Mineral Mountain Road

Here are a couple more of photos from yesterday's ride to Box Canyon...

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Imagine the amount of water needed to pile debris on the bank higher than my Jeep

Better view of the "waterfalls" section of the trail

Box Canyon

I drove my Jeep through Box Canyon today. Although it is definitely doable in a high clearance, 4WD vehicle, there are some obstacles that will get your attention.

The Waterfalls

I had read the old stagecoach depot had been washed away. The good news is it's still there, albeit in a state of disrepair.

Bulldog Canyon West

Joel chauffeured Ralph and I up Bulldog Canyon West to the Bush Highway in his tricked out Jeep...

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The trail is rated 2.5 which means a high clearance vehicle with 4 wheel drive is highly recommended. It also requires an OHV permit which can be purchased online at https://www.recreation.gov/activitypass/AP22844

Entrance to the trail

Where we had lunch

Bra Tree

You never know what you will see in the desert. On our way to Box Canyon, we passed the extremely rare "Bra Tree". Apparently, last night's rain caused it to bust out (pun intended) in full foliage...

I tried to get Lyn to add to the collection, but she was not having any part of it.

Steep Descent

I took an OHV ride with my neighbors to Box Canyon via several ridges with 360 degree views of the surrounding area. I had intended to make a drone video of us going through the canyon, but high winds kept me grounded. Here's a video of Lance going down a very steep and gnarly slope...

 
Unfortunately, the camera never quite captures how intimidating an obstacle like this is

Drought

We have not had any significant rain in almost five months. As a result the trails are covered with several inches of dust. Riders come back into the park looking like racoons. Hopefully, we have a lot of ground water as the ATV wash is being heavily used...

96 Ranch Road

The 96 Ranch Road south of Florence, AZ got its name from an old abandoned ranch...

It appears to have been a nice home years ago

Unfortunately, time and vandals have taken their toll...

On the way to the ranch, you pass a number of huge, 100+ year old saguaros including a very unique half-crested one...

Backway To Mt Lemmon

I took the Jeep the backway to Mount Lemmon from Oracle, AZ. It's a crooked, dirt trail that requires a high clearance vehicle. Although I enjoyed the ride, there were not enough "WOW" moments for me to want to do it again anytime soon.

I thought the paved road coming up from Tucson was much more scenic and would be a good Sunday drive, particularly, in the hot summer months.

Saturday Ride

I joined Lance, Erik and Jim for a half day ride out back in desert. Here are today's photos...

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The scariest part of the snake encounter was watching it coil up under a bush and never once rattle. Apparently, they do not always warn you of their presence.

Kofa Wildlife Refuge

The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in western Arizona is huge at 547,719 acres. We started out touring the southern section of the refuge by running the Big Eye and McPherson Pass trails. Both are very scenic, particularly, in the mountain areas. However, the trails are rough and you have to drive fairly long distances to get where you want to go.

If you are ever in the area, I would recommend visiting the Castle Dome Mine Museum to see what an old mining town looked like in its heyday...

Update (2/28/2024): Unfortunately, I woke up this morning feeling nauseous and unable to eat breakfast, so I am going to head home early. Hopefully, it is nothing serious but I do not want to be out in the middle of nowhere if it gets worse.

Update (2/29/2024): I am feeling better and beginning to get my appetite back. A friend suggested I might have had a bit of the stomach flu that apparently is going around.

Dodged A Bullet

My Polaris RZR developed an intermittent noise while returning from a recent ride. My neighbor, who owned a Polaris dealership, thought I might have a bearing going bad in the transmission, so I took it to the local RideNow for service. The first thing they told me was if they had to replace the transmission, it would be $3,200!

Saturday, I got call from the service manager saying "you are not going to believe what the problem was". It turned out that the left rear wheel was about to come off. It was missing one lug nut and the other three were just hand-tightened. The threads were not damaged, so all they had to do was button it back up and I was ready to go. Instead of $3,200, I was able to get out of there for $80 (they charge $165/hour for labor).

OHV Crash

The only thing I know that travels faster than the speed of light is a rumor in a RV park, so when one of our residents rolled his side by side today, it was not long before everyone in the park knew about it. Fortunately, the driver was not seriously hurt (which speaks well for the safety of these machines), but I suspect he will have some aches and pains tomorrow. 

Note cholla cactus in the windshield and tires
(click on image to enlarge)

Angel Wings

I rode shotgun with Clay and the Jeep group up to an old asbestos mine in the mountains north of Globe, Arizona that from a distance looks like angel wings...

The last couple of miles of the trail is a rugged, rocky section that requires a high clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle with lockers and ideally some armor as you will do some "rock polishing" along the way...

There were also some serious off-camber spots that created a bit of a "pucker factor"...

Here's the view from the mine...

Lastly, this old mining equipment has become the victim of a lot of target practice...

Tree House

I joined the park's Jeep group for a ride to an old miner's cabin where the tin roof was built around a tree. Hence the name "tree house"...

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Most of the trail was rocky shelf roads with panoramic views of the mountains...

Once again, my old body does not tolerate rough terrain as it once did. It is going to be a two Ibuprofen night!

Update (11/25/2023): I just discovered the ability to capture screenshots from my Garmin Tread Overlander. Here's a graphical image of the ride...

Garmin Tread Overlander

For over 10 years the Garmin Montana has been my go to GPS for off-road travel. However, time has taken its toll and it is beginning to fall apart. In looking for a replacement, I came across the Garmin Tread Overlander, a GPS with both on-road and off-road features. It even has a Garmin inReach satellite communicator which allows you to get help in emergency situations when cell service is not available. It's a bit pricey, but provides the latest in GPS capabilities.

Eastern Oregon

Now that I do not have any doctor's or dentist's appointments for several months, I have started looking for places that I might like to visit this summer. Here is a video from TrailRecon showing a beautiful area in eastern Oregon where I have never been...

Checkout the photos on "A Hiker's Guide To The Owyhee Canyonlands".

Tough Decision

This guy had to choose between getting a new OHV or a new pair of underwear. Clearly, he made the right choice...

Apache Trail

One of my favorite drives was the Apache Trail (Route 88) from Tortilla Flat up to Roosevelt Lake. Unfortunately, landslides closed the road several years ago. I had heard that the state was not going to re-open it and now, after looking at the following drone video, I can understand why...

RZR Accessories

Now that I have a RZR again, I am always looking for ways to improve the looks of the machine...

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Polaris RZR Trails & Rocks

I just purchased a 2019 Polaris Trails & Rocks from a friend here in the park. I had been thinking of buying another side-by-side for a while, but could not justify the price for a new one. Finding a used, well maintained machine made the decision much easier.

The Trails & Rocks model was made for rock crawling and comes with a lot of options that are add-ons for most Polaris vehicles including a winch, rock sliders, skid plate, gps, etc. Plus, the original owner put a lot of extras on it as well. With the Jeep and RZR I have the best of both OHV worlds. All I need now is some warm, dry weather to go off-road again.

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