Our Arizona Trip 2007

Saturday January 27^th 2007 Ron Stolp and I (Kelly Allen -webmaster) both from B.C. Canada arrived in Wickenburg, Arizona and met up with a riding friend of ours Darrell Brown also from B.C.

Darrell arrived a week before us and found a great place to camp just North of the Rodeo Fairgrounds out side of town. You take the turn just past McDonalds to find the Rodeo grounds. Now you can camp there for $5 a day or you can drive up past the Rodeo grounds into the BLM lands and camp for no fees. It is a lot like the crown lands we have in B.C.

Our campsite is great, out in the middle of the desert surround by cactus and coyotes. Trails for miles. The ground here is pretty good for riding mostly sandy dry riverbeds.

Below is a picture of our Camp. You can barely see our trucks and trailers. We have two large corrals for the horses.

The sunsets are fabulous different every night. A GPS is a must out here. We have found are way back to camp every time out with the GPS. Every ride seems a little different up through sandy red rock canyons, to rocky peaks. Below is a picture of me on my mare Zanda over looking the whole valley.

Yesterday we took a ride over the hills to an area you would only see in the old western movies. There were old and new abandon mines. We rode through cactus and over rock cliffs and found many mines. The rabbits here are the size of coyotes. You have to watch for the Cholla cactus as it is named the jumping cactus and can imbed into the side of your dog or horse. You need a comb to pull them out. The dogs find out fast how to avoid them and how to remove them.

Below is a picture of Ron, Darrel and I by one of the large cactus. It takes 75 years to grow its first arm. Once the first arm comes then more will grow.

We plan on moving camp soon and heading up to Cave Creek, Arizona. I have been told there are some springs there. Great riding they say. So keep posted on the web for more pictures of our trip to Arizona. Below is another shot of our Wickenburg campsite.

Below is a great shot of Darrell on Bailey and then a picture of Darrell on Ginger.

Last night at our campsite in Wickenburg we had a full moon. Below is a picture of our campsite.

We headed out of town on Friday Feb 2 2007 for 7 Springs just past Cave Creek. The road to 7 springs was like the road to Hanna on the Island of Maui. After driving up and down and all a round we arrived at the 7 Springs campsite. It was not what we had expected.

The springs where full of green slime and there was no real campsite for the horsy set.

So we decided to head south towards Apache Junction. It was dark once we got to Apache Junction. We had nowhere to stay, the horses where tried from another long day in the trailer. We came across a Ghost town just before the Lost Dutchman campsite on the Tonto National Park Mountains. We saw a sign for overnight horse boarding at King Stables so pulled in. The owners had a couple stalls for our horses and said we could park our rig for the night. When we got up in the morning we saw a beautiful site. One I had seen in the movies. It was the Superstition Mountains.

These Mountains are right above this ranch. We where so over whelmed by this place we asked the owners if they would let us stay longer and if they had room for our friend Darrell and his two horses. The answer was Yes…

So I called Darrell back at Wickenburg and told him to pack up and head towards Apache Junction. You can’t miss the campsite it was the only Ranch across the street for the Ghost Town on Hwy 88. The riding is great. Below is a picture of Ron and our two girls in the Mountain range across from Superstition Mountains.

Darrell arrived with his horses in the early afternoon. He set up camp right beside us and we had a BBQ chicken dinner and watched the sun go down over the hills above the Ghost town.

Today we plan on riding to the edge of the Superstition Mountain range then over to the Ghost town Saloon for Lunch where you can watch a real gun fight and they have hitching rails for your horses.

Below is a picture of the Ghost Town Goldfield

If you every want to feel like you live in the Old West Apache Junction is the place to be. You really feel like you are in the real west. The scenery around here is fabulous.

Below is a picture of a sunset ride we did a couple days ago. Ron and Sienna with the Superstition Mountains in the background.

The next picture Darrell took of Ron and I at sunset. This picture was taken the same night as the picture above.

After a long ride we head over to the Old Saloon at Ghost Town Goldfield where everyone ties their horses to the hitching rail and has a cold beer.

Above is a picture of Darrell Brown and our horses with the many other local horses tied to the Salon’s hitching rails. They have live country music on weekends in the afternoon on the outside patio. This is a fun place to go but watch out for the odd drunk cowboy.

”Beer for my horses and whiskey for my man”

Below is a picture of the Superstition Mountain just before sunset.

Yesterday we took a ride with 13 other riders from Camp. They came from every part of North America. We did a ride to a spring nestled in a huge boxed canyon. It was a 4-hour ride that took us through canyons and over dried creek beds. Beautiful ride.

Tonight we have a BBQ at King’s Stables. They are cooking the hamburgers for us all.

Up-date February 14th 2007 (Happy Valentines Day !!)

Saturday Feb 11^th we packed up and left Apache Junction for Catalina State Park and Tombstone Arizona. The park is a great place to camp. $15.00 a night corrals are first come first serve. We where the only horse campers at the park. There were lots of day riders hauling into the park. The park has good trails. Some are steeper then others.

Below is a picture of our campsite at Catalina Park at sunset.

I have never seen such huge cactus.

Below is a picture of a cactus we called the monkey cactus. The horses look like spotted bugs next to the huge cactus.

We had a storm one evening when we where at Catalina Park. The rainbow lasted about 40 minutes.

Below is a picture of the campsite with the rainbow.

We left Catalina on the 12^th for Tombstone, Arizona. Now there is the real west. We rode the same street as Wyatt Harp.

Above Darrell and Ron riding Sienna and Zanda just before they tried robbing the Tombstone bank (hehehehehe)

Dangggg the bank was closed on Mondays…. Their heading back to the bar…

Below Ron and Kelly riding the main street of Tombstone Arizona.

Well we headed back to Apache Junction for a couple days before heading north towards home.

We got back to Apache Junction but King’s ranch was full so we headed over to the Ghost Town “Goldfield” and camped there for two nights.

Below is a picture of our campsite at Goldfield. We where “Camping with horses”.

You can camp at Goldfield Ghost town for $15 US a night $7 for each corral extra.

Below is a picture of Darrell Brown robbing the Goldfield train in Apache Junction.

We had to leave Apache Junction because the law was after Darrell. We did not want to be linked to that…. He is hiding out somewhere in Apache Junction for the next few weeks looking for gold.

Below is a picture of the OUT LAW Darrell Brown on his horse Bailey taken the day before we left Apache Junction for Sedona.

We had a lot of fun camping with Darrell. We where sorry to leave Apache Junction but we had more of Arizona we had to see before heading home. So we packed up and said goodbye to the OUT-LAW Darrell Brown left for Sedona. We will be heading back in 2008. We can hardly wait for next winter.

Below is a picture of Sedona. What a beautiful place. The town of Sedona reminds me of the village of Whistler B.C. lots of Galleries and shops.

We headed out of town on Hwy 89A South about 6 miles until we came to 525 then we turned right into the Coconino National Forest. We followed 525 until we came to a junction (all gravel road) we then went left on 525C up about 7 miles to a beautiful spot we camped for two nights. Camping is available in any National Forest. You may have to buy a pass. Just make sure you clean up well after you. You can camp almost anywhere within 100 feet of any trailhead.

Below is a picture of our campsite in the Coconino Forest.

You can ride for miles. This forest is over a million acres. The red rocks in the background have Indian caves in them. We saw signs of the wild Boars. (Havoleanas?spelling?) Three big deer crossed our path coming back from our ride one day. Sienna(Ron’s horse) had never seen deer move. She got a little up and wanted to follow them.

Below is a picture of Me on Zanda with the red cliffs background.

This is a beautiful place.

We only saw about three cars the whole time we camped out. We saw a few ATV go by so we had no one to take a picture of us. Ron set up the camera in a red canyon to get a picture of us. Below is the picture.

The weather was beautiful in Sedona. The first night was a little windy but sunny. Not as warm as Apache Junction but still lovely.

The sunsets where lovely too. The sun hitting the red rocks at sunset was a site to see. Below is a picture just before the sun went down.

Well we made it to Las Vegas on the busiest day in Las Vegas history. It was the NBA Basketball All-Star game week. We managed to see a lot in the two days we where here. My feet are sore and tired.

Below is a picture of “New York New York” in Vegas.

Below is the Belleageo ? Ever ½ hour they have a water show.

Now we are on are way North and the clouds a head look like rain…Yakkkkkk

I really didn’t want to ever leave Arizona. I can hardly wait until next year. We will return.

Keep posted for more pictures….

Also click pictures below for larger images

Below are pictures of Wickenburg

Below are pictures of Apache Junction

Below are pictures of our trip down to Catalina State Park just North of Tucson.

Below is Tombstone, Arizona. This Town is a Ghost Town that some great Movies are now shot in. You can ride your horses down the middle of the dirt street.