On Saturday, April 24th I departed Denver to go to Arizona to see my buddy @Desert Don and hit the off-road trails near him. My first stop was at a dispersed camping spot north of Moab, not far off of I-70. Good spot for access, but it was a little too close to UT-191 and the train tracks. At one point I was standing in my trailer trying to figure out what motor was running and it ended up being a train going past.



I didn't take the ATV out of the trailer since it was a quick overnight stop. Consequently, there was no place comfortable to sit down and eat. I also slept on the floor. At this stop, I found out the water pump didn't work.


The truck and trailer were swaying badly on the road. I woke up in the middle of the night with the bright idea of parking the ATV in backwards to move some of the weight further forward. That didn't help. I had to replace the brand new Michelin LTX tires with a set of Goodyear Wranglers once I got to Las Vegas. The ride was completely different with the Wranglers.

I spent two nights in Las Vegas while I attended a class during the day. I stayed at the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. It's an OK place but it's too close to the highway, city street and the airport. The flight path of jets is very close to the campground. I'm a very light sleeper. I won't stay there again.

With the ATV out of the trailer I was able to fix a nice sit down breakfast that I ate while reviewing FTE.


With new tires on the truck and a new water pump purchased, I headed towards Dolan Springs, AZ. I found this camping spot ahead of time on Google maps and arranged for an Arizona State Trust Lands permit so I could make use of the location. It looks accessible, but I needed 4Lo to get the trailer over a steep hill.


View from inside the trailer. It was such a nice view that I had to clean the windows to do it justice.


The next day, Don met me at my trailer in his RZR and we took off for the trails.

The "Murals" outside Chloride, AZ.


Looking down on Chloride.


There are hundreds of abandoned mine sites in the area.


Don't fall in, it's a loooong way to the bottom.






We rode to the other side of the valley and hit the Sleeping Princess Trail.


Lake Mohave off in the distance.


Bullhead City and Loughlin way down there.


View from the summit.


The other side of the summit.


This was an easy trail and looked a lot like this the whole way.


This Juniper looked like it had frosting on it from a distance because it was so heavily covered with berries. I had never seen a Juniper so full of berries.


This "bush" looked all soft and fuzzy from a distance, but quite prickly up close.


Wild burros. They weren't very photogenic. I couldn't get close for a good shot.


That was trail day 1.

 

After riding past Chloride, we stopped at the ghost town of Cerbat, AZ.


The trail was more technical on day 2. This was the easy part.


Lunch stop at another mine, above the active Mineral Park open pit copper mine.


The leach field for the Mineral Park mine. It is HUGE!


This was the only real tree for miles around, so I had to stop and take a picture of it.


Part of the trail followed a dry creek bed. Lots of bouldering. Easy with a RZR, not so easy in a Ranger but the challenge kept me on my toes.


Yet another abandoned mine.


A mine on the way down.


The summit for our trip. It was all downhill from there.


It was a great trip. I'm ready to go again! Many thanks to Don for showing me around.

 

Beautiful pics and thanks for sharing. You've inspired me to one day take a trip with the family to Arizona. Gorgeous views. Be safe and have fun!

 

Thanks Jim, Awesome report and trip photos!

 

Nice report Jim. Arizona is a great place to ride and winter camp . Nice pics.

 

Very cool. MOAB is on my bucket list for sure.

 

Great report and pics, Jim. I still feel a little bad that I had forgotten how the trail is coming down off the mountain. There ain’t an easy way down.
And in the Ranger with the bench seat it could not have been pleasant at all.

All the rest that want come to AZ to see the sights, c’mon down! Our little county alone is only 13000+ sq mi. Bring your wheeler and let’s go!

 

Oops, Jim forgot to show a pic of the world famous rock!! LOL


Sits right along the trail above Mineral Park!

 

Oh yeah, Big D*** rock. As I recall, the trail was a bit steep there and I didn't want to stop to take a picture.

 

LOL.... I can only imagine the pics & poses that have been taken with, around, and on that rock. Nice pics, Jim.... Looks like a great time.

 

Great pics Jim! So happy you made the trip and shared the pics with us! Thank you!!!

 

great pics

 

Jim,

You are involved in a lot of very interesting things. Like others have done, any chance that this thread becomes your own personal FTE thread? I'd read it daily.

I love that you took a work, education trip and wrapped something great around it. When I used to travel for work, I loved doing fun stuff with others I was traveling with. I've visited Mount St. Helens, Graceland, and Pier 39 while traveling for work. The worst trip I was ever on was with two women. They took me to a Mall in Bakersfield California. They were so excited about shopping all day and had to purchase extra bags to get their items home.

Great pictures and fun.

Bruce...

 

Thanks Bruce! I just might do that. I'm an IT guy and I can work anywhere that has cell service. Unfortunately, I'm not on an unlimited data plan at this time.

 

Great photos. Looks like an awesome trip
we are hoping to get back soon as well

Keith