Sunday, March 30, 2008

The trails off of Cherry Creek Road

3/30/08 
Finally we got out for some Jeeping! Duty has been calling us to stay home and get some projects done that we'd been putting off for quite some time but after a hectic couple of weeks, we all decided we deserved some time on the backroads.
We've been running Cherry Creek Road ever since we got the Jeep but we haven't explored very many of the trails leading off of it. We tried a few of them today. The first was a nice one, heading toward the Sierra Anchas, the road went back for a couple of miles before it stopped on top of a bluff. Wildflowers are in full bloom here, so we spent some time checking them out while admiring the beautiful views in every direction. The second road wasn't so good. (that's an understatement) Actually, it probably wasn't a road, just a track running up a sandy dry wash. It was a bit touchy to maneuver, lots of tippy places, one of which Larry experienced first hand, scaring the daylights out of Jean as she thought they were going to tip over for sure. From now on, it'll forever be called "Crybaby Wash" in honor of Jean's response to their near miss.  
The third road was the best. We didn't know it would go as far as it did, nor that it would be in such good condition. We ran it for a few miles, enjoying the scenery before it was time to head back home. We've all got dogs waiting for us, so we couldn't dally as long as we would have liked. We'll return again in the near future to see where the road leads. Wherever it goes, the views are breathtaking, so it'll be a fun run to look forward to.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Looking for a steer skull on FR 225

3/15/08

Just a short jaunt today. We've been playing catch-up here at home trying to get some household chores done before the hot weather sets in again but we were going through Jeeping withdrawal, so we took a break. We wanted to pick up a steer skull to add some western flavor to our cactus garden, so we headed back to FR 225, a place we'd seen some dead steers last year. The now bleached bones had been scattered by animals, but we were able to find a skull in the bushes. Hey, this is the Southwest, and skulls are considered treasures out here. Some people even decorate them with silver, turquoise and other semiprecious stones, but we like ours sans bling bling.

We drove around long enough to see some pretty wildflowers, the hillsides here are loaded with Mexican Poppies this time of year, creating a colorful backdrop for the stately Saguaros. 

Anyway, it was good to get out again, it's beginning to get a bit cloudy and cooler, rain is on the way.
Hopefully, there will be some more backroad exploring in our near future.



 

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Glug Glug Splash! Cherry Creek Road

3/6/08
Another glorious day, our dusty house will just have to wait, we can't rationalize staying home and cleaning when the great outdoors beckons us. We headed for Cherry Creek Road, it's been a while since we made the trip.
The road was in super condition, we even passed the road grader as he made another pass over the dirt road making it even smoother. The desert is very green and lush right now. We've had unusual amounts of rainfall this year, so everything that could turn green is wearing a full coat of emerald coloring.
Cherry Creek is usually not much more than a gently flowing stream, but with the snow melting in the mountains of the high country, Cherry Creek is a raging river in places.
We stopped along the way to take pictures of an old homestead. It's slowly being reclaimed by the desert. The mud bricks are melting away with each rain and soon, all will be returned to the sand and dirt of the desert floor. We haven't been able to find any history about the place, but we'll keep asking some of the old timers here about it.
When we came to the crossing at Ellison Ranch, we found the crossing had been moved a few yards downstream. We hadn't intended to run Cherry Creek Road in its entirety, but Ralph wanted to check out the water crossing. Holy smoke! It was much deeper than it looked. It begain easy enough but then the front end of the Jeep dropped into a hole which had probably been created by the last four-wheeler to cross here. Glug, glug, splash and hold on tight...he made it through all in one piece! Ralph turned the Jeep around on the other side of the crossing and headed back. Wheee! Another glug and a splash, he made it! I don't think we'll try that stunt again any time soon. We were lucky this time.
Anyway, it was another beautiful jaunt with fabulous scenery and I guess the Jeep has a clean underbelly now. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Metering Station at Tonto Gorge

  3/4/08

72ยบ, clear and sunny, not conducive to staying home and cleaning, anyway, the dust will wait. We found a fairly good sized scorpion in the house this morning, after we promptly dispatched him, we decide to take off.
We headed for Tonto Creek Gorge today. There's a US Geological Survey water metering station located where the canyons narrow as Tonto Creek flows past the towering cliffs, we wanted to get a close up view of it. Tonto Creek is flowing fast, we've had a lot of snow up in the high country and the runoff is flowing into Tonto Creek from the Mollogon Rim and down into Roosevelt Lake. The lake is near capacity (91% today) and looking extraordinarily beautiful. We parked the Jeep at the edge of a sandy wash and hiked for about a mile to the metering station. To our surprise there was a man wearing waders standing in the water at the metering station. He told us that he works for the US Geological Survey and he's there measuring water flow and water levels. He's the person in charge of doing hydrographs to help the government and SRP (the electric & water company) updated on current conditions. We weren't expecting to see anyone in such a remote location, but it was a plus getting to chat with him. It was a very peaceful spot, the sound of Tonto Creek rushing over the rocks was soothing as we paused for a rest before heading back. Yet another perfect day in Roosevelt, Arizona.
One of these days, we'll stay home long enough to clean....but, then again, it'll wait.  

The red dot on the map marks the location of the US Geological Survey Metering Station.


           Tonto Creek near Roosevelt location map




 

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Gold Creek to Tonto Gorge

3/2/08
Another nice hike today. Fabulous temperatures are making it way too nice to stay home. We headed for Gold Creek, we've been up Gold Creek before, but this time we decided to follow the creek down to where it flows into the Tonto Gorge, heading for Roosevelt Lake. Gold Creek has quite a bit of history.  During the gold rush of 1848 when prospectors were heading for California in droves, some of them never made it because Arizona's riverbeds were also rich in gold. Gold Creek, aptly named, was one of them. Prospectors found placer gold, staked their claims and made their camps along the banks of Gold Creek, never proceeding on to California.
It's a fairly strenuous hike, boulders to climb over, and lots of crisscrossing the creek to try to stay dry. The rocks along the way make it a rockhound's heaven. We did manage to bring back a bag of them for our Cactus garden.
We made it as far as we could go. In warmer weather, we would have waded to the end to see the creek as it tumbled into the gorge below, but today the water was still a bit cold to wade in. This is one spot we'll return to, next time, bringing our gold pans to try our luck.