Oak Creek Cabin, FR 189 and FR 1497

9/30/07 

Fantastic run this morning! Perfect weather, cool breezes and enough cloud cover at daybreak to keep the temperatures just right for off road exploring. Sunrise brought with it a light show of colors and shapes as the sun rose among the dark clouds. Every color of the desert was visible as violet hues blanketed the landscape.

We'd been to Oak Creek Cabin before a few years ago, but we decided to go back for another look around. Oak Creek Cabin is located in the foothills of the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. It's off SR 288 (Desert To Tall Pines Scenic Highway) on

FR 189. We've been unable to find any history of the cabin, but it looks like it might have been a place to stay for cowboys tending the herd from one of the larger ranches in the area. Corrals, a small barn and barbed wire fences are still standing.  There are several nice hiking trails just past the cabin, one going to Workman Creek, an area of Uranium mining and another leading to Parker Creek. Asbestos Point and the Asbestos mines can also be hiked from this starting point (bring a whole lot of energy and stamina for the long, steep, uphill climbs).

We noticed another trail on the way in and decided to take a look on our way out. FR 1497 heads south east from FR 189. It's a great Jeep trail, offering anyone with a high clearance vehicle a chance to strut their stuff. Along the way we stopped to admire the views and to check out a lovely pond nestled among the pines. Wildflowers were blooming, perfuming the air with a sweetness only found in the desert. I wish we could upload the scents for you, it's a wonderful sensory experience!   

Three Bucks, No Doe

9/28/07

A nice cool morning and a new power steering pump, so we headed for Journigan Mine again to have another look around. Although there aren't any remains of the mine, there are numerous piles of old tailings, so we decided to dig around a bit to see what was left. We didn't find anything of value, just some pretty rocks to bring home for our cactus garden. On the way to Journigan, along A-Cross Road, we spotted three good size bucks. All three sported large racks, enough to make a taxidermist or hunter drool. We watched them until they bounded off as though they had springs on their hooves. Quite a thrilling sight to see!

It was overcast, so the pictures aren't so great, but you'll get the idea.

FR 1079 off Hwy 288

9/24/07

Another beautiful cool morning here in Arizona, 58º at sunrise! We just couldn't stay home, so despite the power-steering pump whining on the Jeep, we decided to take a chance and head out anyway. (new pump to be installed Thursday)

We found a "new" road, we've probably passed it a hundred times before but never noticed it among the bushes. It began as a rocky uphill climb but soon leveled out on the top of a mesa overlooking a large wash with mountain cliffs looming above.

The summer monsoons have been kind to the desert. Everything is lush and green with wildflowers blooming all over. There wasn't much sign of man having been on the trail for a long time. The trail looks seldom used, making us wonder why it was there. Perhaps some sample mining was done in the area a long time ago, although we found no remains.  The aroma of Jimsonweed filled the air. Ahhhh lovely sweet-scented, cool morning,  solitude, heaven on earth, another great day to be alive!  

 

FR 47 toward the Superstition Wilderness

9/22/07

Just a short jaunt this morning heading toward the Superstition Wilderness before the heat of the day. The desert was calm and quiet as we set out, only the sounds of Jeeps crunching along over the rocky terrain. Clouds blocked the sun, allowing it to peek through occasionally to cast shadows, adding dimension to the surrounding mountains.

We knew we wouldn't be able to enter the Wilderness area in our Jeeps, motor vehicles are prohibited in order to protect the near pristine environment. We were able to get close enough to enjoy the wilderness vistas and marvel at the rock formations all around us. Ancient Indians roamed this area nearly a thousand years ago and one cannot help but wonder what sort of existence they must have had.

We saw a Mama Javelina and her two babies along with a few more adult pigs trailing behind. They're fairly elusive, so we weren't able to get photos of them, catching only a glimpse as they disappeared into the brush.

It's still early in the cool season, so today was just enough to whet our appetites for more trails ahead.

Return To Zadora

 9/16/07

We returned to Zadora Mine this morning for a closer look around. We could tell nobody had been there since we were there last week, no tracks but ours'. Since our neighbor Larry was with us, we felt more secure taking a closer look at the mine. Up close to the entrance, the air coming from deep inside the mine, felt as if someone had turned the air conditioning on full blast. If it wasn't for the snakes and other critters who might enjoy the air conditioned comfort, it would be a great place to camp on some of these hot summer days. Since we don't fancy sharing a sleeping bag with anything slithery, I suppose that's out of the question.

Ralph and Larry hiked up the trail leading above the main adit and found two huge vertical mine shafts, one with a ladder leading down into the dark parts unknown, the other hewn through solid rock and going down into another portion of the mine. It was easy to see that these two vertical shafts drew outside air down into the mine, cooling the air and then sending it rushing through and out the front entrance. Great air conditioning system. We also checked the storage shed closer and decided it was probably used to store blasting caps and dynamite, they had taken great care to keep the interior waterproof.

Looking at some of the rocks we found in the mine tailings, we determined that when they were digging the mine, they must have come across an interior cave. Some of the rocks in the piles of tailings contained stalagmite and stalactite formations. (formed when mineral rich water drips through a hole or crack in the roof of a cave, depositing the minerals on the floor below). There's also the possibility that the mine might have begun as a cave and someone discovered Fluorite and staked the claim there.

We'll return again to sit and dig through some of the tailings to see what else we can unearth. It'll be a leisurely way to spend another day.

McFadden Peak & Zadora Mine

9/12/07

This morning we headed up SR 288, Desert to Tall Pines Scenic Hwy, to do a little walking up in the cool mountain air. We figured we'd better get our tails in gear after hibernating all summer long and get a bit of exercise. We decided to go to McFadden Peak (elevation 7135 feet) and perhaps walk around there, but our plans changed. When we got to McFadden Peak, the towerman was manning the fire lookout tower and since he seldom gets much human contact, he was most eager to talk. When he learned that we enjoy finding and visiting old mining sites, he told us about an abandoned mine nearby, even showing us the location through his binoculars. He said that he didn't think the trail would be passable in a Jeep, but that we could probably drive part way in and then hike the rest. After an interesting chat with him and after viewing photos he had taken of the local flora and fauna and admiring the spectacular mountain vistas from the tower, we thanked him and said good bye. We headed for the trail and found it easily, just as the towerman said, just south of mile marker #288. The trail was great, heading through tall pines, Sycamores and Live Oaks, shady, cool and very pretty. It was quite rocky and headed along the edge of a couple of canyons, but nothing the Jeep couldn't handle. About a mile and a half in, we came upon the remains of the old Zadora Flurospar Mine. We could make out the remnants of tracks leading from the mine, as well as a storage shed built directly into the rocky mountainside. The main entrance to the mine itself has a locked wooden gate, so we didn't get to venture inside. It's not a good idea to go in this time of year anyway with rattlers still very much awake and active before the end of the season. We might head back there this winter and see if there's a way in. It did look intriguing and very interesting. The entire area was littered with large piles of mine tailings, leading us to believe it was not a small operation. The towerman told us that the mine bankrupted when the mill to process the ore closed down and the next closest mill was located in Texas, making it no longer profitable to mine the Fluorspar.

It was a great morning, cool, fresh pine-scented mountain air and the unexpected surprise ofexploring the area around the old mine.

This n' That

9/8/07

We've had a couple of decently cool mornings here so naturally we headed for the Jeep to check the area out. A-Cross Road was muddy, but passable and as usual, the scenery didn't disappoint us. Lots of rain has kept the Salome Wilderness lush and green all summer long. We stopped along the trail to chat with a local rancher who told us about another Jeep trail we'll have to try once the temperatures drop and the roads dry out.

A couple of days ago we ran part of the Apache Trail again, this time going as far as Apache Lake Marina, but the road was terrible so we decided to lessen the jolting of our old bones and turn around. (picture yourself being a marble rolling down a washboard and you'll have a pretty good idea what the Trail was like) We've got easy access to the Trail, so we'll hit it again once the road grader has done its job.

It was a good ride this morning with the windows rolled down (dodging the mud balls being thrown through the open windows by our A/T tires.) The air was clear, cool and invigorating, tantalizing us with the fact that lower temperatures are just around the corner.

We ended our trip with a hearty, sumptuous (another word for over-eating) breakfast at The Butcherhook Restaurant in Punkin Center before heading home, stuffed, smug and satisfied. (hint: anything on the menu labeled "Kitchen Sink Omelet"...you're NOT going to go away hungry!)