I spent most of Thursday afternoon prepping the van for our first official family outing: Kevin, me and the dogs. I had the entire vehicle cleaned out (and found a few goodies along the way) and had the vehicle hermetically packed by the time Kevin got home at 3pm. He packed his personal belongings and off we left, at 4:10pm, and drove up toward Superior, AZ via the backroad of Pomerene Road. This dirt road skirts the Rincon mountains to the East in a north-northwesterly direction. The full moon rose shortly after sunset over the Aravaipa canyons, providing an additional aura to the natural beauty of the high desert.
Pomerene Road flows along the San Pedro River. For fifty miles one drives no faster than 30mph because of the many bumps in the road. A flock of turkeys under the scrupulous eyes of a rear-waddling Tom crossed the road. Later a lone lost cow panicked along the side of the road as we drove by and the dogs had to bark at the poor critter. These are scenes we wouldn't have had had we driven the faster but more congested highway around Tucson.
Pomerene Road turns into Cascabel Road and finally River Road before it ends at SR77 north of Mammouth. From here we continued north on SR77 to SR177 into Superior.
We stopped in the small mining town of Hayden for a quick meal of burritos and Tacos at Maria's, a restaurant that consisted of a large tile room, vinyl tables and chairs and painted brick walls. It looked no different than some of the small-town cafes in central Texas. There was no other decor in the restaurant. The chips were already wrapped in plastic wrap at each table and the server brought us a squeeze bottle of hot sauce.
It was long past sunset when we made it to Kearny and the scenic drive up and around a large copper mine. Most people who live in Winkelman, Hayden and Kearny are miners at this mine.
Steve, the organizer of this weekend's get-away managed to get ahold of me on my cellphone to tell me where they were camped out. I'm so glad he did that, as they were camped out in a different location than what was in the email directions; the original plan had to be changed when they realized the camp site at Lost Dutchman state park was full. Steve, Bill and Paul along with Susan and Peter and their dog Angel were camped out three miles east of Superior and north on FR8. I would never have guessed them to be there had Steve not called.
Pomerene Road flows along the San Pedro River. For fifty miles one drives no faster than 30mph because of the many bumps in the road. A flock of turkeys under the scrupulous eyes of a rear-waddling Tom crossed the road. Later a lone lost cow panicked along the side of the road as we drove by and the dogs had to bark at the poor critter. These are scenes we wouldn't have had had we driven the faster but more congested highway around Tucson.
Pomerene Road turns into Cascabel Road and finally River Road before it ends at SR77 north of Mammouth. From here we continued north on SR77 to SR177 into Superior.
We stopped in the small mining town of Hayden for a quick meal of burritos and Tacos at Maria's, a restaurant that consisted of a large tile room, vinyl tables and chairs and painted brick walls. It looked no different than some of the small-town cafes in central Texas. There was no other decor in the restaurant. The chips were already wrapped in plastic wrap at each table and the server brought us a squeeze bottle of hot sauce.
It was long past sunset when we made it to Kearny and the scenic drive up and around a large copper mine. Most people who live in Winkelman, Hayden and Kearny are miners at this mine.
Steve, the organizer of this weekend's get-away managed to get ahold of me on my cellphone to tell me where they were camped out. I'm so glad he did that, as they were camped out in a different location than what was in the email directions; the original plan had to be changed when they realized the camp site at Lost Dutchman state park was full. Steve, Bill and Paul along with Susan and Peter and their dog Angel were camped out three miles east of Superior and north on FR8. I would never have guessed them to be there had Steve not called.
We car camped next to a giant saguaro and a clump of mature chollas that surprisingly brought us enough afternoon shade after our morning hikes.
We like the area around the Superstition mountains. You can hike for days and not see civilization or you can drive into town a few miles and resupply. Our site was perfect for both.
We like the area around the Superstition mountains. You can hike for days and not see civilization or you can drive into town a few miles and resupply. Our site was perfect for both.
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