Yesterday, my friend, Chris, took my brother and I out to scout a new area for the spring and summer seasons. We checked out a few locales within this range, and Ben and I got to see a couple cool new spots that Chris has herped with much success in the past. Sadly, I had to pawn my new rig for extra Christmas money (our economy is in the toilet) so all I had was my old Kodak point and shoot. Given that the lens is still smudged in the center, the photos came out less than stellar. But, given that these new possibilities are simply amazing, and numerous (so many that I didn't even take the time to edit any of the photos) I thought I'd share them with you.
I'll start right where we did. We decided to take a peek into Palm Canyon, to see the terrain and hopefully catch a glimpse of some Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. On approaching the Kofas, you are greeted by this:
You can see where the road ends and the hiking begins. These cliffs rise straight up out of the ground, with no surrounding foothills. Truly awe-inspiring, in person. As you reach the trailhead, the view only gets better.
We hiked in, surrounded by cliffs that soared to well in excess of 200m, usually closer to 300.
There were lots of little hidey-holes everywhere we looked.
As we neared the canyon's namesake flora, we were treated to an amazing view...
as well as the world's most unnecessary sign.
Having seen the elephant, so to speak, we headed back down. On the way out, I saw something rather odd. The Saguaro cactus in this area are sparsely distributed. These however were in such stark contrast that they caught my eye. I had to investigate.
Not one, but five saguaros, wrapped around a palo verde. Looking closer, we noticed something underneath.
Jim Poodle and Benji. Makes it easy to find the graves, I guess, but these cactus are way too old to be there for that reason. Probably a hundred years for some of them. The reason why still escapes me.
After making some humorous commentary about how these must be the worst dog owners ever (killing off two dogs in the same year) we were off to see some mines. The first one was a long way into the mountains. Took us two hours to drive about 24 Kilometers. After that was a nice uphill climb. The reward, though, was well worth it.
It was an old mining camp littered with debris. Truly, a herper's paradise. I don't know where to start with these next photos, so I'll start with the buildings and other available cover in the area.
I'm assuming this was once the showering house:
Given the quality of the road, as well as the hike in, I imagine that much of their equipment was built on site.
A crappy photo, I know, but it gives a pretty good overview.
As I said, this place was littered with debris.
It is fairly common, in Arizona, for old cabins in the remote wilderness to be open for for camping, on a first come, first served basis. This one was no different. Anyone can stay here, although the accommodations are less than luxurious. Two rooms. A living quarters...
and a kombuis.
No, the sink and the stove don't work. But, as is customary, there were some souvenirs and unneeded supplies left by the previous visitors.
I, personally, got a kick out of the cigarette cases in that first shot. The only supplies amounted to a beer and a cigarette. My kind of supplies. No matches, though, so bring a light.
On leaving the cabin, we signed the registry, as is the custom.
While flipping through the old entries (looking for other herpers, to be honest) I got a kick out of the third and fourth entries on this page:
We were running out of light, so we decided to head back down and check some other mines on our way out.
No luck, there, but we did get to see some wild burros on the way out. I've never seen them South of the Navajo Nation.
Thus ended another great day out with my brother and my friend. Hope you guys enjoyed.
P.S. I'll post more in the spring, but in the meantime, I can't wait to see more of the stuff you guys are finding in the Southern hemisphere. You guys help me beat the winter-time blues.