Montezuma’s Well

Seems like it would have been a nice place to live back then
A yawn to show her displeasure at not being allowed to go swimming

This is one of those finds that come from following a brown sign with white lettering. Back on Hwy 17 heading north we see the sign and make the decision to check it out. Who hasn’t heard of Montezuma? And this is his well! Cool, let’s go see what we find. After a short drive on …

Mingus Mountain Wilderness

Does it even hold water
My Tacoma
I parked out of sight of the access road
First glimpse of the area
One of several piles of garbage left behind by previous visitors
One of several piles of garbage left behind by previous visitors
a pile of horse dung left in a firepit
No, I really don’t to use your horse’s dung as fuel
broken bottle
A Lot of this
A pile of garbage I collected
After 30 minutes of pickup. The pile eventually grew
dog sitting on her pad next to a roaring campfire
5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it
2nd toilet of the day
a wooden toilet box in the middle of nowhere
2nd toilet of the day

About an hour after driving away from Arcosanti we find our way up the narrow access road out of Clarkdale and arrive in downtown Jerome. We don’t specifically know where we are going to stay tonight so we can’t stay long but we have a couple of stops we always make when in town, Caduceus Cellars and The Spirit …

Arcosanti

A couple Arcosanti cast windchimes
A couple Arcosanti cast windchimes
Arcosanti entrance sign
Sign at the entrance

After we drive away from the Old Airstrip we get back on Hwy 17 heading north. We’re starting the day with the Chuck Berry classic “No Particular Place to Go” as our first road tune as usual. Keeping in mind our principle about brown signs I notice one that says Arcosanti which brings back memories …

The Old Airstrip

BLM info sign
BLM Info Sign
a pile of garbage I collected

After a lazy morning at the stabby/spiky things campsite we’ve arrived at the self-storage place in Glendale later than I would have liked. It takes a couple of hours to go through the stuff and decide what comes and what stays in storage and then offload into the storage unit and rearrange what remains. We’ve …

Camping Among Stabby Things

bit of cholla catus stuck to my finger
It attacked me when removing it from her paw
piece of cholla cactus stuck to my Asolo boots
They tenaciously clung to my Asolo boots
Willow with a look on her face like I have just beat her when all I did was put her Ruffwear booties on
She is never a fan of the booties when they first go on
Sheltered from the wind. Not another person for miles.
Sheltered from the wind. Not another person for miles.
Willow wearing her Ruffwear booties
See, I told you the booties are a good thing
Panorama
Panorama, Click for full size.

We’re continuing on our way to Glendale to drop a load of stuff off at the storage unit. Our next stop after Barstow is up in the hills off Hwy 72 and Vicksburg Pit Road in Vicksburg, AZ. The Free Campsites website has told us about dispersed camping options there on BLM land but we pushed further up …

Sawtooth Canyon BLM Campground, Barstow, CA

The Sign at the Entrance
The Sign at the Entrance
Willow standing on top of a concrete T-Rex Skull
My Conquering Hero

About 17 miles out of downtown Barstow, CA, on the opposite side of Barstow Rd/Hwy 247 from the New Jack City rock climbing area is the BLM’s Sawtooth Canyon campground. It is reached by a lightly washboarded well maintained dirt road. A 4×4 or high-clearance vehicle is not needed. Once we arrive at the campground …