Bailey's Birthday Ride

10/30/07

Just a short local ride this morning. Bailey, our mini Schnauzer turned twelve years old on Sunday, so we thought we'd treat him to a short ride up Pinto Creek Wash to FR242. Unfortunately, he tends to get carsick, so we don't take him with us on longer trips. He loved going with us this morning and he had a great time sniffing all the exciting smells along the way. We gathered some more rocks and found a cute little Hedgehog cactus for our garden.

A good time was had by all, Bailey included. He's sound asleep and snoring as I write this....it's a dog's life indeed.

 

 

FR895, Thompson Mesa to FR97 to Jack Shoe

 10/27/07

Great run this morning!  We took A-Cross Road to FR 895 all the way up to Thompson Mesa and then FR 97 across the mountains to Jack Shoe Ranch and back out on A-Cross Road, a great big loop. We'd tried this trip before but had to turn back because the road leading to the bottom of a steep canyon was made impassable by huge boulders. This time we made it all the way through. The Forest Service had cleared the boulders and the road leading down into and out of the canyon. The road was still very steep, but certainly doable with four wheel and skillful driving.

It's deer hunting season here, so we passed and saw more hunters than we'd like to see. Matter of fact, we did irritate at least a couple of them. We carry walkie-talkie radios to communicate with Larry and Jean and we overheard a couple of hunters on the same frequency saying, "with all this racket, we may as well quit watching this %$#&*! ridge."   Awwwww too bad fellas, maybe you'll have to find someplace else to drop your empty beer cans.    

:::::insert exasperated snort here::::: dang city slickers.....

No car sickness to report today...a super trip, great weather, great friends, great temperatures and great Jeeping.

 

                                 

 

 

Spring Creek Mine

10/26/07

A nice long jaunt today. We went to Young with pals, Larry & Jean to follow directions given to us by an online buddy. Thanks Ernie! Your directions were spot on! 

Hwy 288 proved to be the roughest part of the trip. They're paving part of the highway and basically ignoring the rest of it, so it was like driving on a dusty washboard for a large portion of the trip. I have to admit to a bit of carsickness from the ride on SR 288, sure hope they get the #&*!$% road finished soon!

Upon reaching Young we followed directions over the river and through the woods and had no problem locating our destination, the remains of the Spring Creek Mine, also called the Yankee Dollar Mine. It was a small gold mining operation for a short period of time between 1926 and 1931.  Unfortunately, the roof of the mine was collapsed about 25 feet in, so it couldn't be fully explored. Judging by the difficulty accessing the mine alongside Spring Creek, it had to be a Herculeon task to remove ore from that location.

 

"Turn yonder by the big ol' Black Walnut Tree"

10/20/07

The rancher who has land adjoining our property told us about a cave up in the mountains but the directions he gave us were rather vague. "Turn at the big ol' Black Walnut Tree about seven miles in from the main highway"....those directions just didn't have enough details. So, Larry & Jean and Ralph & I set out to search for the cave. We found what we think is the correct road, (FR 609) clocked ourselves going in about seven miles, but there wasn't a Black Walnut tree to be found, nor a road, path or trail leading to a cave. Since we were already in, off the main highway so far, we decided to take the road all the way through. It runs from SR 288 (Desert to Tall Pines Scenic Highway) through to Greenback Valley, coming out in Punkin Center and Tonto Basin...quaint names huh. The road passes through vast areas of burned pine trees and the fallen pines littered the road in front of us. Fortunately, someone, probably the Forest Service, had moved and cut the trees that were blocking the trail. The trail was extremely rocky and bumpy almost the entire way. Like the Pope, I almost got out to kiss the pavement once we landed on the blacktop highway. The air was cool, fresh and pine scented in the mountains and the trip, as always, was super....even though we didn't find the cave this time.

FR 225 And Beyond

 10/18/07

We were trying to find a couple of mines we had been told about, so we headed up a couple of dry washes we'd traveled before, this time, leaving the main trail and trying some smaller and even rougher trails. The bushes and trees were growing over the trail, making it difficult, slow going, but we did find some Quartz scattered on top of a small hill and on closer inspection, sure enough, someone had done some surface mining there at one time. Quartz in these parts usually means it's a good spot to look for gold. We don't know if they found any, but they certainly scattered some chunks of Quartz around while they were looking.  We gathered a few prettier pieces of Quartz and then went looking for more mines.

We don't usually like to go too far into the boondocks without another Jeep along, but we threw caution to the wind and headed up a pretty rough trail. Nope, we didn't find any more mines today, but the trip was worthwhile just for the scenery. We passed a few free-range, Longhorn cattle, some nifty old corrals and some fantastic views before we headed back home. Fortunately, there weren't any mechanical breakdowns, it would have been a long long walk back to civilization. 

We got back home, just in time for a nap!

All that glitters....

10/17/07

Just a short trip this morning up Pinto Creek near our house, to gather some more rocks for our rock and cactus garden. We didn't realize we could go as far up the Pinto Creek Wash as we did this morning. The best place to find a good assortment of rocks are in the dry washes and riverbeds. We call the rocks we find our "desert jewels," prettier than diamonds or other precious stones in their variety and intricacy. The colors would have to be seen to be appreciated.

We saw a recent claim marker, someone has staked a claim along the wash, probably hoping to find some gold. Some of the rocks we found further up had some shiny golden flecks in them, but we're not sure if it's gold or not...either way, we won't get rich over the little flecks we found...although, come to think of it, we're already rich in so many other ways. 

Wranglers wrangle a Wrangler

 10/13/07

Nice day, nice ride!  We headed for FR 225 again this morning. We'd been there before but turned back when the going got a bit rough. This time we took the road to where it ended at a natural spring near a cattle tank. The road was a bit tippy and a challenge, but we had no problems. On the way out, we came across some cowboys on horseback, wrangling a herd of cattle up into the mountains. It was the highlight of our trip as they stopped to chat with us and fill us in on the woes of the modern day rancher. It seems the Forest Service is pretty strict on how many head of cattle can be grazed on Forest Service land. They've really tied the hands of the smaller western ranchers by eliminating much of their grazing land. We've always enjoyed seeing free range cattle while we're out on our excursions, it's a shame to see such an All-American industry becoming a thing of the past. Ah well, I suppose we can always buy our beef from China, maybe the Chinese have found a way to recycle the lead from children's toys and add it to cattle feed.  

The cowboys also told us about another trail, so after passing some exceptionally pleasant time with them, we headed for the trail they told us about.  It was a treat seeing the cowboys on horses checking out our Jeeps. Wranglers checking out the Wranglers ... The wild west still lives in Arizona!  

The trail the cowboys told us about began in a dry riverbed and then headed upward. We traveled up the bumpy, rocky road for a couple of miles before we stopped at the ruins of what appeared to be the foundation of an old house. Whoever lived there must have enjoyed extreme isolation because the place was on a road that was little more than a cow path.  The road appeared to go futher, but we were running short on time, so we'll go back another day to see where it winds up.