Expoordition 2011 Thread
- Thread starter cbradley
- Start date
cbradley
Adventurer
I really enjoyed talking with you. I hope to get the chance to hang out more with you in the future.
cbradley
Adventurer
Day 5 - Part 1 - Wickenburg to Crown King
It turns out that those warning labels are actually worth reading. Instead of a calming cup of morning Joe, I created an explosive volcano of house blend. Funny, but messy.
.
I've always been fascinated with Fall branches for some inexplicable reason.
Airing down for the next leg of the journey. The next eighty five miles will be mostly in four wheel drive low, in first gear. Our tires at eighteen psi, certainly made the going more comfortable and the added traction was welcome as well.
At this point in the journey, the landscape had made a decided change from the characteristic Sonoran fauna to the more verdant higher desert greenery.
The occassional gate was our only reminder that people had been along this road in the last century or so.
It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, but the cactus forests we encountered were amazing. We had to take a few minutes to simply enjoy the sight.
It turns out that those warning labels are actually worth reading. Instead of a calming cup of morning Joe, I created an explosive volcano of house blend. Funny, but messy.
.
I've always been fascinated with Fall branches for some inexplicable reason.
Airing down for the next leg of the journey. The next eighty five miles will be mostly in four wheel drive low, in first gear. Our tires at eighteen psi, certainly made the going more comfortable and the added traction was welcome as well.
At this point in the journey, the landscape had made a decided change from the characteristic Sonoran fauna to the more verdant higher desert greenery.
The occassional gate was our only reminder that people had been along this road in the last century or so.
It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, but the cactus forests we encountered were amazing. We had to take a few minutes to simply enjoy the sight.
cbradley
Adventurer
Day 5 - Part 2 - Wickenburg to Crown King
The gravesite of the Isaac Bradshaw
.
A proper monument to Isaac Bradshaw, overlooking his grave.
.
The road ahead, as we embark upon the last leg of the journey to Crown King.
.
Another breath taking moment along the way: more cactus forest highlighted by the buttes of the Bradshaw Mountains.
.
Lead footing it a bit.
.
My favorite shot of the day.
.
Stopping for a late lunch under the only shade we could find. Hummus, flatbread, salame and smoked gouda, a strange combination for sure, but it was wonderful.
.
Ah yes, a fire road, asking for a little speed.
.
Finally made it to Crown King, home of Arizona's oldest saloon and (operating?) brothel. I can't speak to the qualitied of the latter, but the former served an excellent burger and a timely pitcher of cold Blue Moon.
The gravesite of the Isaac Bradshaw
.
A proper monument to Isaac Bradshaw, overlooking his grave.
.
The road ahead, as we embark upon the last leg of the journey to Crown King.
.
Another breath taking moment along the way: more cactus forest highlighted by the buttes of the Bradshaw Mountains.
.
Lead footing it a bit.
.
My favorite shot of the day.
.
Stopping for a late lunch under the only shade we could find. Hummus, flatbread, salame and smoked gouda, a strange combination for sure, but it was wonderful.
.
Ah yes, a fire road, asking for a little speed.
.
Finally made it to Crown King, home of Arizona's oldest saloon and (operating?) brothel. I can't speak to the qualitied of the latter, but the former served an excellent burger and a timely pitcher of cold Blue Moon.
Last edited:
cbradley
Adventurer
Day 6 - Part 1 - Crown King to Prescott
We woke up early Tuesday morning in anticiaption of getting to hang out with the Overland Journal folks later that day. We grabbed a much needed hearty breakfast at the saloon. Though I would like to think that we had the foresight to plan such a thing, we left at an ideal time to catch the morning sunlight filtering through the trees on the way up to Prescott. Though the photographs are but a dim reflection of what we actually saw, they do give an idea of what an amazing morning we had as headed up the Senator Highway.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We woke up early Tuesday morning in anticiaption of getting to hang out with the Overland Journal folks later that day. We grabbed a much needed hearty breakfast at the saloon. Though I would like to think that we had the foresight to plan such a thing, we left at an ideal time to catch the morning sunlight filtering through the trees on the way up to Prescott. Though the photographs are but a dim reflection of what we actually saw, they do give an idea of what an amazing morning we had as headed up the Senator Highway.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Last edited:
cbradley
Adventurer
Day 6 - Part 2 - Crown King to Prescott
As we left the forested area immediately outside Crown King, we started to smell smoke. Initially we figured it was a particularly pungent camp fire, but as the smell intensified, we began to wonder where the forest fire was. It can be seen in the background of several of the photographs below.
.
.
.
.
As we continued on, we realized that we would be headed toward the fire and began to wonder if we needed to rethink ourroute to Prescott. Soon we passed a group of firefighters in full gear, obviously discussing the fire. As it turned out, we had caught the forestry service doing a number of controlled burns that morning. Though our lungs may be the worse for it, we took the opportunity to get close to the burns and get a couple shots.
.
.
Our last views as we were about to hit "slab" (which this neophyte, until recently, didn't know was a reference to pavement), were once again clear to the mountains beyond.
.
As we left the forested area immediately outside Crown King, we started to smell smoke. Initially we figured it was a particularly pungent camp fire, but as the smell intensified, we began to wonder where the forest fire was. It can be seen in the background of several of the photographs below.
.
.
.
.
As we continued on, we realized that we would be headed toward the fire and began to wonder if we needed to rethink ourroute to Prescott. Soon we passed a group of firefighters in full gear, obviously discussing the fire. As it turned out, we had caught the forestry service doing a number of controlled burns that morning. Though our lungs may be the worse for it, we took the opportunity to get close to the burns and get a couple shots.
.
.
Our last views as we were about to hit "slab" (which this neophyte, until recently, didn't know was a reference to pavement), were once again clear to the mountains beyond.
.
nwoods
Expedition Leader
I've been updating my photos as well. Here: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Other/Misc/expoordition/
Updates have been a bit painful. Arizona has not discovered 3G cellphone speeds quite yet. The movie below is a live action video of trying to download the ExPo website on AT&T's Edge network. Watch it a while....its like realtime:
Updates have been a bit painful. Arizona has not discovered 3G cellphone speeds quite yet. The movie below is a live action video of trying to download the ExPo website on AT&T's Edge network. Watch it a while....its like realtime:
nwoods
Expedition Leader
Here are a few photos from my gallery from the past few days:
Dripping Springs canyon - Chris plans his accent up the dry waterfall
Tons of petroglyphs at Dripping Springs
Looking back on the canyon
Dredded Cholla
Really cool sandstone walled canyon wash
The fires outside of Prescott
Working on the rig at OJ's headquarters
Too much gear, and too little space!
Chris fullfills a dream...partially at least (working at OJ)
Dripping Springs canyon - Chris plans his accent up the dry waterfall
Tons of petroglyphs at Dripping Springs
Looking back on the canyon
Dredded Cholla
Really cool sandstone walled canyon wash
The fires outside of Prescott
Working on the rig at OJ's headquarters
Too much gear, and too little space!
Chris fullfills a dream...partially at least (working at OJ)
Last edited:
nwoods
Expedition Leader
Got a late start out of Prescott, but got a lot done digitally. Hit the road around noon. Finished Smiley Rock trail today. Awesome. Really really really cool. Basically driving down a boulder strewn riverbed. Not dirt, just solid rock. Like really big cobble stones. Full overhead tree canopy with fall colors the whole way. Probably took 600 photos between the two of us.
Last edited:
Streakerfreak
Jan-Kee
Awesome guys! It was great to meet you at The Raven last night and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the trip has in store for you two.
nwoods
Expedition Leader
Dinner in Jerome. What a quirky place. Pretty cool though. Will try to tske photos tommorow morning. We are really running short on time. Tomorrow we'll take pavement through Sedona (maybe do Broken Arrow?) to Flagstaff to Williams, then due north to GCNP. We have about 8 hours of driving tomorrow, then 14 hours of driving to Holister Hills in CA on Friday. Whew!
nwoods
Expedition Leader
Between the two us, we got a LOT of great photos today. The Smiley Rock trail in the autumn color season is just superlative beyond all description. Miles and miles of attentive trail driving in one of the most beautiful little wooded gulleys I've ever experienced. The trashcan sized rocks only added to the joy. Here are a few of my photos. Chris will upload more tomorrow. I think he's too tired to finish his images tonight 
I've seen some of his shots though, and they are really good. Mine are just placeholders until he finishes sorting through his hundreds of images.
Near the beginning of the Smiley Rock trailhead. Elevation 7,000 feet. Just beautiful.
With all the amazing fall colors bursting around us, we made very frequent photo stops!
The more famous part of the trail. I would guess there is about 4 or 5 miles of this cobble stone paving. Wonderfully fun. The 4Runner had no problems at all
Chris looking a bit apprehensive as the line is scouted. No problems though. The 4Runner stayed on the tops of the rocks just like we hoped and planned
Rather than exiting east to Jerome through many more miles of trail....in the dark, we opted to head northwest out of the trail and into the beautiful cattle country of Chino Valley...then we circled back into Prescott and took the 89A over to Jerome. MUCH faster this way
I've seen some of his shots though, and they are really good. Mine are just placeholders until he finishes sorting through his hundreds of images.Near the beginning of the Smiley Rock trailhead. Elevation 7,000 feet. Just beautiful.
With all the amazing fall colors bursting around us, we made very frequent photo stops!
The more famous part of the trail. I would guess there is about 4 or 5 miles of this cobble stone paving. Wonderfully fun. The 4Runner had no problems at all
Chris looking a bit apprehensive as the line is scouted. No problems though. The 4Runner stayed on the tops of the rocks just like we hoped and planned
Rather than exiting east to Jerome through many more miles of trail....in the dark, we opted to head northwest out of the trail and into the beautiful cattle country of Chino Valley...then we circled back into Prescott and took the 89A over to Jerome. MUCH faster this way
Last edited: