Kartchner Caverns State Park, AZ

    Last weekend I traveled down to southern Arizona with my family to visit Kartchner Caverns State Park.  My child was given a school assignment to do a report on the State Park so we thought first hand experience would be better than anything else for her.  We found out they have a campground and made reservations.  We also found that all tours of the caverns are guided and should be reserved in advance. 

     When we arrived at the campgrounds we found a dry desert landscape.  Even though the elevation is close to 4600 feet it was not much different than what you would see at my house at 3000.  I guess the winter storms tend to track north of there.  Up in Central and Northern AZ at 4600 feet you would see some juniper and occasional pinion pine but not down south.  It was all mesquite trees, prickley pear and barrel cactus, some yuccas, with some ocotillo thrown in for variety. 

    At the camp ground the scenery is dominated by views of the Whetstone Mountains a ridge of mountains that rises up to close to 8000 feet in elevation.  There are two hiking trails that leave the campgrounds and go up into the hills and mountains.  One is a loop trail that climbs the foot hills and returns, the other is an out and back that goes well up into the forest service land of the mountain range. 

     The main draw of Kartchner Caverns State Park is of course the caverns themselves.  The caverns were discovered by two college students back in 1974 and they kept it a secret for 14 years until they could get it protected by the owners of the land and the State Park Service.  The caverns are named after the owners of the land that the caves were found on. 

    The State Park Service has gone to great lengths to keep the cave as well preserved as possible.  This includes keeping the moist environment stable and free of outside air and dirt.  They control the amount of light and no cameras are allowed in the caverns.  So all the photos of the interior of the cave I had to find online.  You go through a series of sealed doors as you descend down tunnels to the cave entrance.  Once inside you find an amazing display of formations that are still being formed. 

The paths are controlled to keep dirt from contaminating the cave and more than 85 percent of the cave has never been walked on.  When you compare the glistening wet formations of this cave to ones you see at other places that are all dried out, there is no comparison.  Not only is it well preserved but it is world class. containing some rare and in some cases best formations (speleothems) of calcite in the world.  They say it has the 2nd longest recorded example of a soda straw formation.  Soda straws are very thin formations that hang down from the ceiling.  Along with that it has one of the largest columns (Kubla Kahn) in North America.  And amazing flowstones, shields (including parachute, welt, and turnip types),  and draperies to go along with all the stalactites, and stalagmites (including totems and fried eggs), cave popcorn, helectites, and boxwork.

One of my favorite formations was called cave bacon.  I guess it is formed when water comes through a crack in the cave ceiling and with time makes a thin sheet of minerals the length of the crack.  It really does look like bacon. 

  There are two different tours of the caverns that you can take that take you to two different parts of the caves.  Both of them are outstanding and I would advise you to do take both tours if you can.

The visitors center is called the Discovery Center because along with being the place you pick up your reserved tickets or purchase the "walk-up" tickets, and catch the tram up to the cave entrance,  there are many informative displays and exhibits about the history, formation, and discovery of the caverns.  The campgrounds have nice showers and bathrooms, and each site has water and electric.  Most of the campers were in large recreational vehicles, basically houses on wheels.  I'm more of the tent kind of guy myself. 

Here is Holly our fierce guard dog on duty keeping watch over the camp making sure everything is in order.

And of course we were treated with a great Arizona sunset over the Whetstone Mountains to end our last night there.  A fine grand finale to a nice little family adventure.

If you are planing a trip there I recommend reserving tour tickets in advance, because only five per tour are saved for walk-up purchase.  For more information about prices and reservations here is the State Park website.  http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/index.html

Mountain biking at Dead Horse State Park, AZ

Most of you know I live in a town called Cottonwood, AZ in the Verde Valley just south of Sedona. Cottonwood is overlooked by most visitors to the Verde Valley who come to see Sedona and the old mining town Jerome. But Cottonwood has some cool stuff too. In Cottonwood is a place called Dead Horse State Park that has a trail system to hike and mountain bike on. The park is located along the Verde River the only designated wild and scenic river in Arizona. Normally I park outside of the park to avoid the entrance fees and then just ride in on trails by turning right down a steep slope just after I cross the bridge or I go past the entrance station about 50 yards and enter on a trail to the right.

Once in the park there are tons of trails that wind all around connecting the different camp grounds and fishing lagoons. Some of the trails parallel the river among the large cottonwood and elm trees.

And some cruise and wind through the beautiful mesquite groves that are closer to the river and many travel through the desert areas farther away from the river.

Most of these trails are very smooth and easy with a few short steep climbs and in some cases a few small foot bridges to cross small washes
Now all these trails are nice but the real attraction for me is the trail system that leaves the park and climbs the mesas north and east of the park. There are two main trails that head up the mesas. One is called Lime Kiln Trail and it is heads east out of the park and the other one is called Raptor Hill at it generally heads north out of the park.

Both of these trails climb in stair step like increments of short steep climbs with flat smooth areas between climbs. The state park near the river is around 3280 feet in elevation and on Raptor Hill trail you will be at around 3900 when you get to the trail junction with the Thumper Trail after traveling 2.85 miles. Thumper Trail runs southeast from Raptor Hill Trail and connects with the Lime Kiln trail completing a loop. If you are traveling east on Lime Kiln Trail you will reach the Intersection with Thumper Trail after about 2.1 miles. It is 2.25 miles to get from one end of Thumper to the other making the entire loop about 7.2 miles of trail. Add in the time on the trails in the park and you will be doing at least 8 miles to do the loop. Thumper Trail gains and looses elevation several times as it goes in and out of a series of washes. At the Raptor Hill and Thumper intersection there is also a trail that heads off to your left or north this can take you to several longer options. The most noted is the Upper Raptor Hill Trail that was once called Indian Chimney but the name was changed by the State Park people. Upper Raptor can be easy to miss, it is on the right a few hundred yards north down a double track from the Raptor/Thumper junction. Upper Raptor starts by going up a small wash and then climbs up out of the wash to the right. Upper Raptor continues your climb to the top of the mesas and connects to a series of Forest Service roads. The top of the mesas reach an altitude of at least 4300 feet and maybe even more. The top of the Mesa has juniper and pinion pine. Along the steep northeast edge of the mesa are nice views of the Red Rock country. This trail system is great in winter, spring, and fall, but can get hot in the Summer. I often take a break here to enjoy the view and then return the way I came with a long downhill to end the day. By adding some of the forest service roads you can make loops as long as 20 or more miles. And for the very hardy you can take Lime Kiln Trail all the way to Sedona a long trek of at least 15 miles one way. There are two bike shops in Cottonwood If you need repairs or forgot something when you visit.
They are both located on main street not far from the park. One is called Sultana Cycles and is located at 470 S. Main, Suite B. Cottonwood, AZ. (928) 649-3822, Sultanacycles@gmal.com The other one is called Zoomers Bike and Gear and it is located at 743 N. Main Street, Cottonwood, AZ. (928) 202-4941, http://www.zoomersbike.com/ To get to Dead Horse State Park, from I-17 take (exit 287) Hwy 260 to Cottonwood. Hwy. 260 intersects with 89A/Main Street. Turn left on Main Street and proceed to North 10th Street. Turn right (north) on North 10th Street. Continue on North 10th across the Verde River Bridge to the park entrance. The Park also has camping, fishing, hiking, horseback rides, among other things.

The Grand Falls, Arizona

The Grand Falls is a little known waterfall in Arizona east of Flagstaff. I have also heard people call it Chocolate Falls due to the brown muddy color of the water. Grand falls is in a peaceful and surreal location on the edge of the Painted Desert on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Almost every time I have been there I was the only one there. This water fall is 185 feet tall and very wide. There are times in spring when it has a heavy flow and times when it is just a trickle. The waterfall was formed when a lava flow blocked the path of the Little Colorado River and caused it to take a sharp right turn. The falls drop into a deep gorge that then continues on for miles and gets deeper and deeper at it makes it's way to the Grand Canyon. This is really in the middle of nowhere. There are no homes or structures seen for miles. The best time to be there is in early spring when there is snow melt from the White Mountains, and sunset is the best time of day. You could make a nice day of seeing Walnut Canyon National Monument and its ruins east of Flagstaff and then end the day with a trip out to Grand Falls. This is a picture of the falls in the dry time of the year. As you can see it is just a trickle of water compared to the massive flow during spring. But even then it is a beautiful spot and when it is dry we found we could walk right down to the base of the falls and walk across some ledges down at the bottom. The road out there is a rough dirt and cinder road. To get there you take I-40, 15 miles east from Flagstaff. Then take exit 211 at Winona. Drive 2.3 miles north to Leupp Rd. Turn right and drive 20.3 miles to unpaved and unsigned Indian Road 6910 (between mileposts 5 and 6). Turn left and drive along this rough road 9.4 miles to the turnoff on the left, which leads to the falls overlook (do not cross the Little Colorado River). If you try to cross the Little Colorado when it is flowing you could get stuck and there is not going to be anyone to help out there. Grand Falls can also be accessed from Indian Road 70 (instead of 6910). This road is located 15.0 miles along Leupp Rd (5.3 miles before Road 6910). Follow Road 70 8.4 miles to the same turnoff on the left before the Little Colorado River (Roads 6910 and 70 join together just before the turnoff) This panorama was made by splicing together two photos. It is so wide it is hard to get it all in one picture from the front perspective.

Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater

Northeast of Flagstaff Arizona is a place that many people drive right by. They are on their way to The Grand Canyon or Lake Powell. But off the highway there is a loop drive that is packed with interesting things to see. This loop drive has two National Monuments, Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument. Sunset Crater is an area of volcanic activity including lava flows and cinder cones, with some as recent as 1000 years ago. If you are heading north on highway 89 the turn off is about 12 miles out of town on the right. This will take you to the visitors center for Sunset Crater. Along this road you will see some interesting lava flows and beautiful Sunset Crater. Sunset Crater is a great example of a cinder cone and is recent enough to still maintain it's shape. There are some nice short trails out into the lava flows that I feel are worth the short walk that have some interesting features and beautiful scenery. If you continue on through Sunset Crater the road will start dropping in elevation giving way to a less forested area and eventually high desert and you will enter Wupatki National Monument. Wuputki is around 2000 feet in elevation lower that the Sunset Crater area. Waputki National Monument is a large number of old pueblo ruins scattered over a large area. The park service says there are as many as 800 different identified ruins scattered over the large area that incorporates the park. Five of the largest ones are easy to visit and right off the road. The largest one is near the visitors center and is called Wupatki (Hopi for "Tall House"). This one is really two main structures and a round community room and a "ball court" all withing a short walk of the visitors center. The ball court is the northern most one of these that has been found and is usually something found in cultures from farther south. There is also a very interesting geological feature right near these ruins. There is this blowhole of vent that leads underground to some unknown passages and it will either blow air out or suck air in depending on temperature or pressure variables. It blows air out with astounding volume and pressure and is really quite fascinating. A second of the larger ruins in the park is called Wukoki Ruin ("Big House"). This one is east off the main road a bit but really is worth the short drive. Wukoki Ruin is built on a stone outcrop and has a tall tower like structure as it's main feature. It can be seen from a long distance away and is really quite beautiful in it's remote setting. As you head north out of the park and continue the loop there are several more sites to visit. My favorite of these is one of the last ones before you leave the park. It is called Lomaki or "Beautiful House". This one has about a half mile walk out to the main structure at the edge of a shallow canyon. There are several other small structures along the way as you walk out to the largest one. Sometimes I just go in the north entrance and stop at this ruin if I have limited time but still want to see some of it. Here is the National Monument web site for more info.
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/index.htm

I Live In A Cool Place!

I took this picture on my way to work the other day. Thats Court House Butte and Bell Rock as you drive into the Village Of Oak Creek in Sedona, AZ. The next one is some of the locals checking me out. As seen over at Red Rock State Park, in Sedona. Nothing special just another day going to work. Oh yea, and our weather has been in the 60s in mid winter. Life is rough here in central AZ. This one is less than five minutes walk up a trail off a residential area on Soldiers Pass Road
We once had a problem here with graffiti about 800 to a 1000 years ago. This rock is just sitting on the side of Salt Mine Road in residential Camp Verde. This classic Kokopeli Pictograph I found near Sedona out towards Loy Butte and the Honanki Ruins. And then there are some run down abandoned structures here and there. But I'm not complaining. This one is called Palatki. Note the cool medicine wheel pictograph on the cliff above the ruin. Ruins like this are all over the valley here.
This next one is called Montezumas Castle. It pretty well known in fact its one of the National Monuments in my little valley. And once in a while it snows. But really it just makes it more beautiful and it melts by the next day. This shot was taken right from the road, on Schnebly Hill Road, Sedona. Oh and did I tell you that I can trout fish a five minute walk from my house? Yea, I live in a cool place!
Not sold yet?  More on this great place to live. 
http://azjonesoutdoor.blogspot.com/2011/07/verde-valley-i-live-in-cool-place-part.html 

Black Canyon Trail, AZ, Hike and Mountain Bike

I live in a beautiful valley in Central Arizona, called the Verde Valley. The Verde Valley has the Sedona area that people come to see from all over the world. But in my area there are many other things that often get over looked. I live in the town of Cottonwood it is south of Sedona and just south of me is a mountain ridge that reaches heights of over 8000 ft. elevation. On the side of this mountain ridge is a trail that climbs up a drainage called Black Canyon. This trail is designated by the Forest service as Black Canyon Trail #114. Most people just hike up and down the trail and many people descend the trail on mountain bikes, but few go off trail and see the hidden secret. Down hidden in the drainage of Black Canyon is a beautiful waterfall. Being in the desert southwest I think it usually only runs in the winter when there is snow on the top of the mountain. This waterfall is a bit difficult to get to so it keeps the masses away. It is pretty much an all day in and out hike, with some steep climbs and some off trail scrambling, but the hike has many rewards, like great views of the Verde Valley and seclusion from all the tourists that swarm the Sedona trails. This area is wild and has deer, elk, mountain lions, bear, and lots of javalinas.

You start the hike at a parking area at the end of Ogden Ranch Road. If there is any snow on the mountains then the waterfall will be flowing. The trailhead elevation is around 4200 feet. From there you take a ATV track west for about 50 yards and then look for a trail leading down into a drainage on your left. Take this trail and it will take you down into the drainage and across and then starts to climb the other side.

This trail will get somewhat steep and rocky at times as it navigates up and over or around a few ridge lines and drainages to take you southwest and into the Black Canyon drainage. Along here you will have some fine views of the Verde Valley.

Once you turn the corner into the Black Canyon drainage the trail will level out as it traverses the south side of a ridge. This is what the drainage looks like that you will be heading into as seen from the trail above.

Along this area of trail you look for a ridge below you that sticks out south into the drainage with a saddle on it with a fire ring made of rocks. At this point you go off trail down to the saddle and then drop down the steep ridge on the west side of the saddle to find your way down into the bottom of the drainage. You will see a small drainage coming in from the north to the major one. You need to cross this above the intersection of the two drainages. This is a photo of the side drainage that comes in from the north

You cannot cross below the intersection because the drainages drop off into a slot that cannot be crossed. Once past this side drainage you then follow the main drainage upstream. It is a bit of a scramble.

If there is water flowing then the waterfall will be flowing too. You have to find your way around several small cascades and some rock pinnacles along the way that I found to be interesting.

Finally the drainage will turn to the right around a corner and the water fall will come into view. It is a pretty tall waterfall but I'm not very good at guessing heights (maybe 70 feet tall?) Many people also mountain bike down this trail. If you are going to do that you would need a car shuttle. Many people start at the top of the mountain and decent Coleman Trail or Gaddes Canyon Trail and then hook up with Black Canyon Trail as it drops off of Allen Springs Road (FR 413) at 6400 ft. elevation. The top part of the Black Canyon trail is in pine forest and runs along a small stream for part of the way. It it is a total of 7 miles from the bottom at Ogden Ranch road up to the top at Allen Springs Road. The bottom part of the trail is high desert type vegetation and there is more than a 2000 foot elevation climb along this trail.
If you are going to try the downhill mountain bike ride I would suggest you take the Gaddes Canyon Trail over the Coleman Trail. The Coleman trail is for hard core technical riders only. All of this is for advanced riders but Coleman is really very rocky, steep, and overgrown. Gaddes Canyon Trail is around a 2.5 mile drop down to Allen Springs Road. If you combine that with Black Canyon you have close to a 10 mile downhill trip. The Gaddes canyon Trail starts at around 7700 ft elevation so you will descend close to 3500 feet on this downhill trip. When you go down Gaddes Canyon and reach the Allen Springs Road (FR 413) you head left or east on Allen Springs road and the Black Canyon Trail will be on the right after more than a mile. Beware that the brush is overgrown in many places on these trails and you will need protection to not end up all cut and scratched up.
To get to the trail heads: For the bottom trailhead of Black Canyon Trail #114, turn off Highway 260 between mileposts 209 – 210 (south) onto the dirt Ogdon Ranch Road (ok for passenger cars). Follow this road 4.3 miles to the parking lot at the end.
To get to the Gaddes Canyon Trail, from highway 89A you take Forest Service road 104 around 2 and 1/4 miles to road 104B. Turn right and the trail will be on your left just a tenth of a mile before you reach the lookout.