Florence to Kelvin Highway

We have been looking for a new tow vehicle for our motor home, so that we can flat tow instead of using the car dolly, and realized that it would be super handy to have one that we could camp in as well, for short side trips.  So we are in the process of getting that put together.  And while we are playing the waiting game, we have been having fun scoping out places that we might want to take it for some shake-down trips.  

Yesterday, we explored the box canyon area near Florence, AZ. It is beautiful up there, and we will definitely want to do more exploring up in that area.

Today, we decided to explore the Florence to Kelvin highway area.  Our first discovery was this amazing crested saguaro.  They are an anomaly among saguaros, and have scientists completely baffled on what causes this.  I get so excited every time I find one because they are so rare and so beautiful!

The back side of this crest looks like it has a face. 

The saguaros in this area a really big.  I used Steve for perspective.

As we continued down the highway, we enjoyed the views, and stopped several times to explore.  As we got near the paved portion of the road, we came across a beautiful rocky area, so we pulled off the road to take a closer look.

We immediately stumbled upon a little bench, and a five gallon bucket.  The bucket said…Feed the birds-squirrels & rabbits Please!  Inside was black sunflower seeds and a little cup for sprinkling the seeds.  

The bench was a memorial for two people.  Chesley Frederick Blackler (1895- 1970) and Eleanor Locke Blackler (1909 - 2005).  Their ashes were scattered at this sight.  The last inscription on the the bench said:

“Enjoy the View”

What a beautiful memorial to two people who obviously loved the beauty of this area.  I am always amazed and touched by the things you can find in the desert if you just take the time to look.  So We took a moment to sprinkle some seeds for the animals, then sat on the bench for awhile to enjoy the view and appreciate this incredible memorial.

Some more views of this rock outcropping.

Doesn’t the large rock in the back look like a face?  Kind of like Mr. Magoo for those who are old enough to remember that cartoon.

We really enjoyed this area, and will have to come back and explore some more.  

Soon after we left the rock outcropping, the pavement ended and we continued down the dirt road.  The dirt road is in really good shape, much better than we would have thought.  We were anticipating having to work our Toyota Camry at least a little bit, but we didn’t have to at all.  It was smooth sailing all the way.  As we approached the “town” of Kelvin, we noticed a sign for a trail head and a large parking lot off to the right, so we pulled in to check it out.

The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a 750-mile non-motorized trail system that stretches from the Mexican border, through Arizona, north to south, to the Utah border.  Most portions of the trail are open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers.  It is the Arizona portion of the Great Western Trail system that runs from Mexico to Canada.  This is one of the many trail heads for this trail system.

At the trailhead, there is a register required for anyone using the trail.

A well stocked water cache, supplied by local volunteers.

And a shade structure made of tree branches and ocotillo twigs.

We hiked a short distance up the trail, to stretch our legs and take in the views.  I can’t imagine hiking from Mexico to Canada, but I’m sure glad it’s available for anyone that wants to use all or part of it.

Not far past the parking lot, we came to the ‘town’ of Kelvin.  It is a very small residential area, that I think is for the mine workers for the very large mine that is nearby.

Arizona has a huge mining history, and a very active copper mining industry.  This mine is still active, and it’s huge!  It’s hard to watch such a beautiful area turned into mine tailings, but I also understand the need for this precious resource.

We drove through the mine tailings for quite a ways, and then came out again into the beautiful Sonoran desert.  We just can’t get enough of these amazing views.

The area between the ‘town’ of Kelvin and the town of Superior is a large burn scar from the summer fire of 2020.  It closed down many of the White Mountain roads for a good part of the summer, and came very close to a lot of mountain towns, and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum that we love so much!  It will take many years for it to repair itself, but it is the cycle of nature.

Black Cardinals in the Desert

We saw some beautiful red cardinals in the desert today, but couldn’t get any pictures because they were down in the thicket.  But then we looked up, and saw this…we couldn’t figure out what it was, but looked it up when we got home, and it’s a black cardinal. We didn’t even know that was a thing!

Back Home for New Years

Our trip home from Wyoming took a record 19 hours.  But we ate our way through four states, listened to some good tunes and took in all of the sights along the way.  It was good to get back home and see our house, yard, and eventually our friends.  We’ll spend the next week or so in ‘quarantine’, just to make sure we didn’t bring any COVID-19 home with us.  The garden went crazy while we were gone.  We’re pretty excited to enjoy some greens as soon as we can!

The Chinese cabbage and boc choy even decided it was time to bloom.  The bees are super happy about that!  A hard freeze is expected at our house tonight, so fingers crossed that the garden and avocados will pull through. 

Wyoming Christmas

After leaving North Carolina, we had a day of rest in Denver, then we were off to Wyoming for Christmas number two!  Wyoming always gets us in the Christmas spirit with the chill in the air and usually snow on the ground, although there was very little this year, it is so dry!  Steve’s parents joined us for a day in Wyoming, before heading back home and leaving us there for a little more time.

No matter the weather, Wyoming is always outdoorsy and low key.  One of our first activities was antler shed hunting near our daughter and her fiancé’s house.  We didn’t have any luck, but it was a fun way to enjoy the grasslands and get some exercise.

We had a wonderful elk roast Christmas dinner.  Our daughter has a knack for cooking wild game meat and making it taste absolutely amazing!  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of our fabulous meal, but none the less, it was a huge hit!

We enjoyed several gift exchanges as family members came and went from their house. It was so nice to get to see everyone, although our time together was much too short.

Our daughter’s fiancé is a pilot, and has been so busy lately that he hasn’t had time to let his plane stretch it’s wings, so one calm morning he took the plane out for a quick flight, and we met him out on a country road to see him fly.

We spent a little time at the newly opened Black Tooth Brewery in town.  It has by far the best small batch beer I have ever tasted, and the atmosphere is spot on.  Right now it is indoors only, but by summer they should have their outdoor space complete.  I can’t wait for that.

We also tried a Thai restaurant that was new to us, I think it was called Thai Bistro.  It was just a few blocks from the brewery, and was super good!  We’ll definitely be back there as well!

Most of our time was spent hanging out, cooking, doing small projects together and enjoying each other’s company.  It seems like winter in Wyoming is made for that

Before we knew it, the sun was setting on our Wyoming Christmas.  We had been watching the weather, and there were winter weather advisories coming up for the whole next week, so we found our weather window and headed south.  We would have to take the long route to avoid the storms, but were happy to do it, and just appreciated our time here so much!