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.

Camp Jackson, Blue Mountain, Blanding, Utah 10-18-2015

Blue Mountain, Camp Jackson, Blanding, Utah   20 mi
Larry and Geri rode out on Friday 10-16-15 20 mi.
We staged on the Devils Canyon Campground Road, and rode out on #92, the Lower Bulldog Canyon Trail, Nice sandstone bluffs, some water crossings, ponderosa and white pines.  We turned north on trail #1, which passed thru some aspen. (There is a trail head and restrooms to the right) We turned west/left on the road on #92 and quickly took the Camp Jackson Trail, it is not marked on the sign as a 50" trail, but it is on the map. 

 

We have found, if it is marked on the map, there is an obstacle down the trail which makes larger OHVs impossible to go.  There was one drop off, built up with some branches, which would be difficult if you were over 52inches.

trail was changeling and beautiful, scrub oak, aspen, pines and long vistas along the way.  We came to a road (Johnson Creek Road) where there was thick aspen and a few hunting cabins.  We rode to the Marvin Tunnel, which is almost covered up by falling dirt and trees, too dangerous to go into. Since there wasn't a way back to our staging area we had to double back on the same trail, but it was just as interesting. 

 

Brenda, Az

  We boondocked near the tiny town of Brenda, East of Quartzsite, Az.  We have been in this area several times, but we always find new trails to ride and great views and finds to see.  A ride to Ray Hoover Memorial.

  The next day we visited some historic petroglyphs, There are 20 in this area. We rode to the huge slice of fault line, which is 30 x 60ft.  To see the St Maria Grotto is quite a site. Many times there will be fresh flowers, candles and silk flowers.  Off we went to the mountain range to the south and tot the Eagles Eye Lookout

Returning back to camp, we passed “Princess Geri Castle”- our name.  Visited a Banded Rhyolite mountain.

Day 3, We went to the Black Beauty Mine, the Mule Deer Valley.

The last day we rode to the Apache Cabin, filled with fun things, laundry out back too. Then we luckily found our way to the Dripping Springs.  This is a really cool place. It was used in the 1880’s during the mining time.  There is water dripping to this day. There ae 100’s of petroglyphs on all the rocks next to the spring.

On the way back to camp, we drove up the mountain with towers on top, boy could we see for miles.