip in the middle of nowhere.
Be sure to watch this one all the way through!
The Lewis & Clark at our campsite right next to the Red Creek Rapids on the Verde River.
One of the best campsites we've ever experienced!
We went back down to our camp site just as a group of ATVs and side by sides showed up. They came down to enjoy the river and we took our chairs down and sat in the river and talked with them for a few hours. They indicated they too had seen the kayakers/canoers/hikers and had spoken with them for a bit. They were still headed this way, and were expected at the Verde around 2 or 3.
The super-impressive group of canoe/kayakers! These folks have some serious stamina!!!
I decided to take a short nap, and it was short...we had put the fly on the tent this time to help keep us warm, and it was working - a little too well - so out of the tent we went, and back down to the water. Just as the kayakers and canoers had shown up. We sat down and chatted with them for a bit. They indicated that they had thought it was a 1/4 of a mile hike - not 4 miles - from their parked trucks. I felt so bad for them - they had two full size canoes, and three or four kayaks. They CARRIED THEM THE ENTIRE 4 MILES THROUGH THE CREEK. But they were all such good sports about it, and were raring to get on the river. I took a ton of pictures of their take off - they were heading down to Sheep's Bridge, which is roughly 7 miles as the crow flies from where we were, but is more than 20 "river miles" down the Verde. They planned to set up camp somewhere along the Verde around 5 or so, then finish up on Sunday. We wished them well, took pictures as they left, and then we had one last grouping of visitors - three Jeeps and a quad.
Dragonflies were everywhere...and my new phone takes amazing up-close photos!
After they left (around 4 or so), it was just me and Paul for the rest of the evening. It hasn't quite cooled down yet (and Saturday was a hot day! It was in the 90's), so we sat in the truck for a bit having some coffee/tea and listening to the Sirius Radio 1940's old radio programming. We listened to the Jack Benny show and to Tom Corbett's Space Cadet show - where I learned that for $0.25 and the box top to some Kellogg's Pep cereal I could get some space goggles too! I made us some steak and stuffed mushrooms and we listened to another weird and creepy show called Lights Out - Sub-Basement. Paul built a fire as the sun had gone down and the chill was setting in, and it was glorious - the rush of the river, the jostling of the cottonwood leaves, and the crackling of a fire.
We took a bit of time to cool off in the river...
Apparently just sitting in a chair wasn't enough for Paul - he needed to play king of the rock...in the middle of the river.
We fell asleep warm and cozy in our tent - the fly on, but the two fly doors opened so we had some air flow and could hear the river. We both slept incredibly well - I'm not sure I woke up at all. Around 5:30 in the morning Paul was wide awake (and apparently had been for a bit), and as I rolled over, he decided it was time to get up. I said sure, then promptly waited for him to exit the tent and I sprawled across our sleep mat and tried to get another 15 minutes in while he made tea and coffee and got the fire up and going.
An extremely healthy and beautiful ocotillo
Cactus blossoms everywhere - this is a Hedgehog Cactus blossom.
The rock obstacle on the way back from the Verde
I finally got up, and made our breakfast. We packed up camp, said goodbye to one of the best camp sites we had ever had (and we both agreed on that) and headed back out Red Creek. We didn't see a single soul coming out of Red Creek, and the drive out on FR269/Bloody Basin Road was uneventful until we were almost at the Horseshoe Ranch, where there were a number of vehicles/dirt bikes stopped and the people were looking over the edge of the road. As we pulled up, we saw a Prius had gone off and was clinging for dear life to a tree - the only thing holding it from rolling all the way down into the canyon. It had to have just happened because the windows and body panels were all still intact. In Arizona, everyone and their brother feels a need to shoot up vehicles left on dirt roads...so we knew this was a recent "accident." There was nobody inside, and the car was locked, so we left it.
Someone took a Prius where it shouldn't have gone...
We aired up by I-17, and then went down to Chilleen's on I-17 for our usual bite to eat. We were home before 3, cleaned out the truck, showered, and spent the rest of the day just relaxing some more.
Traversing part of the Great Western Trail
It was an amazing weekend. We saw deer, horses (up and close!), lots of cows, some fish and had a stunning campsite. We met some people who were truly impressive (who carries canoes and kayaks 4+ miles? Rich and his gang do...) and all in around just had a truly relaxing and beautiful time. No phone service means the only thing I used my phone for was pictures - and the setting was so amazing, the pictures don't even do it justice!
Sunrise on the Verde River
Big thanks to Paul for letting the Lewis & Clark get totally AZ Pinstriped, and for having the confidence to crawl over some of the stuff we crawled over. As always, he got us out safely! One of the best 4X4 drivers I know. My Dad, my brother, and my Paul - fearless but not stupidly so. Just breathe baby, breathe...
The Lewis & Clark at an unnamed mining site with the concrete pool
Neither Paul nor myself are football people. I mean, I like the commercials during the Superbowl, and sometimes that half-time shows are awesome (this one ranked high - I liked it, and I don't even like rap music), but generally speaking, there isn't much that will draw me to watching the Superbowl unless the Denver Broncos are playing (you can take the girl out of Bronco country, but you can't take the Bronco love out of the girl).
Anderson Mill from the truck
Anyway - I digress. Paul and I had a rare weekend without much to do, and decided to go up and explore the area around Anderson Mill - a place we've been to before, but we've always stopped at the Anderson Mill and have never gone further. So we got up, went to First Watch for breakfast and had amazing omelets, then we grabbed some gatorade, a few granola bars, and off we went!
The Underwood Family memorial area with one of the wells off to the right
The drive out to the trail was uneventful. The day was absolutely beautiful. I started out wearing a sweatshirt because it was 44 degrees outside in the morning, but brought a t-shirt to change in to. We turned on my bluegrass playlist and drove out to the Wickenburg Mountains at the base of the Bradshaws.
Lewis & Clark below the Climax Mine
As we turned on Castle Hot Springs Road to go north to Anderson Mill, we noted there were several dirt bikes and side by sides out and about, but not as many as one might expect on a Sunday. So we knew we would mostly have the trail to ourselves, and could enjoy exploring without being in someone else's way, or they in ours.
Climax Mine Adit
We turned off the Castle Hot Springs Road onto the North Mine Road. As we headed up the North Mine Road (which I didn't realize was a named road), we saw that someone had been placing "street signs" on poles with solar lights on the top along the route almost all the way up to Anderson Mill. We are thinking perhaps it was one of the mining clubs that mines in the area - there were lots of signs for a mining club and directions to their dig sites, as well as reminders that they are private property. So we drove by, enjoying the beautiful weather, windows down because there was no dust and it was a whopping 73 degrees outside - absolutely perfect outdoor weather!
Looking up at the Climax mine
We didn't get out to explore at Anderson Mill because we had planned to come back this way so I would take more pictures then, as well as find a geocache in the area. But plans don't always work out, do they? Off we went to head up the wash to find the old miner's homestead and Underwood grave/memorials.
Old mobile home that has been pushed down the mountain
As we drove slowly through the San Domino Wash up towards Eddie Wash and turned the corner, the graves were very obvious. We parked the truck and walked around for a bit. There are three "graves" of people, and a fourth of a dog. According to a family friend of the Underwoods, they used to hunt deer and javelina out in the area for 50 or more years. The area where the graves of JR (Johnny Lee Roy), BJ (Bill) and JP (June Patricia) is located at their original camp site, however at some point an old miner took it over and built himself a little home there, and then the Underwood family moved up Eddie Wash to camp. This family friend states that nobody is actually buried there except the dog - they are memorials that indicate where ashes were scattered...
Front of the mobile home
There are at least two wells - one capped, one is not and is 30+ feet deep - you wouldn't want to fall down in there - no way to get out. The old miner's cabin is up on top of the little clearing where the graves are. It appears to me that there may have been a swing on a branch here - something was tied around this branch down by one of the wells. It is very shaded here and would be a great place to have a little get away, although I'm not sure I'd want to be there during a flood.
I wonder what was tied onto this tree...a swing maybe?
After exploring the area, and still intending to come back out the way we went in, we pushed onward to look at another mine/cabin area I had found on Google Earth. I have absolutely no information about the mine we were headed to, except that when we drove up the steep ridge, we came to a nasty little washed off area that washed off down both sides into canyons on either side. Paul, in an effort to save my sanity, said we could make it, but did I really want to see this random no-name mine? I said nope. So we backed down the very steep side of the mountain back down into the wash, and went up to the next turn off to the Climax mine.
Fat Gila Monster meandering down the side of the mountain. Didn't even care about us.
The Climax mine is an old tungsten mine that doesn't appear to be worked any longer. I know that in 1942 it was being mined for Tungsten and other minerals, and in 1953, a James Kaler owned it. Mr. Kaler still owned it in 1958, but officed in Colorado. The Climax claims were also referred to as the Patchen claims, which may be a reference to the Patchin Camp that is nearby on the topographical maps (but has nothing at the site). As we pulled up to the Climax mine, we parked down in the canyon where 4 roads came together, and looked up the steep hill to where there was a toppled out-building and a TON of junk. Metal and wood and old conveyor belts lying around everywhere. As Paul hiked up the steep trail, I took pictures of the canyon and junk and then then started hollering up at the out-building at Paul so I could take pictures of him. Nothing. No sound at all. Finally, Paul pops his head out and says he had gone into the mine a few feet. I start heading back to the truck and I hear Paul talking to someone...so I haul my butt up the side of the mountain, where Paul and I met the nicest couple - Rick and Sharon. They were parked up top in their jeep and spoke to us about other mines and things to see while tootling around the Wickenburg mountains.
Old miner's cabin
Miner's Cabin
Our new trail friends were kind enough to offer to take us over to the no-name mine I had seen on Google Earth from a different trail, so we all piled in our vehicles and headed out to the no-name mine. On the way, the Jeep suddenly stopped when a destroyed old mobile home on the side of the mountain came in to view. We assumed he had stopped to take pictures, so we stopped to take them as well. As I finally got out of my side (Paul had parked me on the side of the mountain so I couldn't really get out of the passenger door very well), Sharon hollered "it's a gila monster." So we rushed up and caught some not-so-great pictures of our second ever gila monster in the wild. He was pretty big and very fat, and he moved slowly (as they usually do). So we watched him meander down the side of the mountain and talked about how rare it is to see one, then we climbed back in our trucks and drove the couple of hundred feet to the old miner's cabin and parking area that looked over San Domingo Wash. The miner's cabin apparently used to be in quite good shape. He had some kind of electrical hookups as he had an air conditioner, a microwave, a can opener, and other electrical items up there. The roof fell in over the last couple of years, and the old mobile home has been moved from where we parked and pushed over the side of the mountain.
Inside the miner's cabin
As we poked around, we got to talking to Rick and Sharon, and I asked about the "concrete swimming hole" I had seen just over the mountains, and they said it was very easy to get to, that the road was very good, and that we could follow the Trilby Wash out from there to the Castle Hot Springs Road. They were going to go down by the Anderson Mill, down the nasty ridge we chose not to go up, so Paul and I had to make a decision. Go back the way we came? Go down the nasty ridge? Or head out towards the "concrete swimming hole" and see what we can see.
Concrete Swimming Hole - probably actually an evap pond or water source for the mine
Paul and I decided to try the concrete swimming hole and the Trilby Wash. Our new friends then told us about a cool old International Harvester TD25 that was on top of a mountain over in that area. So now we had to go!!
International Harvester TD-25 Crawler with ripper and blade - 48,000 pounds of iron right there!
The concrete swimming hole wasn't actually a swimming hole or pool - it appeared to be some kind of evap pond or water retention pool for the mining operation. There were other concrete pads, but clearly not building pads. There was also a hopper at the site. Not much else interesting to see there, but now I could say I've been! Then we were off to see the old crawler on the top of the mountain. We had good directions regarding heading that way, and we found it without any trouble, and I just fell in love with it! Paul bought me an old TD24 Crawler for my office some time ago, and this is a TD25 - a crawler with a ripper on the back and a dozer blade on the front. It's been up there for some time as it has been pillaged and plundered by all the idiots that like to steal stuff and shoot at things, but it was really cool to see up close how big they really are. I believe Paul said after the fact that they weight close to 48,000 pounds!!
International Harvester TD-25 with an ATECO ripper
The trek out Trilby Wash was uneventful but beautiful. We went past several springs and seeps that were flowing, and the canyons were green and beautiful. It was a gorgeous day with the perfect temperature, new friends, and of course, me and my guy out bouncing around on old mining roads trying to discover what there is to discover...in Arizona!
Road to Dupont Cabin - the clouds were perfect today - and made for gorgeous pictures
Summer is almost over, I've taken my daughter back for her freshman year at college, and I'm a bit stir crazy. So Paul and I decide to take the Lewis & Clark and head out for a two night camping trip. It took us about a week to finally decide on where to go - but we chose an area of the State that I have not been to much, and two cabins that Paul had visited, and a third that we almost didn't go to - but were glad when we did (and neither of us had been to it before).
PB Cabin in the Sierra Ancha/Tonto National Forest
So off we head towards the Sierra Ancha Wilderness for some "in the pines" tent camping (no Expedition Trailer this time) and some rest and relaxation (read here - no phones, no internet, nothing but nature). I left work early, got home, and we tied down the boxes to the top of the Lewis & Clark, and we headed out towards Globe.
Meadow at the PB Cabin where the original cabin used to be
The Sierra Ancha Wilderness was first established in 1933 as a "primitive area" with gorgeous box canyons, high cliffs, pine covered mountains, and some stunning cliff dwellings if one is fit enough to scramble up to them (which we currently are not). We planned our first night stay at the PB Cabin (info to follow) and had no set plans for the second night.
PB Creek
As we meandered up and through Superior to Globe, AZ, we decided to make one last stop for food, and stopped at the Burger House, which was extremely busy with a boy scout troop heading somewhere, and a number of locals just coming in for the good food. We got our burgers, ate, and then jumped back in the truck to top off and get on our way. We headed North on the 188, and just before we hit Roosevelt Lake, we headed northeast on the 288 towards Young, AZ. The 288 Globe/Young Road is sometimes paved, and sometimes just graded dirt - but it is a small highway - and as it was already dark, we carefully wound our way up almost to Young, but turned off onto the Cherry Creek Road. The Cherry Creek Road is a 40 mile dirt road which is now mostly only passable to 4 wheel drive, high clearance vehicles. It has been rumored as of late that the road will not be fixed going forward - and therefore, will no longer be considered a scenic road. For the short 4 miles we drove on it, it was definitely high clearance, although 4 wheel drive was probably not necessary if you stayed on the road. Once we turned off to PB Cabin, however, 4 wheel drive, locking diff and a-trac were a must if you wanted to drive all the way to the cabin (the PB Creek is heavily eroded from all the flooding and unstable at the crossing).
It's always fun to drive down roads that I've never been on, and Paul doesn't remember well, while in the dark. Especially while looking for a cabin turn off that we did not have marked correctly. Crossing the PB Creek was scary - so much so that I got out of the truck - I was sure it was going to roll - but Paul let it slowly sink down (very, VERY loose dirt, poorly stacked rocks, and a HUGE mess of erosion). BUT - we made it! We made a note to ourselves to record our treks the following day so we had appropriate GaiaGPS routes for the future, and we quickly set up our tent and went to bed. I wasn't feeling 100% after the long drive, and slept poorly, although the sound of the PB Creek next to us along with the rustling of the pines above us was relaxing, and I did finally fall asleep close to morning. One of the wonderful things about this particular trip - because it wasn't freezing cold outside, and because it wasn't raining, or snowing, we left the fly off the Marmot tent - we could see the stars and the moon, and it was nice and cool all evening as though we were sleeping outside - but without any bug problems (lots of bugs this time of year - particularly mosquitos - so we didn't want to just sleep in the open air).
View from the tent
Paul let me sleep for a bit - but we were still up early, wandering around, exploring the area. There is obvious flood damage in the area from, I assume, the massive monsoons we have had this past summer - the flooding of the PB Creek went up and under the cabin itself-the foundational blocks are covered in branches and other flooded river debris - there are HUGE trees that were downed, ripped downriver, and are wrapped around other still-standing massive hulking trees! We were surprised that the outhouse wasn't destroyed as the floodwaters reached up as high (and higher) than the outhouse as well. But the cabin itself looked to be in very good shape. It was clean with a few canned goods on the shelves, a propane stove which was usable last time that Paul was here (May of 2020) although it was missing the hoses. We signed the log book, and made our way over to the meadow which was covered in wild grasses at least 3 foot tall. You could barely make out the original Cabin structure.
Breakfast on the front porch of the PB Cabin
My information on the history of the PB Cabin was extremely limited, but there was a sign inside the cabin with a bit of history. There were apparently two "old timers" named Pendleton and Barkley (ie - "PB"). They ran 200 head of cattle in a partnership and built the original cabin (not the one in these pictures) around 1898. In 1910, Pendleton and Barkley sold out to a neighboring ranch called the Cherry Creek Ranch. The old cabin was then used as a line cabin until 1950 when the current cabin was built by miners who were mining down on the creek. The Cherry Creek Ranch (still in operation today) still uses the cabin, but they allow USFS personnel, nature enthusiasts, hikers, hunters, etc to use the cabin. People have taken remarkably good care of the PB Cabin - and in case anyone is wondering, they do state that they don't mind if you carve your name or initials on the cabin porch, as they feel it is tradition, but they ask that you not carve anything into the surrounding trees.
PB Cabin History
Inside the PB Cabin - the old propane run stove, a telephone and years of log books
We made our usual eggs and bacon breakfast (which I've recently started topping with avocado - which makes it even more delicious - well, for me anyway - Paul doesn't like avocados. He's weird), took down the tent, packed everything up, and decided to head out. By this time it was after 9 a.m. as we'd been lazing around all morning - but not a soul was in sight, and the creek was babbling away and there was a slight breeze in the trees. The PB Cabin was a magical place, and I cannot wait to go again!
PB Cabin and Lewis & Clark
Lewis & Clark getting ready to cross the gnarly PB Creek
I'm still not feeling 100%, although I didn't know why - but we decided to head over to the Dupont Cabin anyway. We weren't sure where we would end up for the night, but Paul had mentioned that he knew of a beautiful overlook that we could camp at if we wanted to, so that was the vague plan depending on how things went at the Dupont Cabin. The day was beautiful - light clouds, but sunny and not too terribly hot. So off we went back up out of the canyon and back up to the 288 road, where we would catch a forest road to head over to the Dupont Cabin.
Along the way, we stopped to check out some construction equipment - Paul has always loved construction equipment, and I have a newfound appreciation and interest in it as I'm now the office manager for a local construction company. So it's always fun to find old equipment and be able to recognize some of it!
Dupont Cabin
A Caterpillar D4D Dozer left in the middle of a field on the way to Dupont
The trek down to Dupont Cabin was uneventful, and the Cabin was interesting, but not as exciting as the PB Cabin was. I have found little to no information about the Dupont Cabin except that it was built some 100 or so years ago by some old miner (Dupont?) and for as far back as the Tonto National Forest knows, it has been an emergency shelter. We didn't stay long - we had thought about taking the old Dupont Tank road and jeep trail around buck peak and over to the JR Ranch, but we quickly decided not to as we were clearly driving down an old jeep road that had been rutted out and was now filled with very loose "baby heads" - round rocks about 5-10 inches round that make everything unstable. I still wasn't feeling great, so we chose to go back the way we came out and go find a camping spot and literally do nothing for the afternoon.
Stunning views overlooking Cherry Creek Road
We drove back up to FR609 and headed back to the 288, then went down to Reynolds Creek, where we drove down the road for a bit, then turned off and headed in on another old forest road. We passed an older gentleman in another FJ Cruiser - he seemed shocked to see us out there, but we waved and went on - and then we came to the end. A glorious and stunning overlook into the Devil's Chasm area of Cherry Creek Road and canyon. Luckily, while the canyon wall was steep and not one I'd like to accidentally fall over, there were several "steps" of rocks which allowed me to get close without feeling any sort of fear of the height.
My view from my chair - relaxing
We decided to set up camp right there - sure that others would be coming along soon because it was one of the best and most beautiful camp sites I had ever seen. But nobody - not one single soul - came along that road all afternoon, evening, night or the next morning. We set up our reclining chairs, our tent (with the fly off again - it was just so gorgeous out), and I climbed in the tent to lay down for a few minutes. Those few minutes turned into a couple hour nap - which I needed.
Early morning sunrise view from the tent
As the air cooled down and the sunset turned the canyon gorgeous colors, we made our usual dinner of steak and stuffed mushrooms (always so amazing while out camping!), and then we just sat by our small fire enjoying the cool air. All afternoon it was dead silent at the camp ground, which was a bit creepy, but after the sun went down, the insects started making noise and we watched as the bats flew around clicking with their echo location and swooping down to grab a bug.
The Sunrise over the Cherry Creek Road and Canyon
We went to bed in the nice and cool weather and woke up refreshed the next morning to an absolutely stunning sunrise over the cliffs of Cherry Creek Canyon. I finally felt much better and was ready for a little exploring on Sunday morning. I made a wonderful breakfast for us, and we packed up camp. We explored a few little areas here and there, and we discussed whether or not we wanted to try to go to the old Asbestos Mine (last we had heard, the trail was extremely rough), but we agreed we didn't want to do any rock crawling today and wanted to take it easy.
Early morning views
Right...our curiosity had other plans...
The "Angel's Wings" - the tailing piles from the asbestos mine - the "Wings" can be seen for miles and miles
The last place I had wanted to explore was an old cabin tucked up in the Sierra Ancha, but only accessible via 4x4 from the South or hiking in from the northeast. When we first turned off to head to the Boyer Cabin, we didn't know what to expect, but the road was long, straight and while it was somewhat washboard, it wasn't horrible. We aired down the tires and off we went.
Tucker Box Canyon at the bottom
Then came the Tucker Box. I was absolutely not prepared for the Tucker Box, and when we first rounded the corner to start descending the loose, steep trail into the box canyon and up the other side, I told Paul we hadn't signed on for this today and we could turn around. I'm telling him all this, but he's still moving forward. Now we are half way down and I'm holding on for dear life and hyperventilating. We are sliding all over the place and I'm just hoping we don't slide over the edge of the canyon. Paul is just crawling along like nothing is going on. I keep telling him we won't be able to get back up the other side, or even out of the box canyon once we are at the bottom. He told me we HAD to get out, and to just trust the truck and trust him (okay Paul...okay...maybe).
Our first glimpse of Boyer Cabin
So we descended a couple hundred feet in one small switchback and a very steep, very loose slate road, and made it to the bottom. Which was absolutely gorgeous. But then we had to go back up the other side with a similar road taking us up and out of the box canyon. With our rear diff and a-trac on, we slipped and slid up the other side, both of us leaning forward to compensate for the steep incline. We couldn't see the road in front of us for the first 10 feet or so, so we were both semi-hanging out of the windows and I was praying really hard...praying that we would be able to get back out.
Inside the main house at Boyer Cabin
The rest of the road was really rough - but only because it was all rocks and stair stepping. For the first time in either me or Paul's life, we saw two cattle guards that actually had ramps attached due to the erosion that has clearly happened over the years. These old roads are still used...there are cattle tanks everywhere, and miles and miles of beautiful grazing land. The grass was tall due to all the rain, and there were flowers everywhere. There were roads on the map that we could see no trails for - but we could see gates - that's how overgrown the grass is out there. But it was beautiful. We continued to bounce along, getting closer and closer - Paul with a very determined "we've gone this far - we aren't turning back now" look on his face. Despite the scary shelf road (which was thankfully short) and the constant jolting from the rough road, I was enjoying today and the scenery.
Boyer Cabin Complex
And then we pulled up to the Boyer Cabin. What an amazing gem in the middle of nowhere. A cabin, an open barn, an old generator shanty and an old workshop/bunkhouse. All in amazing shape, and all clearly still being used on occasion. The history that I have on the Boyer Cabin begins in 1891 which is when Joseph Boyer registered his official cattle brand in Globe. The Boyer Cabin Complex as it was known then was the site of the Boyer Ranch - a large working ranch. The cabin has a stove/oven, old beds (in a separate bedroom no less!), and at one time had some kind of electricity, which Paul surmised was powered by a generator as there is no sign of any electric coming in from anywhere. Apparently the history of the cabin may go back even earlies to 1886 as it is said that old Joseph Boyer was around when the Pleasant Valley War begin (cattlemen vs sheepherders - also known as the Graham-Tewksbury Feud).
Inside the bunkhouse/shop
The Boyer Cabin is in amazing condition - and I hope it stays that way. I found the Boyer Cabin on Google Earth from sheer determination and research after seeing pictures of it that some folks on a side by side took. If you want to go and you have the equipment, it's not hard to find. I do not recommend attempting to make this trip if you don't have lockers, traction control, really good off-road tires, skid plates and high clearance. It is worth the trip, but will jar the heck out of you, and will damage your undercarriage if you aren't careful and are not equipped. Do not go alone, and take LOTS of water. It's a VERY long walk to get out if you break down. It was a beautiful setting, however, and even though we had agreed not to rock crawl on that day, we also agreed it was worth the challenge.
The road goes on past Boyer, but quickly becomes a hiking or horse trail.
And then - we had to leave. And go through the Tucker Box again. I knew we would make it out - so this time I video'd the little excursion. The video doesn't do the steepness justice. But it gives you an idea of what you are facing if you choose to head that way.
So out we went, successfully I might add (thank you Paul - and Lewis & Clark). I wanted to show Paul the Roosevelt Dam, which he found fascinating, and then back in to Globe we went to fuel up and head home after a long day on the trail. Construction on the Roosevelt Dam was started in 1903 and finished in 1911. At the time, it was the world's highest masonry dam at 280 feet with a length of 723 feet. It cost $10 million at the time to build. In 1989 they decided to renovate the dam to keep it safe - the renovations cost $430 million. The Roosevelt Dam is considered to have contributed more to the the settlement of Arizona than any other Dam in or around Arizona.
Theodore Roosevelt Dam - I was privileged enough to see it before the concrete covering was put on in the early 90's
There is so much to still explore in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. It is wild and rugged terrain - and an area of Arizona I've not frequented in the past - I foresee many more camping/exploring trips that way as there is still much to see! But this weekend - we saw 3 historic cabins, and had a most spectacular view over the canyons! What a beautiful way to spend a weekend...just me, my best guy, and one of our trucks. Hardly another soul in sight.
A picture Paul snuck on my phone at Boyer Cabin...there's even love out there in them 'thar hills.
