Friday we drove out to the Gila Box Riparian Area east of Safford. It is a nice area along the Gila River. The road through the Area was paved, but it wound down and up through creek crossings, often on one lane widths. After our first climb up on a ridge between creeks, we could see trailer coming toward us a long way off, and since we couldn't tell where there would be room for it to get by us, we waited for about 5 minutes for it to get by us. After that, we didn't see anyone coming toward us the whole time we were there. We did small walks to the river from several parking / picnic areas and the Dry Creek Boat Takeout. The takeout is the last place in the Riparian Area that people can land their boats coming down the Gila.
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| Gila from a hillside | |
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| shaded by wall of rock |
Further up the valley, at Bonita Creek Wildlife Viewing area, we drove down a 19% grade to the Serna Cabin. Serna Cabin was built in the 1920's.
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| Serna Cabin |
At this location there was a trailhead sign for a 3 mile trail back to the first place we stopped, Dry Creek Boat Takeout. From this point on the river, you can inner-tube to the takeout. Since the trail description warned that there were stream crossings with fast flowing water, and we had left our hiking boots on the picnic table at the trailer to dry out in the sun, we didn't follow the trail. Back up the hill at the viewing area we had lunch looking over Bonita Creek, but didn't see any wildlife. From the viewpoint, we took a trail heading up over the hill beside the stream. From the top of the plateau, we could look down on the Riverview Campground, with a couple of RVs in it, one which looked like a camp host. We walked down the road back toward the truck before noticing a cairn on a rise near the river. As we turned onto the trail toward it, we saw another coatimundi. I was able to get a quick shot without zooming.
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| Can you find the Coati? |
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| Here it is |
We continued to the cairn which commemorates the General Kearney's Army of the West camping in the area on-route to California during the Mexican-American War.
Saturday was reserved for watching the Canadian Curling Trials semi-finals, and Toronto vs Seattle for the MLS Cup, so we went for a short walk around town in the morning.
Sunday, we walked over to Home Depot to check out a space heater, as one of ours is making unusual noises when starting. The we watched the finals of the Canadian Curling Trials.
On Monday, we drove to the Hotwell Dunes Recreation Area. It is about 35 miles southwest of Safford, close to Javelina Mountain at the south end of the Whitlock Range. Our GPS recommended a 62 mile route south to Bowie, then back north 19 miles. We ignored the GPS and took a 34 mile route heading east of Safford, then 24 miles south to the dunes. This route was paved all the way to the rec area. The only rationale we can see for taking the long route is that both routes have long sections for which the GPS had no speed limit. Since the 19 mile stretch north of Bowie is less than the 24 mile stretch south of Safford, it picked the route through Bowie.
Once at the rec area, we paid the $3 day use fee, which includes camping if you want. We walked around the little pond in the park, and got some pictures of a roadrunner.
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| Pond |
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| Roadrunner |
Then we drove about 1 mile into the park past campers, to another picnic area, and the hot tubs. On the way we saw a coyote dashing across the road. The two hot tubs were being cleaned. We did a walk along the ATV trails through the dunes for 1.2 miles. We couldn't believe the quantity of animal tracks caught in the soft sand.
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| sample of amazing animal tracks (click for larger view) |
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| Javelina Peak across the dunes |
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| Black-throated Sparrow |
Then we chatted for a while with the campground hosts who were cleaning out the hot tubs before having lunch at the picnic shelter. On the way back to Safford, our GPS, once we headed on the road north, recommended taking Tanque Road, a 12 mile gravel road heading east toward Mt Graham. It looked decent so we headed across. It did have a few soft areas, one which had some potholes in it, but we pulled through them okay. The paved route was better, even if a bit further.
Tuesday, we did some cleaning and stuff in preparation for heading to Tucson on Thursday.
Wednesday, our last full day in Safford, we did the Black Hills Back-country Byway trip from Safford toward Clifton. It is a 21 mile curvy road following the contours of the hills as it climbs. This road was used in the 1920s between the agricultural area around Safford through the ranches in the hills to the mineral wealth of Clifton. The road requires a high-clearance vehicle, not necessarily 4 wheel drive. The speed limit is 15 mph. The hills in this area are the north end of a volcanic range that runs from the Mexican border along the Arizona - New Mexico border.
One of a few ranches along the route.
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| Twin C Ranch in narrow valley |
Then we stopped at the pumice mine.
We stopped at the Canyon Overlook, which had a fantastic 180 degree view. Here is a portion.
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| Looking across the Gila valley |
Later on, we passed an interpretive sign on a curve, and couldn't stop until we got to the communications tower about half a mile down the road. We parked there and walked back to find out it described a water tank on a mesa well below us that we already had a picture of. Coming down the other side, we came to an overlook with signs describing the copper mines in Clifton and Morenci. We had lunch there.
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| Morenci Copper Mine |
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| Chunk of copper bearing ore |
Then we got down into the Gila River valley, crossing the river on the Old Stafford Bridge, built in 1918.
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| Old Stafford Bridge |
At this point, people can put boats in the river to travel the 21 miles down the river to the Dry Canyon boat pull out at the other end of the Gila Box Riparian Area that we stopped at last week. We parked at the picnic area there to take pictures of the bridge, and then took some from the campground on the plateau above the river.
For dinner, we headed over to Jerry's Restaurant. It was pretty quiet since we arrived before 5pm. Good service, and plentiful food. John had the fried chicken from the seniors menu. It came with a baked potato, salad, corn, and corn bread (or texas toast) and four large pieces of chicken (half a chicken). We asked, and the regular fried chicken comes with 6 pieces. Incredible!
On Thursday morning, we headed for Pima County Fairgrounds (where we stayed last winter) near Tucson. On the way, between Wilcox and Benson, we stopped at "The Thing?" . This is the first time it was a good place for a break, although we have driven past it many times.
Joan bought John an early Christmas present.
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