Camp Reno

It was a beautiful Fall day here. Our temperatures were in the mid to upper 50's with a freshness in the air that's truly invigorating!
We headed out this morning with Larry & Jean to check out the area around Camp Reno. Camp Reno was a short-lived cavalry post established in 1867 and then abandoned in 1870. During that short period of time marauding Apaches were brought under control after several major skirmishes in the surrounding areas. We've been there before so we thought that since it was such a beautiful day, we'd show it to Larry & Jean.
Here's a link to a post we did back in January'07 when we went there last and researched a bit of history of the place. Ralph and Laura's Backroad Adventures: Camp Reno and Sutter's Store
Nothing much has changed there except the road was a bit rougher than the last time but all in all it wasn't too bad. We hauled our metal detector along with us but after some searching we turned up nothing but some very old rusty cans, barbed wire and a sardine can key....not exactly treasure. Ah well, maybe next time.
Below are a few shots of the area, nice scenery and a super way to spend a few hours.

Reno Creek with sycamore trees wearing Fall colors

The old desert rats

Some cowboys were herding cattle in the area

Horse Shoe Bend Jeeping

Beautiful Jeep run, beautiful day! We headed out early this morning with Jean and Larry to see Horse Shoe Bend. It's really good to be back on the trail with them again. The trail leading there was pretty good with just a few rocky places, but all in all, pretty smooth sailing without any of the scary places found on so many other trails. Larry and Jean had been there before so while we were in the vicinity, we checked out a lovely little oasis in the desert, a bamboo grove with clear cold water flowing from a natural spring, tall walnut trees added even more shade.
After spending a bit of time at the oasis, we headed for the Salt River and Horse Shoe Bend. WOW! What a neat spot, the Salt River meanders through canyons on its way to Roosevelt Lake.
It would be a super place to camp, although it's a bit isolated, we'd want another couple or two to spend the night with us as well. On the way down the mountain the views of the Salt River were spectacular, just like something taken from a postcard.

The spring

Spectacular views along the way

The Salt River on its way to Roosevelt Lake

Jean waving hello

Larry and Ralph playing in the Salt River

A self-indulgent post

Since our Jeeping has come to a screeching halt now that the summer temps are upon us (100º expected today) I thought we'd post a few pictures of Growlph, our Mini Schnauzer. He just turned 6 a few days ago but in many ways, he's still a puppy. We don't know for sure what his background was before we got him from Arizona Schnauzer Rescue almost a year ago, but he's unique to say the least. He's evidently got some emotional baggage (don't we all?) but we're working with him to overcome his "issues." Trust seems to be one of his main concerns. He trusts Ralph and has become his shadow all day long. It's taken him longer to trust me, but he's progressed to allowing me to rub his belly while laying in my lap....REAL progress...heck...when I met Ralph let me do that almost immediately. *insert wink here* HA!

He's a social little critter and greets people with lots of wags and happiness, then he withdraws and would rather be left alone until he gets to know them. Much of our day is spent catering to his wants and needs...why not?...we're retired and don't have to answer to anyone...

Growlph has become quite the little Jeeping buddy, he loves bouncing along the back roads as much as we do, so many new smells, so much to explore and see.

Sometimes we wonder who needs who more....he adds so much enjoyment to our everyday lives, there's not a day that goes by that we don't laugh at his odd little antics.

Tickle me again and I'll bite you!

Who wouldn't love this sweet face?!

Nugget Wash

We decided to do a bit of close-to-home Jeeping with Larry & Jean today. The former town of Nugget is located fairly close to home, just outside of Globe. In its glory days it was a small but thriving silver mining town, even having a post office from January 7, 1881 until March 10, 1884. The town, although small, supported a saloon, a few general stores and a house providing feminine entertainment to the rough and tumble old west miners. (it's a wonder they had the energy after hefting a pick and shovel all day long!) As with many old west towns, it soon became a shadow of its former self as the silver ran out and people moved on to a more prosperous area.

Not much remains today of Nugget, just the remains of the old stamp mill and a few unidentifiable foundations scattered here and there over the rocky terrain.

It was an enjoyable run, it was especially nice to come home without feeling like we'd been put through the mill ourselves!

To read more about stamp mills click here:
Stamp Mill (use your "back" button to return to this page)



Welcome to Nugget

Wildflowers were abundant

Pretty flowers growing up through the rocky soil

Let's park here, the trail gets a bit rough

Uh sure... it looks like a road to me!

Yep, there's the road... follow that blue Jeep!

The remains of the old silver stamp mill

A capped off spring marked the end of the trail for us

FR 609, Exploring The Cave With Bruce and Judy

Nice run! Yesterday we Jeeped FR 609 with our friends from Casa Grande, Bruce and Judy. It was a perfect day, the weather cooperated by giving us light breezes and moderate temperatures. Wild flowers and cacti were blooming, adding nice color to the already pretty trail.

It's always fun to show people places they haven't seen before so we thoroughly enjoy showing Bruce and Judy the cave and the trail leading from SR 288 all the way through and coming out at Punkin Center on the west side of Roosevelt Lake.

We don't ordinarily go out on weekends because some of the trails can get a bit crowded with loads of people coming up from Phoenix to enjoy the better temperatures in the mountains. Yesterday was no exception, the cave on FR 609 resembled a blue light special at K-Mart, with lots of city people crawling around the cave, oohing and aahing in the damp, spooky interior. It was fun hearing them talk about snakes...no self-respecting snake would ever be found in such an uninviting, cold interior but we didn't tell them, instead we agreed that caution should be used, yep, ya never know when a rattler might be lurking under the rocks deep inside the cave....

The cave had been living quarters for ancient Indians at one time, you can still see some evidence of their presence. Few cave drawings remain, but looking closely, you can still find a few faint images. The fire pit still holds a few charred bits of wood and the ceiling above it still shows the smokey stains left behind by generations of cooking. The remains of stone walls are still present, making it easy to imagine what life was like for the cave dwellers.
The next time we go back to the cave, we'll be sure to go during the week to avoid the crowds of city weekenders.


Hedgehog cactus in full bloom



Our two red Jeeps


The cave entrance

Me, Growlph, Judy and Bruce

Ralph, Judy, Growlph and Bruce

A city feller stepping carefully to avoid stepping on snakes

Stacked stone walls left by the ancients tell a story of what life was like

for the early cave dwellers

Judy and Bruce inside the cave

The smokey ceiling above an ancient fire pit

Ajax and Beyond

Yesterday we headed out with a group of 4-Wheelers from the Casa Grande Club. Bruce & Judy, Bill & Maureen, Sue, Russ, Tom, Larry & Jean, Ralph & I, and of course, Growlph.
Although some of the Jeepers had been to the area outside of Superior, running through to Florence Junction, Ralph & I hadn't been there before so it was a new experience for us. Bruce headed the run since he was familiar with the trail but he wasn't expecting the changes that had occurred during the heavy rains we've had this winter. The trail was bumpy to say the least. Off camber and tippy in quite a few places, we found some of the dry washes with running water but none of the water presented a problem during the crossings. Our destination was the old Ajax Mine, a silver mine active on and off from 1915 to 1948. A minimal amount of gold and copper were also mined there. The mines are still there, along with the large concrete ore loader, an impressive structure. We could only imagine what it must have been like there when miners hauled truckloads of ore over the narrow, dangerous roads.
Since this is one of the first weekends we've had without rain, lots of people were on the trails, ATV's, dirt bikes and all kinds of four wheel drive vehicles shared the trails with us, making it interesting when we met someone going in the opposite direction on a narrow, high, one lane trail. Lots of careful maneuvering was required but the skilled Jeepers made it through with no carnage to report.
Bruce also took us to see the ancient petroglyphs carved in rock by the Hohokam Indians some as old as 2000 years ago. Archaeologists are still working to interpret their meanings.
To read more about the ancient Hohokam Indians, check this out:
History - Hohokam
(use your "back" button to return to this page)
It was a good run, a beautiful day spent with fellow Jeepers, good people and good friends, nice!


The mountains outside of Superior


more views of the mountains


all six Jeeps taking a break

Stretching our legs and taking a break from the bumps

the impressive ore loader at Ajax Mine


a dangerous open vertical mine shaft at Ajax Mine

Growlph cooling his paws in the creek

The Ralph & The Growlph

Taking a break for lunch

Ancient Hohokam petroglyphs

...more petroglyphs

Then And Now...

We took a ride down the Apache Trail before the rains come again tomorrow. The trail was in unusually good condition having been recently bladed after the last rain storm closed the trail for a few days. Perhaps people from Phoenix and snowbirds had the same idea we did because the traffic on the trail was exceptionally heavy. There have been times we've had the entire route completely to ourselves but this time it appeared everyone from Canada, Michigan or Minnesota decided to enjoy the beautiful weather as well. It's entertaining to see people's expressions of terror as they descend Fish Creek Canyon with its sheer 900 foot drop offs just outside their car windows.
Back in the early 1900s until it burned in 1929, Fish Creek Lodge offered a resting place for road weary travelers. In his book "Images of America," (great little book, we highly recommend it) Richard L. Powers offers many old photographs of the lodge as it appeared through the years, fist with mule teams and horses parked outside, then in later years, automobiles and tour buses. There isn't much left to see at the old lodge site, just a few old crumbling foundations and lots of broken glass bottles. We speculated that it must have been a tradition for travelers to break bottles after they were finished with whatever contents the bottles held, at any rate, old glass littered the ground.
A few wild poppies were beginning to bloom giving us a glimpse of what should be one of the best wildflower seasons ever. Now, I guess we'll hunker down and wait until the next storm passes. Dry desert, yeah, right...

You can read more about the Apache Trail here:
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Apache Trail Arizona Map Attraction Guide AZ Tours

Tour buses lined up outside Fish Creek Lodge


The Superstition Mountains looming high above
with a wet weather waterfall running down the side of
the mountain.

View from the lodge

Fish Creek Canyon

Not much remains of the old Lodge