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We turned off Hwy 191 heading deeper into the Apache National Forest. The trusty Road Atlas has never lead us astray; we've become experts at discerning decent camp spots along squiggly unimproved roads. There seemed to be quite a few in this area, but the sun was long gone and as of yet we had nowhere to stay. We've had some pretty close calls before and unfortunately know it's no fun sleeping in the back of a rental. The road ahead was quickly deteriorating. Before long we were creeping down a gnarley, bolder riddled path only a few inches wider than the truck. Complete with a steep drop-off and 20% grade, this was easily the worst road we'd ever driven on. At last we made it to the bottom and less than a mile ahead was a perfect spot to make camp. I strongly believe in a little something called 'Camping Karma'. Leave the area a little better than you found it, leave no trace as much as possible, and always leave extra fire wood for the next people. Thankfully someone had returned the favor and left us a nice big pile of fire wood, roasting sticks and a large log that made for a perfect bench.
That night was the coldest of our trip. There was frost on the ground the next morning and thermometer in the truck read 32 degrees. A blanket, two thermal pads and our sleeping bag are all we had, but thankfully we stayed very warm snuggling all night.
We got back to the main road and continued heading south to Tuscon. In less than 100 miles we were out of the dense forest and back to dry, flat desert. I thought the desert would be an barren wasteland, but infact it's quite an astonishingly beautiful sight.
A few hours later we arrived in Tuscon. We had so many options at that point, but finally decided to visit Colossal Cave. The tour was about an hour long. Pretty interesting formations inside, and our guide told us the story of 3 bank robbers who once used it as their hide out. I was advised to turn my hat around so as not to run into any 'noggin-ites' - those things you hit your head on while exploring caves. :)
After Colossal Cave we drove up into the mountains to the northeast of Tuscon for some great views of the city below.
Realizing there was only an hour of sunlight left we quickly found a suitable trailhead nearby and loaded up our gear. We hiked along this trail which was actually a dried up river bed. About a mile in we veered off the trail up a small hill and came upon another awesome camping spot.
Thursday morning we hiked about 3 miles to the top of the mountains between us and Tuscon. We took quite a few pictures and spent some time gazing around the valley below as the sun warmed us up. On the way back to our camp site I managed to kick a cactus by mistake. BIG MISTAKE! Those barbs went right through my shoe and sock right into my toes! Mother #&@%!!! That hurt!
An hour later we were back at camp and packing things up. Three full days without showers and we had the stank to prove it! By the time we got back to the truck I couldn't take it any more. I stripped naked, grabbed our last gallon of water and gave myself a refreshing shower in the middle of the parking area. That was the BEST!
We had a few hours to kill before we needed to be back in Phoenix. We drove out to the Saguaro Wilderness and took some really fun ScenicBoys photos. I love the contrast between soft skin and the spiny, poisonous, jagged desert.
I wish I could show you more, but we're saving them for something much bigger later down the road. But here's another (fully clothed) one!
Back to Phoenix that night for SHOWERS, sushi, drinks and dancing. What a fun time! The next morning we were on a plane heading back to Seattle. As we made our final descent through what seemed like a vertical mile of cloud cover, we looked at one another and sighed, "When do we move?"
Arizona has become our new favorite place to adventure! We were blown away by the amazingly drastic reigns, sensational desert colors and vast beauty of the areas we visited. We wanted to see, experience and absorb everything we could in the week we were there; hitting up Phoenix, Sedona, Route 66, the Apache National Forrest, Saguaro Wilderness, and Tuscan on our Road Trip around the state.
Saturday morning we landed in The Valley of the Sun. It was 90 degrees by noon and we had the windows down and our sunglasses on as we drove across the city to my wonderful friend Lynne’s place. We are very grateful that she opened her home to us. When night fell our craving for whiskey and eye-candy set in so we drove downtown to Club Amsterdam. This swanky club had tons of good-looking boys and a beautifully lit garden patio that kept us entertained. After an hour or so, we met a Jockey named Joe who then took us to a Cowboy bar called Charlie’s. We had such a blast at this place. It was twice the size of Amsterdam and loads more fun. Cowboy hats and boots everywhere, they were even line dancing to songs from Pink and the Scissor Sisters. Sounds odd, but it was fantastic!
Sunday
was spent checking out the rest of the city and deciding on the places
we wanted to visit on our three day Road Trip. We knew we wanted to
camp in three different places and see a variety of landscapes across
Arizona. We went to REI to do some cross-referencing of hike books to
our Road Atlas and getting Ranger Station phone numbers. An hour later
we left pretty confidant that we had an awesome trip ahead of us.
Early
Monday morning we left Phoenix and headed up north toward the Red Rock
country of Sedona. On the way up we noticed in the Road Atlas that we
were going to be passing the Montezuma Ruins. The sun was high so there
was plenty of time to make it to the trailhead. The ruins were pretty
cool. A large prehistoric native castle built on the face of a cliff
wall.
Continuing on to Sedona we found the Natural Food Store, Post Office and the Ranger Station easily enough. We got very helpful suggestions from a Ranger about a hike in Secret Canyon. As we drove on a backcountry road right into the heart of the Coconino National Forest, Garet and I were like gitty little kids, so excited to get outside and play. The crazy, red, layered canyon cliffs and rock formations had us bright eyed and pumped to get as deep into the desert wilderness as we could. A few miles in from the trailhead we found ourselves in the convergence of two canyons and an expansive valley, with absolutely no sign of civilization for miles and miles. The sun was setting as we set up camp on the red sand, and just as Garet lit the campfire the sky seemed to catch fire too. Magnificent Oranges, Reds and Pinks filled the sky all around us. Who needs TV when you can watch a show like that?!
The next morning we broke down camp and headed back to our truck early because we knew of another short hike that we wanted to check out. This one was a natural sandstone arch called Devil’s Bridge. The ascent up was beautiful enough, but when we got to the top we were completely awestruck. For a while it was just Garet and I enjoying this Red Wonder, when a Yoga type blond woman walked onto the arch with me. I didn’t pay mush attention to her till she started burning sage in a dish shaped seashell. I asked her what she was up to and she told me, “This is the best place to come to be cleansed and opened to the gifts of Mother Earth.” Then she asked if I would like to be cleansed. What a truly spiritual experience! My hands were stretched out toward the sun as she wisped the sage smoke around me and asked that the Earth guide and open up to me. The whole cleansing took about five minutes and afterward I felt tingly and kind of high. I gave her a hug and she told me it was no coincidence we met here. She then held the shell up toward Garet who was on the other side of the arch and asked that Mother Earth cleanse him too. Meeting her was a highlight of the trip I feel I will never forget.
The next 7 hours we spent on the road driving up to Flagstaff, across the barren desert on old Route 66 (now I-40), then down into the Apache National Forest. By sunset we were tired of driving, we had no set place to camp, and we were loosing daylight. So like we do, we found a forest road in the Atlas and drove into the (Apache) forest and hoped to find a clearing that suitable for camping. But darkness fell fast and we were still driving...
Iron Horse :
Float On (Pickin' on Modest Mouse)
Blind Melon:
No Rain
Neon Trees:
Animal
Tommy James & Shondells:
Draggin' The Line
The Who:
Join Together