| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 2.40 Miles |
494 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.40 Miles | | | |
| 494 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | Got an invite from Letty to do some exploring down in an area I really like south of Ruby (rich with history and more water than you might expect), so I was in. First stop was to check on the cemetery down near the border in the southern end of California Gulch, where some 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers are buried. After that we checked out a road that took us down to the border in an area where the fence was the standard vehicle barrier type construction (rails). There is a location shown on one of the topo maps as Casa Piedra (ruins) right on the border not far from the cemetery, so Letty wanted to try to go there for a look. We figured we likely wouldn't be able to drive to it, so were prepared for a short hike. The biggest problem was some of the roads there are not shown on the maps, making figuring out where we were a challenge. So, even though we did our homework, we still were not sure. We took a road that dropped us into a canyon and ended up parking by a large corral next to a running creek. There was also an old barbed wire fence present and we actually pondered if we were at the border before hiking. Turns out where we thought we were was incorrect, and the hike we embarked on was entirely in Mexico! 
Now here's the kicker: we were at our intended destination right where we parked the vehicles and didn't know it!  A short distance from the big corral, in the other direction from our hike, is what is left of Casa Piedra. According to Arizona Place Names, "the location is a stock watering place where the remains of a stone house still exist." 
After we drove back up the hill following the hike, we turned onto another road so we could loop back up the main Warsaw Canyon road without backtracking. It was on this road that we encountered the rancher and had a fine conversation before moving on. That was one of the high points of the day. Letty described where we were parked and our hike and he told us we were south of the border. We still sort of could not believe it, but lo and behold later when I was having a beer at La Gitana in Arivaca and could look at my Route Scout track via their wifi, my jaw dropped! Yup, it was a Letty kind of adventure (she did warn me).
Once we hit the main Warsaw Canyon road, we said our goodbyes and headed back out to "civilization" via Arivaca and Amado. Thanks for the invite on this one Letty, it turned out to be an interesting day!  |
|
Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Early in the drive from Pena Blanca to Ruby the Coral Bean plants were showing lots of yellow leaves. |
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
