Jerome, Yarnell, Colorado River, Joshua Tree National Park
March 27-31, 2023
It was time to start heading home! From my campsite at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, I drove up into the mountains to the town of Jerome which was founded on the side of a steep slope in the late 1800’s when rich copper and other mineral deposits were found in the area. In the space of 70 years, the two principal Jerome mines produced over 33 million tons of copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc, worth more than one billion dollars, and its population grew to more than 10,000. For a time it was known as the “Wickedest City in America” for its boozing, brawls, and brothels. The mines closed by 1953 and Jerome became a ghost town with a population of only 100 souls until about the late 1970s when artists and artisans were drawn to the town by the inexpensive prices of its attractive turn-of-the century wood-framed and brick buildings, and its fabulous views over the Verde Valley.
The town is now very popular with tourists who enjoy its art galleries, gift shops, cafes, and restaurants, and there is a mining museum as well as a museum in the former Douglas Mansion which is an Arizona State Historic Park. The town is also famous because it is slowly sliding downhill! The most extreme example is the town’s jail which slid 200 feet downhill in 1938 when underground blasting shook the earth. I arrived in town very early, before any shops were open, and I enjoyed strolling the quiet streets to view the historic buildings in the bright morning light.
From Jerome, I headed east on 89A. The road first descended on steep switchbacks and then surprised me when it began to rise again and then kept on rising. It twisted and turned up to an elevation of 7040 feet (!) at Mingus Summit pass where snow blanketed the ground below tall Ponderosa pines. More switchbacks led me down down down to the wide plateau of the Prescott valley at an elevation of 5100 feet. I then took Highway 89 through the historic town of Prescott which was once the capital of the state of Arizona. I wondered why on earth they would make the capital here in the middle of a mountain range (the answer is gold and silver). The travel time by wagon from Phoenix and Tucson must have been horrendous!
Then, there was more mountain driving up and then down a long curving descent to the Peeples Valley where I stopped for a walk in the small town of Yarnell. Surrounded by an area of large granite boulders and outcroppings, this agricultural town and travellers’ stop had a sleepy vibe at midday and featured several quirky antique and second-hand stores that were sadly devoid of shoppers.
As I continued on my journey west, the communities were small, few, and far between, and the scenery and plant life varied with the topography. On one section of Highway 89, I was thrilled to pass through an area that featured some of my favourite Arizona desert plants. The road was lined with lupines and poppies, and when I pulled over I was able to admire and photograph, for the last time on this trip, the slender and elegant branches of ocotillo, the bright pink of owl clover, and the sunny yellows of bladder pod and brittle bush flowers.
There were also saguaros, the last of my trip to Arizona and one of the sights that I had most wanted to see in the state. They are truly remarkable plants and the specimens in the photo below are easily over 100 years old as it takes that many years for a saguaro to grow its first arm. Saguaros can live for up to 200 years and grow to be between 40 and 50 feet tall and weigh up to eight tons! Their sides are pleated like an accordion to allow for expansion when rainfall is plentiful and contraction during times of drought. They have roots that radiate up to 100 feet in all directions, just inches below the soil surface, and a saguaro can store enough water from one good rainstorm to sustain the plant for two years. At about 70 years of age, a saguaro will begin to flower and each spring thereafter its white blossoms will bloom for just one night and day to be pollinated by bats, birds and insects. It bright red sweet fruits provide food for birds and bats as well as javelina, pack rats, jack rabbits, coyotes, mule deer and even bighorn sheep after the fruit has fallen. The fruit has traditionally also been collected and eaten by the Tohono O’odham and other indigenous groups, and the wood-like ribs of the saguaro have long been used to construct dwellings, shade ramadas, and fences. Finally, the mighty saguaro provides a home for many bird species including Gila woodpeckers, elf and screech owls, cactus wrens, gilded flickers, finches and sparrows, as well as a home for reptiles and for insects such as bees and beetles. They truly are benevolent citizens of the desert and are considered to be sacred ancestors by the Tohono O’odham.
The photo above also features another amazing desert plant, the rather nondescript-looking creosote bush which is the plant that was most prevalent and widespread in almost every landscape that I travelled through. The photo below is a close up shot of the creosote bush sporting its yellow blossoms and puffy white seed balls. It is one of the best adapted of desert plants and is found throughout the Mojave, Chihuahan and Sonoran deserts. It’s small waxy leaves will drop in periods of extreme drought and regrow after a rainfall. It roots can reach 60 feet down to find water and they secrete toxic chemicals that deter the growth of other plants. Remarkably, at 30-90 years of age, a creosote bush can split into several crowns and become a clonal colony that grows over time in a circular ring shape around the site of the original shrub. These clonal ring colonies can grow to a diameter of 67 feet and are among the oldest living organisms on earth at 11,700 years old!
As I continued west towards California I felt sad and reluctant to leave Arizona but also excited to see the Colorado River. When I had crossed over the Colorado on my trip into Arizona four weeks earlier, I had been speeding along on the very busy I-10 and had time for only a one-second glance at the river so I was determined to make a stop here. I crossed over the Colorado at Parker, Arizona, and then turned north onto the Parker Dam Road on the California side looking for access to the river. After a few miles I passed a trailer park retirement community that was not gated. I entered and parked along the edge of a wide beach that fronted the river and then walked across the sand to sit at a picnic table that was set right beside the river. I let the soothing yet powerful ambiance of this ancient waterway seep into my skin and bones, and I resolved that on my next trip to Arizona I will definitely camp for several days along the banks of the Colorado as well as descend to the river on a hike down into the Grand Canyon. I can hardly wait!
Refreshed, I continued on my journey west and was soon travelling in familiar territory on Highway 62 through the wide and lonely expanse of the Sheephole Valley Wilderness. So beautiful!
I arrived at the town of Twentynine Palms, treated myself to a night in a hotel, and early the next morning I revisited Joshua Tree National Park and walked the Pine City trail, a quiet and peaceful out and back trail of 6 kilometres that led to a small cluster of mature junipers and pinyon trees hidden amidst a great jumble of immense boulders.
It was a weekend, and the park was very very busy so I carried on to Black Rock Canyon Campground where only one campsite was available and it was the same excellent site that I had occupied a month before! I felt at home and I took the whole day to rest, read, putter about, walk a bit, and ready myself for the gruelling drive back to Vancouver on I-5. That three-day drive, though intense and tiring, went smoothly and I arrived back home, safe and sound, after a wonderful journey of 4838 miles (7786 km), through a multitude of environments and a wealth of experiences and memories. Thank you so much for having joined me on that journey, and blessings to you all.
“ By the beauty of the desert, the Creator gives you a gift. The desert allows us to experience a certain quietness within.” Daniel Preston, Tohono O’Odham
