After spending the morning at Center of the World, & lunching in Yuma, we drove an hour to the Imperial Sand Dunes. We couldn’t find the turnoff for Ted Kipf Rd to North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area so we stopped at the Hugh T. Osborne Lookout. There are restrooms and a large parking lot & it was busy. This is the ATVs & ORVs meet-up place with large parking spots for their support vehicles. The dunes south of highway 78 are etched with tire tracks so not the best for sand dune photographs. It’s an epic place to offroad w/ friends & carve up the dunes, or take photos of such activities. A permit is required to operate vehicles on the Imperial Sand Dunes – permit info here; area Map pdf here.
North of the 78, is the beginning of the BLM protected wilderness area where motorized vehicles are prohibited. We parked at Osborne Overlook then hiked across the road (78) where the Wilderness Area begins and no vehicles are allowed. There were some photo-worthy dunes so I made the best of the afternoon light. Hiking the dunes is challenging and be sure to bring water.
I wanted to find the road to the North Algodones Dunes which google maps outlines so clearly. It turns out Ted Kipf Rd is a barely marked, easy-to-miss dirt road that turns north off highway 78 at Glamis. After hiking the nearby dunes and the busy morning, we decided not to navigate Ted Kipf Rd. I was okay with the few images I took near the Overlook – below is a mix of north & south dunes. I will definitely be back to explore the North Algodones Dunes at sunset & Milky Way season.
We scheduled one more stop before heading home – Yuma, AZ. We actually stayed in Winterhaven at Encore/Thousand Trails Pilot Knob RV Resort ~10mi from Yuma. I wanted to photograph the Imperial Sand Dunes, specifically the dunes in the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area. This RV park is about an hour from the dunes wilderness area. We have stayed at a few Thousand Trails/Encore RV parks and they are usually pretty nice, with many amenities. This one was really barebones, a gravel ‘parking-lot’ with only a few shaded spots. Because there were plenty of sites, we found one with a little shade but enough sky for Starlink. If we were to stay in the area again, I would probably try the Rivers Edge RV Resort. We drove into Yuma several times for fuel (much cheaper), shopping, and meals so staying on that side of the CA/AZ border is more convenient. There is an interesting point-of-interest directly across the 8 freeway – the Center of the World Museum. We are going to check it out tomorrow before heading to the dunes. Photographing the dunes later in the day is usually more interesting – early in the day or late in the day improves the shadow/hightlights.
One of most popular trails in east Tucson, according to AllTrails and other online hiking sites, is the Tanque Verde Falls Trail in the Coronado National Forest. It is rated ‘moderate’ by Alltrails and only ~2 miles out & back. We found this to be a really challenging hike. There wasn’t an obvious trail by the river, perhaps, because the water level was higher than normal due to the rainy/snowy winter. Working our way up the river required a lot of rock scrambling, which we expect, with strong current water-crossings.
The trail down to the river is an easy-to-follow dirt trail that brings you down to a flat rocky plateau next to the river. But once you reach this spot, the ‘trail’ a hundred yards upstream becomes a scramble or criss-crossing the river. You can choose to go over boulders, cross the river, or hike high along a ridge. But any path can end abruptly into brambles or a scramble up or down. We managed to make it to the very last bend before the falls but were unable to make it to the falls. The only way to continue was to climb a 10ft wall. It had decent handholds but it was already a work-out to get to this point . We had to save enough energy to make it back and hike our way up the hill. Perhaps later in the season when the water level was lower or hiking some sections in the river, like the ‘Narrows’, would have been easier. But we watched other hikers have similar problems – picking a route then back-tracking to an alternative – it wasn’t just our unfamiliarity with the trail. It was a beautiful day to hike and the area is awesome with many pools to cool off. But be aware the trail is a rock-scramble when the water level covers the shoreline and you may have to make your own route.
The weather continued to be cool and rainy but great for hiking and photography. Saguaro National Park East appears to have more hiking trails than the west. There’s also a popular scenic drive loop through the park that has many pull-outs and trailheads. I thought the terrain was more interesting than the valley of the national park west. Along the trails, there were more wildflowers and changes in elevation. We enjoyed the scenic drive while it rain, stopping at a few scenic spots.
When we had stopped at the Visitor Center for a trail map. We overheard the park ranger recommend the Garwood Trail to another group of hikers wanting an uncrowded hike. This trail is part of several trails on the northern edge of the park which includes Douglas Spring, Converse, Wildhorse Loop. On one of the bends of the Garwood Trail, 1.5mi from the trailhead, is a rare crested saguaro cactus. It became somewhat of a scavenger hunt for us since the crude map from the visitors center, where he drew an X, was not to scale. Trail markers were also confusing since many different trails criss-cross the Garwood Trail. So we wondered if we had missed it but we continued along the trail and finally found this beautiful, unusual cactus – definitely worth the hike.
The rain has pretty much stopped so hike conditions were pretty good – cool but not muddy. The rain added to the photography by saturating the colors and adding water droplets. We did a lot of closeup photos.
Along the main road, we spotted another crested saguaro. It wasn’t nearly as intricately detailed as the Garwood Trail cactus. Perhaps in ~20 more years it will develop the flowery lobes. It was on someone’s property so not part of Saguro National Park East.
We read that Saguaro National Park West is more popular than the East so we visited here first. With winter rains generating large patches of wildflowers in California and Arizona. Our first stop was just over the ridge dropping into Saguaro National Park West valley on W.Picture Rock Road. The Cam-Boh/Ringtail trailhead was covered in Mexican Poppies and a colorful start to the trail. Further along, the wildflowers densities faltered, mainly concentrated in the shadow of Mt. Picture Rocks. So we cut our hike short after taking some wildflower photos. We had just started and wanted to head further into the valley.
Oddly, as you continue west on W.Picture Rock Road, you exit the park. Entering from the east on W Gates Pass Road or the south on S Kinney Road are probably better ways to enter the park. W Gates Pass Road take you past the scenic overlook and both roads take you by Old Tucson. W Picture Rock Road skirts the northern edge before you head south to the Saguaro National Park West (aka Red Hills) Visitor Center. There isn’t a lot of infrastructure in this national park. There are restrooms at the Visitor Center and Sonora Desert Museum, which also has a cafe. Fortunately, we stopped at a Speedway gas station w/ Subway sandwich shop & grabbed a sandwich before our hike. Most of Saguaro National Park West is in the valley west of Tucson. There are hills surrounding the park carpeted with Saguaro and other cacti. Apparently, the density of Saguaro is a lot lower than when the park was founded but they are still abundant. We picked the short Valley View Overlook Trail to see the panoramic view of Saguro National Park West. It was an easy hike with only ~50ft elevation gain.
With unpredictable weather north of Phoenix, we decided to head south to Tucson. Our bucket-list of visiting all the national parks did not have a check mark next to Saguaro National Park. Plus the weather and driving conditions were noticeably better heading south. We book three nights at the Tucson/Lazydays KOA primarily for its location. Saguaro National Park is split into east & west sections about 30mi apart, separated by Tucson. The KOA was about midway so we planned to visit the west park Tuesday then hike the east park Wednesday. The easy, scenic drive from northern Phoenix to southern Tucson was a ~2.5hrs. We passed Picacho Peak State Park, surrounded by wildflowers, and added it to our list of places to visit next time. It’s midway between Phoenix and Tucson and it’s distinctive peak has some challenging trails. Plus it’s in a ‘dark-sky’ area so would be great for astrophotography. March is a great time to visit Tucson and Saguaro NP but it was overcast with scattered showers two of the days we were there. The Tucson/Lazydays KOA is huge with a variety of RV sites ranging from covered pull-thrus ($110+/ni) to small back-in sites. There’s actually a BBQ restaurant-bar on-site so after we pulled-in and setup. We stopped there for BBQ & beer.
We had time to catch an Arizona sunset so an hour before, we headed to Gates Pass Scenic Outlook towards west Saguaro National Park. This is supposed to be the best place around town to catch the sunset. Being popular, it was recommended we get there early so we could find a parking space in the overlook’s small lot. With the overcast skies, we were not predicting a spectacular sunset. But the clouds were clear at the horizon so I hoped the sun might break through before disappearing behind the mountains. Not spectacular, but the sun did shine through for a short time just above the horizon.
Heading to Peoria in March has become an annual Spring getaway. Except for the Covid year off, we’ve made it tos see Padres Spring Training the last several years. This year, we decided to combine our usual long baseball weekend in March, with a RV trip. Since we are in Arizona, why not spend some time exploring in our RV after Peoria. As mentioned, our plans shifted due to the continued bad weather in northern Arizona and southern Utah. The three days of baseball were fun and we got a chance to see this year’s roster up close and personal. Although Fernando Tatis isn’t back into the line-up till April 20. He is playing & practicing during Spring Training.
We had ambitious plans for March. First going to San Diego Padres Spring Training in Peoria, Az for three days then heading to northern Arizona and Utah. Unfortunately, like February, the weather became a factor and all our northward plans to Page, to Monument Valley, to Flagstaff, to Lake Havasu, ending in Desert Hot Springs were cancelled. The unprecedented heavy snows this winter were still a factor especially on the route through Flagstaff. More snow & rain were forecast on our Mar 19 travel day. I didn’t feel safe towing Howie north through Flagstaff even with plowed roads and chains. Alternate routes were just as bad or take too long and disrupt the schedule. Rain was forecast on our Upper Antelope Canyon (slot canyon) tour date. Monument Valley’s nightly temperatures were in the 20s, so we reluctantly decided to stay in southern Arizona and visit Saguaro National Park. Those northern destinations are still on our to-do list but later in the season.
16 Apr 2023 – Driving to Ehrenberg, AZ
Towing Howie to Phoenix in one shot is doable but not the way we prefer to travel. So we booked an overnight layover at the California-Arizona border, in Ehrenberg, Az. We considered boondocking since it’s not far from Quartzsite. But one night at River Sands RV Resort using our Passport America membership was only $35. Planning our one night layover here was fortuitous because the predicted 4 hour drive took over 9 hours because of a major fatality accident on the I-10 near Cabazon, CA. The traffic speeds were under 5mph for miles so it took hours till the road opened up in Palm Springs. We didn’t arrive to the border till 9pm – finding a boondocking site at night would have been tough. River Sands is just off the I-10, the first exit in Arizona. There’s also a Flying J Travel Center at the same exit.
River Sands RV Resort opened Jan 2023 and everything – restrooms (several large private, individual rooms w/ shower & toilet), pool-hot tub, clubhouse w/ pool/ping-pong/chess/foosball tables, full hook-ups – are all brand new. The resort is well laid out with hundreds of spacious RV sites along the Colorado River on the Arizona-side. The space to manuever a travel trailer & back-in is phenomenal plus there are many pull-thru sites. All the RV sites are wide and level. There was a meet-up of an AirStream group coincidentally so our section was filled with 48 all aluminum RVs and us. My only ‘concern’ is there aren’t any trees or shade of any kind. So when it gets hot, there isn’t any protection other than jumping into the river. Still, we definately will stop here again when we have more time or want a winter get-away that’s (typically) 4-hours from home.
With our late arrival at River Sands RV Resort, they were kind enough to give us a 1pm checkout time so we could explore the place. With a 2 hour drive to Phoenix/Peoria, we didn’t want to arrive before the 2pm check-in at Desert’s Edge RV Resort. But after the unexpected driving delay yesterday, we left at noon so we’d be sure to make it to Phoenix before our night game started. When trying to find a RV site for Spring Training, I think we got the last spot near Peoria. Our ‘pull-thru’ site right in front of the office was just big enough for our 20ft travel trailer & truck – there was no extra space. Desert’s Edge RV Resort is in northern Phoenix, about 12mi from the Peoria Sports Complex where the Padres play. This park definitely caters to Spring Training visitors with all the ‘streets’ named for teams that train in the area. With the change in our trip after Spring Training, we hoped to stay an extra day but this park is booked solid in Spring. After 3 days of Spring Training baseball, we headed south to Tucson.
