This scenic highway is rated as one of this country's top ten scenic biways. It travels south to north along the eastern portion of the state.
From Clifton north to Alpine it's also called the Coronado Scenic Biway, as the Spaniard is assumed to have traveled this route looking for gold to exploit from the Natives. (He was also alleged to have traveled through Texas' Panhandle)
The 120+ mile route starts at an elevation of just under 3000' to over 9100' at Hannagan Meadow, an alpine meadow 23 miles south of Alpine. The road ascends and curves around scenic vistas and trailheads that go on forever.
This route used to be called US Highway 666. We discovered why.
We stopped briefly in Safford for lunch and a short break at the Forest Service station, a small office co-located with the Bureau of Land Management and an outpatient clinic on the west side of town. (Older websites had the Forest Service on the second floor of the town's post office.) I bought a map of the forest, asked for trail conditions, and the woman behind the counter could only tell me that a tornado last winter took down a lot of trees.
This region is well-known for rockhounds. Towns along the way were all former mining towns; Morenci being still a very active town with a copper mine two miles long and a half-mile deep. The highway drives across the miles which seems to take forever. Phelps-Dodge, the mine-owner and a big name in Arizona Mining history, practically built that town.
North of Morenci the road quickly steepens and the flora changes from dry desert brush to Ponderosa pine and spruce. When we reached the 6000' elevation I could even feel the cooler breeze blowing.
At times the speed limit does not allow drivers to go faster than 35mph around tight curves. The higher we got the more defoliation I noticed in the conifers. What was killing them? The aspens looked healthy and lush, but many of the pines were broken off near the top like pencils, and many others stood dead, waiting for the next windstorm to topple them.
At one point we stopped for two deer grazing just off the road. Later a wild turkey scurried along the shoulder. "We have seen two four-legged animals, one two-legged animal and one three-legged animal!" commented Kevin as he kept his eyes peeled on the road.
We arrived near the crest in mid-afternoon and still had no idea where we were camping for the night. The KP Campground along a lush green meadow and creek looked inviting, but other campers thought the same thing so we went elsewhere. With two excited dogs we wanted a private site where the dogs could feel calm and relaxed.
We didn't travel much farther. We turned back south on the Highway, turned west on FR25, then a quick right on FR24 where Kevin turned left again off an unnamed trail. Oh god I thought, here we go again! When Kevin wants something remote, he means REMOTE.
The trail traveled along a ridge of a conifer-aspen forest, dodging a few mud puddles and toppled trees. Trees along the trail had been sawed recently, which made the drive quite doable. The route was not on the map, though, which made me a little uneasy. Why buy a map when all the trails aren't listed?
We were tired of driving and pulled over along the first meadow we found, an elk trail, and pitched the tent. We had no scenic vista, no creek nearby and no meadow to walk to to watch the elk. It was a spot for the night, and we were set up an hour before sunset, allowing me a quick 30-minute hike with the dogs along the muddy trail. A whistling tune by an unknown bird accompanied us the rest of the night. What kind of bird was that? It sang from its heart so beautifully, like a flute in a solo.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/recreation/scenic.shtml
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2059/
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/byway/az_coron.htm
The 120+ mile route starts at an elevation of just under 3000' to over 9100' at Hannagan Meadow, an alpine meadow 23 miles south of Alpine. The road ascends and curves around scenic vistas and trailheads that go on forever.
This route used to be called US Highway 666. We discovered why.
We stopped briefly in Safford for lunch and a short break at the Forest Service station, a small office co-located with the Bureau of Land Management and an outpatient clinic on the west side of town. (Older websites had the Forest Service on the second floor of the town's post office.) I bought a map of the forest, asked for trail conditions, and the woman behind the counter could only tell me that a tornado last winter took down a lot of trees.
This region is well-known for rockhounds. Towns along the way were all former mining towns; Morenci being still a very active town with a copper mine two miles long and a half-mile deep. The highway drives across the miles which seems to take forever. Phelps-Dodge, the mine-owner and a big name in Arizona Mining history, practically built that town.
North of Morenci the road quickly steepens and the flora changes from dry desert brush to Ponderosa pine and spruce. When we reached the 6000' elevation I could even feel the cooler breeze blowing.
At times the speed limit does not allow drivers to go faster than 35mph around tight curves. The higher we got the more defoliation I noticed in the conifers. What was killing them? The aspens looked healthy and lush, but many of the pines were broken off near the top like pencils, and many others stood dead, waiting for the next windstorm to topple them.
At one point we stopped for two deer grazing just off the road. Later a wild turkey scurried along the shoulder. "We have seen two four-legged animals, one two-legged animal and one three-legged animal!" commented Kevin as he kept his eyes peeled on the road.
We arrived near the crest in mid-afternoon and still had no idea where we were camping for the night. The KP Campground along a lush green meadow and creek looked inviting, but other campers thought the same thing so we went elsewhere. With two excited dogs we wanted a private site where the dogs could feel calm and relaxed.
We didn't travel much farther. We turned back south on the Highway, turned west on FR25, then a quick right on FR24 where Kevin turned left again off an unnamed trail. Oh god I thought, here we go again! When Kevin wants something remote, he means REMOTE.
The trail traveled along a ridge of a conifer-aspen forest, dodging a few mud puddles and toppled trees. Trees along the trail had been sawed recently, which made the drive quite doable. The route was not on the map, though, which made me a little uneasy. Why buy a map when all the trails aren't listed?
We were tired of driving and pulled over along the first meadow we found, an elk trail, and pitched the tent. We had no scenic vista, no creek nearby and no meadow to walk to to watch the elk. It was a spot for the night, and we were set up an hour before sunset, allowing me a quick 30-minute hike with the dogs along the muddy trail. A whistling tune by an unknown bird accompanied us the rest of the night. What kind of bird was that? It sang from its heart so beautifully, like a flute in a solo.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/recreation/scenic.shtml
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2059/
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/byway/az_coron.htm
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