Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area

Gila Box RNCA is located just a few miles north east of Safford, Az and protects the Gila River and some of its tributaries.  It is administered by the BLM, and allows both dispersed camping, river floats, and a couple of established campgrounds. 

The access road turns to gravel after a short while, but it is in really good condition.  The road is, how shall we say – interesting!  It is mostly a narrow, one lane road, with a number of very steep sections and some tight hairpin corners, and many of the steeper sections have been hard surfaced.  With careful navigation, any size rig should have no trouble, but beware a couple of branches that may not clear a rig over 13 feet.  Even the Wheeling It ‘Beast’ should make it, with care!  There are a couple of riverside day use areas on the way in, which do not permit overnight camping.  I decided to check out the Riverview campground, which overlooks the river, needless to say, and has about 15 sites, all spaced at least 50 yards apart.  Even though it was a weekend, only 4 sites were occupied, plus a work crew that was checking fences in the area.  Of course these four included the campers from hell!

My plans to sit outside by the fire overlooking the river, while listening to the owl and doves down by the river, watching the bats flit about were kiboshed.  One of the campers, about 150 yards away, at 5:30 pm fired up their industrial generator at full throttle – and it ran continuously till about 4 or 5 am, when it likely ran out of fuel.   Even sitting inside my rig with all windows and vents closed, watching a Nascar race on TV – I could still hear that bloody generator.  Somehow, I managed to get some sleep that night. Luckily, the offenders departed the next day, or I would have.  I just don’t get it.  I have a (very quiet) generator, and have been boondocking full time, but haven’t felt the urge to use mine – since early December!  The campground charges $5, and has garbage facilities and pit toilets, but it has excellent water available.  There is even a lone tap on the roadside, miles from anywhere, which I used to re-fill on the way out.

The first evening was punctuated by the sound of falling rocks and boulders.  After a bit of searching the cliffs on the far side of the river, the offenders were spotted!

There are plenty of great back roads to explore in the area. Al from the Bayfield Bunch would be in jeep heaven here. Many roads wind and fork up into hidden valleys and ridgelines, and some follow the creek bottoms with multiple water crossings.  I counted about 15 crossings in one section I was on.  Keeps the dust off your wheels and brakes anyway!

 

Upstream is the water source for Safford, so the miles of water pipe strung up on the cliff face is an attraction on its own.

Subject to flooding after rainstorms, some of the river bottom is covered in a huge layer of silt – which dries into some intriguing patterns.

Feeling a bit left out, Hailey has resorted to taking some ‘selfies’!

On the Move

I would not have minded spending another day at Whitewater Draw, but my demanding travel schedule insisted that I keep moving.  So on it was into Bisbee where I met up again with my brother and his wife who were checking out the area.  From there a night on a hill overlooking Tombstone, and down into Sierra Vista to visit with a friend and his family.  Part of that visit was a trip back to Bisbee Saturday night, where we took in a gallery opening and sampled some of the interesting culinary options available in town.  Bisbee reminds me of a typical ski town, where all the young staff have service jobs, just so they can ski all day.  Not sure what the young folks do in Bisbee …

Like other turn of the (last) century mining towns I have lived in or visited, Bisbee has some very unique architecture, with buildings and roads clinging to hills and cliffs, and outdoor stairways are everywhere.

After Bisbee and Sierra Vista, my schedule had me booked in for a visit to Tucson, where my brother and I had time for a short hike into the hills just outside town, while his wife was taking an art course.

Next on my schedule was a couple of months of free time , so after a serious look at the maps and weather reports and the toss of a coin, the wheels got rolling to the east again. 

Hot Well Dunes was the destination that came to mind.  Last time we had followed the route north from Bowie, but there are a few intersections to remember, as well as a fair bit of dusty gravel road.  So this time, for some variety and a change of scenery, we went north on 191 till about MP 105 where the one-lane sandy trail called Tanque Rd led us out across the desert.

Turns out, the 12 miles was one of the smoothest, nicest back roads I’ve been on lately, with 360* views all the way across, to where it joins the narrow, paved road leading down from Safford.  Along the way there was a wildlife water tank that collects rainwater, and stores it for dry spells.

I spent a couple of relaxing days with regular soaks, and drives out into the dunes.  Then the weekend snuck up on me and the ATV’s arrived.  Now I don’t mind ATV’s or ATV’ers, and this is an ATV legal campground, but the ones that arrived pulled in right beside me, and pulled out their industrial generator to charge their house batteries immediately upon arrival!  Hello?  Don’t you have power at home, or doesn’t it charge while you drive, and do you need one loud enough to scare critters into the next county?  Ever see that big bright thing in the sky that provides free, silent power to those who ask for it?  A couple hours of that and a kid on an ATV going in dusty circles around my site was enough for me.  I abandoned my last two paid-for nights and hit the road.  Just a few miles away, and off on a side road there was total peace and quiet – Aaaah!

Next day, a pleasant drive into Safford provided the opportunity to re-stock a few items and check online for likely camp spots in the area.  Well we’ve never camped in a box before, but Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area looks to have promise.  Maybe we’ll check it out!