March 20 - April 8, 2024
This was a three week trip, centered around day hikes in the Tuscon and Pheonix areas in Arizona.
Set 1 documents the 5-day drive to get there. Every night we'd camp close to or in a state park and start the day with a 1-hour walk to loosen up our bodies before beginning a day of driving. Our RV convoy was made up of three vehicles: Johnny & Coulette in their truck & trailor, Brigitte & Anne in their truck & tents and Case & I in our Sprinter van. We met up with the other six Chilliwack Outdoor Clubers in Tuscon.
Day 1 - March 20
This was a long day, needing to get groceries after crossing the border and then driving over 8 hours south on the I-5 to Smith Rock State Park in Oregon. By the time we got to Skull Hollow campsite beside the park, the sun was going down.
Day 2: Oops. Forgot to charge those walkie-talkies. That was a mistake that we didn't make twice. They sure came in handy on the trip. Thanks, Johnny.
We started the day by doing a 1-hour walk in Smith Rock SP, just as the sun was rising.
You could see the general layout of the land from the high parking lot.
This is a rock climber's mecca. One of the three most difficult climbs in the world are to be had here.
These rocks were formed by a major volcanic explosion, that left a layer of half a mile of ashes which hardened and eventually formed into rock tuff. Later fluid basalt flowed from other eruptions which pushed the Crooked River up against the spires. Wind and water shaped the tuff into the spires of today.
4-pic slider
We dropped down from the parking lot to the lower valley surrounding the spires. Then we turned right after crossing the bridge and walked round the corner to get a look at that area.
Ancient Ponderosa Pines.
We spent the night close to the I-5 at the Sycamore Grove (Red Bluff) campsite.
Day 3:
This was a lovely walk that started from the campsite.
Majestic oak trees.
Common Fiddleneck flowers
We did some boon-docking on our third night in Carrizo State Park.
We were just a bit too early for the spring flowers.
When Soda Lake road changed from asphalt to dirt, we weren't so sure about continuing. But Johnny said it was OK. We just hoped it wouldn't rain because that would change the road from dirt to slippery mud. By the time we got to Traver Ranch, we were done with driving for the day. A parking area large enough for our group, equipped with outhouses, made for a good spot in this remote area.
Happy hour.
Sunset.
So peaceful.
Day 4:
Nuts. It rained. Its a good thing we hadn't driven any further the day before. Although my curiosity had been pulling at me. What would that "Painted Rock" have looked like by the huge Soda Lake at the end of the road?
The San Andreas Fault ran parallel to Soda Lake Rd.
Leafy Arnica.
The mud stuck like glue to the tires.
Drying out the tents at a rest area before getting onto Hwy 58 east, then taking Hwy 40 in Mohave NP.
A brief stop to check out the military graveyard.
Arrived at Hole-in-the-Wall campsite in Mohave National Park.
No sooner had we parked the vehicles and we were on our way to hike the 1-hour Hole-in-the-Wall trail. Burning some energy after a day of driving and stretching our limbs felt so good.
Hedgehog Broom
There was no trail leading up the slope to the hole-in-the-wall. But that didn't stop Brigitte & I.
The trail looped around to the back.
Nope. The rope wasn't long enough. So on went went, through the hole-filled cliffs.
Up & out.
The setting sun shed soft light. This night proved to be horrendous for "the girls". It was so windy, that Brigitte's tent pole broke. She gave up, threw her tent in the back of her truck and spent a sleepless night in it. She should've taken up Coulette's offer to sleep in their trailor. Not only was it extremely windy, but temperatures had plummeted down to 2C!
Day 5 - Brigiette & Anne split and headed straight for Tuscon where we reconnected at the campsite. They got a real cool hippie-style hotel room close by, glad to not have to deal with tents for a bit.
We did the final stretch of highway to Tuscon Koa Lazydays campsite where we united with the other half of our group who'd left a week earlier to spend time in Palm Springs. From Hwy 40 east we took Hwy 95 south to Hwy 10 east and then southeast.
With both Smith Rock and Carrizo SP,s we found we didn't have near enough time to explore there but it did give us a good taste of the surroundings. We plan to revisit them some day...
Trip to be continued in set 2...
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