Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona, February 2022

I haven't updated this Blog in seven years, and we have been to so many NEW places in these past years that it seems prudent to do so now.

We had looked for the Sonoran Desert National Monument before, but had never seen any signs for it. I don't really recall any off the interstate driving through in 2023 either. Signs on Vekol Valley Road warned us about drug and human smuggling in the area because it is close to the southern border, but we had no problems in our two weeks here.

	Our initial plan was to camp in the BLM campground at the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site just north of I-8 and west of Gila Bend. But we always prefer to camp in non-developed boondocking areas for better privacy and solitude, so Brad called the BLM office and they recommended camping on Vekol Valley Road which is just south of I-8 about half way between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. We found a great spot about 1 mile south of the highway backing onto a huge arroyo. We couldn't have been happier. There are several spots along the road, and a large camping area about 2 miles from the interstate with a parking lot that Border Patrol seems to use to bring in ATVs. There were about a dozen campers strewn around this area. The road in is dirt/gravel, and accessible for the first few miles by any vehicle. This is the view from our campsite.
	Just past the large parking area I mentioned above, the road forks. If you go left (east), you find the abandoned Vekol Cattle Ranch with several buildings. This outdoor fireplace looks to have malachite or some other mineral embedded in the rock.  GPS 32.807111, -112.244076
	Another abandoned cabin at the old ranch site.
	This structure confused us. It is in the shape of t or cross, and clearly visible on Google Maps. A search on the internet found that it was built as a slaughterhouse when this area was used for ranching, but it was never used and burned to the ground, possibly from a lightning fire.  GPS 32.736886, -112.232749
	Back at the fork in the road, if you go right, and past the burned down slaughterhouse, take another left several miles south (possibly there were signs to the Table Top Mountain Peak Trailhead or Lava Flow South Trailhead, I can't recall - GPS of the intersection 32.718020, -112.228628), you will find some lovely sonoran desert scenery and a small campground NOT suitable for RVs. There is also a pit toilet here, and the trailhead for Table Top Mountain Peak. We didn't climb the trail, but we enjoyed the views while having lunch.
	Being spring, and having been a wet winter, wildflowers were blooming everywhere.