Friday, March 30, 2007

Unnumbered Jeep Trail Off A-Cross Road

3/29/07
 
Perfect temperatures! Yesterday's high was 74° with clear, sunny skies, way too nice to stick around the house and work.
We headed for a trail we hadn't explored before. It doesn't show on forest service maps but we'd seen it on previous trips when we were locating the remains of Sunrise Mine. It turned out to be a nice ride, nothing rough, just a few rocks to maneuver around. We kept in mind looking for some nice cactus specimens for our garden. We were fortunate enough to find several good ones, along with some more unusual rocks to add more interest to the cacti already planted.
Since we've had quite a bit of recent rain, the desert is beginning to turn green, wildflowers are starting to bloom, it's a special time to be in the desert.
After driving through green, grassy meadows, the road ended near the bottom of several high, rocky canyons, adding even more interest to the trip. We can't help but marvel at these canyons, decorated with spires and pinnacles, awe inspiring places for sure. It's hard to photograph this type of scenery, you'll have to try to imagine the depth and details.
Before heading home we remembered a small unknown variety of cactus we'd seen at the Sunset Mine, so we headed over to gather it up and give it a new home. Sunset Mine is located on a hill top affording great sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, so we stayed for a while, indulging our senses with the vistas and cool, fresh breezes.
It was a very satisfying day.