Crown King, Az

52 mi- 8 hours

   We hauled our rides to Lake Pleasant, and drove up the Castle Hot Springs Road.  In about 8 miles you will find a large staging / camping area.  This is where we unloaded and started our rise in elevation and outstanding sights.

The road that we started out on is pretty good most of the way. It does require 4 wheel drive for a vehicle. We  reached a high elevation where the pine trees grow.  It is cooler up here. There are numerous homes and business in Crown  King. There are some Bed & Breakfast here also. Which would be a good way to see the area, since it takes 8 hrs round trip, including lunch.

We all decided to come back here again.

Harquahala Mountain 21 miles

Harquahala Mountain ride, from the town of Aguila,  Az. (west of Wickenburg) on hwy 60, we turned south on Eagle Eye road, traveling 18.4 miles turning to the right at the sign of Harquahala By way, staging area. There are placks near the restrooms to learn information about this area.
Historic Harquahala Observatory, 5,681 ft elevation. –10 mi one way, 2 hours
   This mountain is the highest peak in the  SW corner of Arizona. The name comes from Native Americans- "Aha-qua-hala" meaning " water there is, high up"  due to the numerous springs.  Volcanic magma rock formed 900 million yrs ago, and the Sonoran desert floor was a shallow sea bed 100 million years ago.

This is a 4 wheel drive road with spectacular views all along the way. There are microwave towers at the top, and old buildings.

After lunch at the top, we took a side trail off to see an old ranching site and a mine.  This was a dead end, but fun checking out the area.