Patagonia in Arizona, March 2022 and March 2023

Blog Resurrection ...

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 were looking for a quiet spot to rest for a couple of weeks before making the 4-day drive home in both 2022 and 2023, and found the small town of Patagonia perfect.  Side note - I highly recommend the bakery in town.

	Our campsite on Harshaw Road. There are many boondocking sites on this road before you get to the Hermosa Mine, as well as on San Rafael Valley Road.  Most sites are big enough for large RVs.
	Javelina on the Harshaw Road. About 8 miles up the road from Patagonia is the old Harshaw Townsite and the cemetery across the road. There is only one building left, but the cemetery is interesting, and there is boondocking at this spot. Read more on Harshaw and other local "ghost towns".
	The Patagonia Museum portrays the history of this town and area of Arizona. This is the jail tree, meant simply to hold prisoners, usually drunks, prior to 1937.
	At Patagonia Lake State Park. Being March, a lot of teenagers and kids were here for their Break. The campground was full, and the beach area was packed. The reservoir is used for swimming, boating, and fishing.
	I fell in love with these Arizona Sycamore trees. Their bark is so white, and against that deep blue Arizona sky paints a vivid picture. Photo taken along San Rafael Valley Road.
	The Fray Marco de Niza Historical Landmark on the Duquesne Road. GPS 31.33894044994597, -110.62755541429092
	The Lochiel Schoolhouse being restored by the Patagonia Museum.
	Mining was and still is prevalent in this area. There is currently an open mine on Harshaw Road, the Hermosa Mine, where they are developing the zinc-lead-silver deposit, and studying the manganese-zinc-silver deposit for possible development. Because of this activity, mining trucks do frequent Harshaw Road. I heard that as of 2024, Harshaw Road is closed to through traffic at the mine site. This headframe is not part of the Hermosa Mine, but left over from the late 1800s or early 1900s. It is between Harshaw and Mowry.
	A drive up Gardiner Canyon looking for new boondocking sites brought us to Kentucky Camp. We had an interesting chat with the friendly caretaker. A cabin can be rented on-site and is often used as a base for hiking the Kentucky Camp Trail. There are also many boondocking sites for any size RV on Gardiner Canyon Road.
	We also drove up Flux Canyon, which required 4x4 in a few spots, but leveled out to a nice, dirt road at the top of the "mountain". This was our view during lunch. The road ended at a locked, gated entrance at the back of the Hermosa Mine.

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.