The Bureau of Land Management allows for a maximum stay of 14 days in any one area. After that, we have to move to another place at least 25 miles away. So after our 14 days in the Ironwood Forest National Monument we crossed (or rather, went around) the Picacho Mountains to experience boondocking in another part of the Sonoran Desert. We landed at at nice, secluded area on Arizona State Trust Land. Or we’re on BLM land surrounded by Arizona State Trust land. It’s hard to tell from the map where we are exactly. Either way, we’re off AZ79 on E96 Ranch Road. This area is probably the most varied and lush landscape in the Sonoran Desert, according to a local source. I’m not sure the adjective ‘lush’ can be used to describe a desert landscape but there is much more vegetation here than anywhere we’ve seen so far.
Arizona State Trust Land is open for recreational purposes and there are miles of OHV (off highway vehicle) trails that are well used. However, we are pretty secluded. An occasional vehicle will come down the road and the OHV’s are usually off on other roads and we seldom see or hear them. The trails and roads are also good for walking and exploring the area when we’re not in the mood for a road trip. We’ve seen a lot of birds flitting about here, many of which we haven’t seen before. There are quail, hawks, and a plethora of other birds that Cathy can check off in her bird book. We’ve even seen signs of coyote and javelina.
Picacho Peak
We tore ourselves away from our surroundings to do some hiking at Picacho Peak State Park. Traveling on I-10, in southern Arizona can’t miss the rugged presence of Picacho Peak. This landmark has been used for navigation for centuries by the native Americans with the first recorded instance was by Juan Baptiste de Anza on one of his many expeditions through the area. This is also the location of the Battle of Picacho Pass, the western-most conflict of the Civil War.
Sunset Vista Trail
The Sunset Vista Trail is a 2.6 mile trail that winds its way around the southern side of the mountain before connecting to the Hunter Trail for the final accent to the peak. The first 2 miles is a moderate hike but gets much steeper after that, until you get to the Hunter Tail and the chain that helps you get to the peak. We were in no shape to tackle the peak so we turned back at the 2 mile mark. It was still a great hike with some outstanding views.
Casa Grande Ruins
We saw signs for the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument on a couple of our supply runs and decided to check it out. The site contains the adobe ruins of a farming community surrounded by a wall from the ancient Hohokam period. This is one of several villages archeologists have discovered along the Salt and Gila Rivers. The villages cooperated by building and maintaining canal systems to irrigate their fields.
The function of the 4-story ‘Great House’ (named ‘Casa Grande’ by early Spanish explorers) is a mystery. Some believe it was an astronomical observatory since the walls face the four compass points and holes in the walls align with the sun and moon at specific times, such as the setting sun at the summer solstice. The Visitors Center has a lot of good information on the life and times of the ancient villages. It was a fascinating trip back in time to see how the indigenous peoples survived the harsh desert environment and it only took about an hour to travel back about 700 years in time.
Tortilla Flat
The Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest are just north of us so we decided to take a day trip up AZ 88 to the old western town of Tortilla Flat. Tortilla Flat began as a stage coach stop along the Apache Trail in 1904. We had lunch at the famous Superstition Saloon, where dollar bills are the wallpaper and real saddles are the bar stools. There’s a deck on the side for those seeking an outdoor dining experience. You can get a prickly pear gelato in the country store next door and of course there’s a gift shop.
One of the joys of going to Tortilla flat is the drive up along AZ 88 through Tonto National Forest. Plenty of zig-zags in the road and fantastic scenery along the way make this a future road trip on the motorcycle. I guess that’s why there were so many bikes parked in front of the Superstition Saloon. The road continues past Tortilla Flat to Roosevelt Dam and the cliff dwellings at Tonto National Monument. It turns into a dirt road a few miles past Tortilla Flat. It was washed out a few miles past that, making a trip to the dam and cliff dwellings impossible. If you don’t want to take your car on the dirt road, there are several places in Apache Junction that rent OHVs for the day. That might be fun, too.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Another good day trip near here is the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The Arboretum is about an hour east of Phoenix near Superior, AZ. along Queen Creek and beneath the volcanic remnant Picket Mountain. William Boyce Thompson conceived the idea bringing plants from other deserts and arid lands. He displayed them alongside native Sonoran Desert vegetation in a spectacular natural setting. There is a visitor center, greenhouses, a demonstration garden, picnic area, and a looping 1.5-mile main trail, along with a couple side trails, that winds through various exhibits and natural areas. The exhibits include a cactus garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, an Australian exhibit, South American exhibit, aloe garden and an herb garden. The Arboretum doesn’t rank at the top of the list of must-see, bucket-list attractions in Arizona when compared to places like the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, but it’s well worth the visit.
Historic US Route 80
AZ 79, where our site is located, is also known as Historic US Route 80. Also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, the Broadway of America and the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, US 80 was a major transcontinental highway from November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989. US 80 traveled from the California border in Yuma to the New Mexico state line near Lordsburg. Like it’s counterpart to the north, Route 66, US 80 was an important highway in the development of Arizona’s car culture.
The popularity of travel along US 80 lead to the establishment of many unique road side businesses and attractions, including many iconic motor hotels and restaurants. US 80 acted as the main interstate highway for the southern half of the state, serving the major cities of Phoenix and Tucson, along with other small towns and cities. Tourism and traffic along US 80 greatly increased following the end of World War II, creating a temporary economic boom for businesses along the highway. But like Route 66, the introduction of the Interstate killed most of those businesses and attractions. The road is now mostly a pretty unremarkable highway.
Tom Mix Memorial
Along AZ 79 or Historic US 80 is the Tom Mix Memorial. Tom Mix was the greatest of the silent-era movie cowboys, and a cowboy in real-life as well. He reportedly could knock a button off of a shirt with a rifle shot, and jump a horse into a railroad box car. But he died behind the wheel of his car rather than in the saddle of a horse. Tom Mix was driving to visit his son-in-law when he swerved to avoid a repair crew and flew into a washed out gully. The car was not badly damaged but Tom Mix died from a broken neck. The gully was renamed Tom Mix Wash and a cobblestone monument with a riderless iron horse on top was built on the spot of the accident.
Moving on
Although we hate to be leaving the seclusion and scenery of E 96 Ranch Road, the javelina hunting season is opening this weekend so now is a good time to be moving on. We’re heading to the Sonoran Desert National Monument to do hiking in that area. Hopefully, javelina hunting isn’t a thing there.
Sonoran Desert National Monument
The Sonoran Desert national Monument has very few facilities and no central attraction. Its purpose is mainly to protect the historic sites, Indian relics, native habitats, vegetation and wildlife rather than attract visitors. Yet, here we are. The designated area spans 25 miles of land either side of I 8. The half to the south is comprised of the Table Top Wilderness, Vekol Valley and part of the Sand Tank Mountains. The half to the north encompasses the North and South Maricopa Mountains Wilderness.
We selected a spot in the Vekol Valley for the next couple weeks. There were a couple things that got our attention when we first arrived. The first is this sign. All the reviews of this area said this was no big deal so we started looking for a place to set up.
There are several roads with sites big enough for our rig here. One of the sites we were considering for setting up camp had these in it. Maybe we’re not supposed to stay here? We stayed anyway. We never heard or saw anything suspicious the whole time we were here.
Hiking
One of the benefits of boondocking in the Sonoran Desert is the hiking opportunities. We found some good hiking trails, however reaching the trails is a bit difficult. The roads accessing the trails are rough and rocky. You need a high clearance vehicle otherwise you will leave the oil of your sedan on the road. They are also quite narrow in spots, bordered by ironwood and mesquite trees. That didn’t help the finish on my truck at all. But the fact that these trails are so difficult to reach means that you will probably be the only one out there.Lava Flow Trail
There are two trails in the Table Top Wilderness area. One is a steep, difficult, 6.7 mile out and back trail goes above the treeline to the peak of Table Top Mountain. It gets its name from its flat top which resembles – you guessed it – a table top. We weren’t up for that option. The Lava Flow Trail, on the other hand, is a relatively easy hike that skirts the bottom of Black Mountain. It meanders through a desert landscape of saguaro, paloverde, ironwood and cholla, a creosote bush flat and across several large washes. You also get sweeping views of the Vekol Valley and Sand Tank Mountains to the west. Flat-topped Table Top Mountain dominates the views to the east.
Three trailheads access the trail, one on the north end, one on the south end, and one in the middle. Hiking the whole 7+ miles out and back was a bit much so we hiked in a few miles from both ends on separate days, pretty much covering the whole trail. There are no signs or markings for the trail but it’s pretty well defined. Even I couldn’t get lost. This is a unquestionably a fun trail and worth the drive to get to.
Margies Cove Trail
The Margies Cove Trail is another fairly level, 9 mile trail located in the heart of the Northern Maracopa Mountain Wilderness area. We planned to attack it as we did the Lava Flow Trail but the road to the east trailhead was closed, most likely due to smuggling activity, according to one web site. Access to the western trailhead is along another rough ride in on a jarring, rutted dirt and gravel road. We were surprised to see a camping area here. There were mostly tents but some brave soul hauled his pop-up camper in over that road. It’s a nice place to camp with very impressive views.
The North Maricopa Mountains are a patchwork of long ridges and isolated peaks separated by extensive, saguaro-studded bajadas and wide desert washes. Cholla, ocotillo, prickly pear, paloverde, ironwood, and Mexican jumping bean complement thick stands of saguaro to form classic Sonoran Desert vistas. Margies Cove Trail winds right through the middle of that. The sign at the trailhead reads “The North Maricopa Mountains are an example of pristine Sonoran desert. Congress added the 66,200 acre North Maricopa Mountains area to the national wilderness preservation system in 1990, citing its rugged character, outstanding opportunities for solitude and unconfined recreation, abundant desert flora and important wildlife habitat.” It’s a good place to take a hike. We hiked in about 3 miles before turning around. Too bad we can’t get to the eastern trailhead.
Sunrise, Sunset
And, of course, we some some truly spectacular desert sunrises an sunsets these last few weeks. There are way too many photos to share here but you get the idea.
Next!
Since there’s not many attractions in this section of the desert, it’s time to move on. I think we’ll continue our trek west towards Quartzite and Lake Havasu. Check in again here to see what we find there.
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