FR 895 to Thompson Mesa and Boyer Cabin

4/28/07

We all took a super ride to Boyer Cabin located near the Sierra Ancha Wilderness north of Roosevelt Lake.

The road had recently been bulldozed and widened by the Forest Service to enable them to enhance and access the watershed program atop Thompson Mesa.

Beginning in the late 1800s, Boyer Cabin was the site of a working ranch. The isolated location told us what hearty folks these early ranchers in the area were. We could almost feel their presence as we explored the remaining cabin, bunkhouse, barn and corral. We haven't been able to find much history of Boyer Ranch, but judging by the furnishings left in place, it looks as if it had used as late as the mid 1900s.

We did find mention in several books, that Joseph Boyer was present when the Graham-Tewksbury Feud began in 1886, marking the beginning of the bloody Pleasant Valley War. (cattlemen vs sheepherders)

It was a 12 mile, fairly easy Jeep trip, only rocky in a few spots as the road wended its way through various types of terrain, ranging from rolling hills and low desert cacti to higher elevations with Cottonwoods, Sycamores and Junipers. The only "iffy" part of the jaunt was the road leading off the mesa down into the canyon below. The road narrowed with some pretty good, near-the-edge, drop-offs. The ranch is located in a riparian area, surrounded by huge old shade trees.

The scenery was lovely, morning temperatures were cool, although the warming later in the day reminded us that summer is just around the corner.

No Gold, But Still Priceless

4/16/07

Still thinking about our visit to Gold Creek yesterday, we decided to return. The temperature was a perfect 76º this morning with gentle cooling breezes. On the way to Gold Creek a herd of four Mule Deer stopped to show us their huge ears and get their pictures taken.

Yesterday, when we left Gold Creek we felt that there was more to be seen and we were right. We gathered more rocks for our garden and trekked further up the mostly dry creek than we had yesterday. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Wildflowers were growing in abundance everywhere. As we proceeded, the canyon began to narrow until the creek became a desert oasis. A still pool of water was home to frogs, tadpoles and water bugs. Above the pool, water trickled down over the rocks from another pool behind it, forming a waterfall. We couldn't go any further, the sheer rock walls blocked our way. There appeared to be a grotto under the large boulder forming the waterfall. It was a serene, peaceful place, a nice spot to pause and rest to enjoy the magical surroundings. On the way back to the Jeep we spotted a large Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly who was happy to pose for a picture while he sipped nectar from a Thistle flower. We didn't find Gold in Gold Creek, but the treasures we saw were far more priceless.

Gold Creek Rockhounding

4/15/07

After doing a bit of outside work around the house this morning, we decided to go for a short jaunt.

We've read about Gold Creek in Tonto Basin and heard it was a good place to hike, especially for amateur rockhounds. Gold Creek was the location of several placer gold mining operations as well as being the site of a bloody massacre. In 1862, five soldiers on a scouting mission from Fort McDowell came upon two Apache Indians hunting in Gold Creek. The soldiers shot the Apaches on sight and then proceeded to mutilate their bodies, taking their grisly "souvenirs" back to Fort McDowell. The soldiers were reprimanded for their behavior and served six months in the brig. Their punishment was an unpopular decision at a time when Apaches were routinely slaughtering settlers in the area. 

Since the temperatures were in the 80s today and there wasn't much shade, we didn't hike as far as we would have liked but we were able to bring back some beautiful rocks for our garden. Slate, Cinnabar and Quartz worn by the water of the creek were real nice finds for us. Nope, we didn't find any gold, but from what we saw there, there's a possibility of finding some when we return. Hey, you never know.

The only critter we saw was a  large, green, hooded lizard dashing across the rocks on his hind legs. He looked a bit like a mini dinosaur. Being on the shy side, he didn't pause for a photo opportunity.

 

Easter Weekend 2007

4/7/07

We decided to escape the Tonto Basin for higher elevations today. Hotter weekend temperatures bring "flatlanders" from Phoenix and other urban areas crowding to Roosevelt Lake for water sports and fishing. We're convinced they don't know how to drive so we try to avoid them when we can.

Larry, Jean, Ralph and I headed back up SR 288 to FR 609 to try out a road we saw leading off of it, FR 486. It was an amazing Jeep trail, only "iffy" in a few places, beginning in desert environs and changing along the way to alpine meadows, riparian forests and clear mountain vistas.The cooler air was a welcome change from the hotter temperatures below.

Along the way we passed a small herd of Mule Deer, but they didn't pause to have their photos taken.

We're hoping to return to the area in the near future and do a bit of camping along a mountain stream we found.

It's a nice way to spend a peaceful holiday weekend!  

Springtime on A-Cross Road

 4/4/07

It's a beautiful Spring day! Flowers are blooming, critters are stirring. Temps are staying right around 80º, not bad.

Last night just before bedtime I took Bailey out for his evening rounds. The moon was out so I felt I didn't need to turn on the flashlight, I won't make that mistake again. I took a step and something didn't feel right. I turned on the light and beneath my fuzzy slipper was a small Kingsnake, I jumped, so did he. I yelped, "SNNAKKKE !!" and Ralph came running to my rescue with the camera.  

Kingsnakes are desirable to have around, they'll tangle with Rattlers and win and they also keep the place free of rodents. This was a tiny one, last summer we had a four footer stretched out sunning himself just outside our door. We don't mind having them around, but it's still startling to step on one.

This morning we took a ride on A-Cross Road. A-Cross is a 27 mile long road running above the north side of Roosevelt Lake from just above Roosevelt to Punkin Center. I wish it was possible to share the sights and scents of the desert on a day like today. Photos don't do it justice. The air was clear, crisp and perfumed with a hint of desert flowers in bloom.

As I sit typing this, there's a Collared Lizard sitting in the tree near the Hummingbird feeder. He's made two attempts thus far to catch a Hummingbird but he's not quite fast enough .... yep .... Spring has sprung.

The Legendary Lost Banker Gold

 4/1/07

We set out a week ago determined to find a mine we've been hearing a lot about, The Lost Banker. Legend says this mine was the location of a stash of gold bullion hidden by an embezzling bank teller, but before he could return to claim it, the poor fellow was shot while holding a crooked poker hand. We purchased one of those tourist maps and set out to prove the legend untrue. I won't give the real location of the mine, for obvious reasons, suffice to say, it's very close to our home.
We had to climb a steep, rocky, tippy trail, but the Jeep didn't let us down. Following the crudely drawn map, we stopped at the top of a mountain and looked for "a rock in the form of a monkey"...finding it, we faithfully followed the map to the letter. Turning left, right, left again at another odd rock formation we then had to chop our way through dense growth of Cholla and Prickly Pear. Finally we came to a large clearing with an adit and just as the map said, "The road to gold will be watery" sure enough, the entrance of the mine was flooded. Still, slimy, green and very uninviting putrid water. We decided to go for it...hey, we're old, nothing to loose. The water was cold, wishing we had boots on, we trekked ahead slowly and very unsure of our footing. We hoped the bottom wouldn't suddenly drop out from under our feet. Angry bats chattered above our heads, but we trudged on. Our flashlights showed a fork in the shaft ahead, we went to the right, dead end, nothing to see. Retracing our steps, we went left through a narrower, but longer tunnel. We could see a rock shelf ahead in the far distance, joking as we went on about how easy it was to find and how we would spend our money. As we approached the shelf, our lights reflected back at us, the glare was intense. Really excited now...we ran, slipping and falling a couple of times, finally we reached the shelf. There, laid out as pretty as you please were stacks and stacks of gold bars! We could see the remnants of green cloth and leather which evidentially held the bouillon originally.
We wanted to ask for help hauling our find out of the tunnels, but the question was, who could be trusted? Trusting no one, we began the slow process of carrying the gold bars out. It took thirty-three trips to get it all outside the adit, our backs are still sore and our shins are bruised from the numerous falls.
Below are the few photos we took, we were too excited to take any more. Below the photos, you'll also see a further message from me, to all of you.

The Adit

Slimy water...

Left or right?

The fruits of our labor!

Happy April Fool's Day Everyone!