Up the backside, over the top, down the front.

Three guys in the RV Park and I had plans to take the Jeep and go up the backside of Mount Lemon today.
Well, yesterday they decided they would rather drive up the front in a car, and this morning they were worried about the 9,700 foot altitude and cancelled. So ,,,,,
Jimmy and I chose to go alone, which quite honestly, I prefer.
I havent done that trip in 25 years so had no idea what to expect. Had they improved the road, how far was it again, supposedly there was snow up there, etc. etc.
I filled the Jeep with gas and took an extra 10 gal. just in case, took additional water, just in case, sodas and sandwiches just in ,,,,, well you get the picture.

I had to drive to Oracle to catch the road to Mt. Lemon. The first 20 or so miles was graded dirt so not bad at all. Passed lots of hobby ranches and some old places. Was actually a nice beginning. Stopped at Peppersauce Canyon and hiked around a little.

Then the road narrowed and got more , ummm, exciting. There were lots of areas where the roadway was washed out from runoff during the rains. There was a Forest Fire a few years back and a lot of the vegetation hasnt returned yet.

I passed a mine, couldn't go up to it but did see the tailings. Then the road got more ,,,, ummmm ,,,, exciting LOL

The road narrow yet again, we had gotten up into the trees, and they were growing close to the road at times. But still looking for that elusive snow that I originally drove up to enjoy. 4 wheel drive and 10 mph now and a lot of bouncing. LOL

I dont know if I waited to long after the predicted 6 - 12" on Monday or if this is snow. Rather disappointing though. The mud looks better up close and in real life. The driving was getting ,,,,, ummmm, you know. LOL With the "snow" on the shady side of the road and melting across the road it made for some nice slushy driving along some very narrow and steep areas. It was right around here that a guy on a bicycle came round the corner heading down the mountain. Surprised me, and I would think him too since there wasnt much room. But he was staring at the drop off on hi side so hard and gripping the handlbars so tightly I couldn't tell if he was scared or just really concentrating. He didnt wave though.

I finally made the top. Here in Ski Valley which is advertised as the Southernmost ski destination in the country the snow was, again, disappointing. I was being nice and framing the pic to show all snow and not the large bare spots at the bottom of the lift. I was gonna ride the lift up but didnt. Still think I should have and not sure why I didnt. Here and especially in Summerhaven you could really tell the effects of the fire. There were more new cabins than old having been rebuilt after total loss and they were all on bare hillsides. Kinda sad in a way.

Heading down was fun. The road was paved and the gas mileage was great. There were a lot of bicyclists riding the 25 mile / 8,000 foot climb the further down I got the more refreshed they looked.

There was a guy about 23 miles up that looked like he first started and his friends looked like they were about dead. They probably didnt like biking with him a lot. LOL

Another guy heading down was doing about 20 mph and riding the center line. He refused to move over for traffic and would give me a dirty look if I tapped the horn. I had a line of cars behind me and kept having to ride the brakes until I finally got a spot where I could pass. He actually moved across the center line, I think to block me but on page 2 of the biking hadbook it says dont play chicken with cars. I got around, he was safely in my rearview, then everyone else decided to do it as well.

This picture was taken at about the 6,000 foot level. It shows some really nice rock formations. The idea was to show Gods handiwork up front shadowed in the rear by Mans. Thats Tucson below the smog.

I arrived at Molino Basin Campground where I had lived when I was 12. I had a bunch of pictures but cant find them. I know I e-mailed them from the phone but ,,,,

Towards the end of 1963 my Dad was laid off from his job as a presure vessel welder in Texas. They were beginning to build the missle silos in Southern Arizona so we moved to Tucson to find a job. I remember that trip well. There were my parents and my brother Randy (lives in Douglas Arizona now. I parked my RV there last winter when I went back home to Alaska) 

We were traveling in a Black 2-door 1949 Ford. Since it was quite hot we traveled most of the trip with the A/C on which consisted of all windows down. It was called 4 at 65. Meaning all 4 windows down and driving 65 mph. Now my Dad only hit 65 twice during every part of the trip, once speeding up and once again slowing down. West texas was HOT and I can empathize with my folks. 2 boys just over 10 in a hot car for a few days.

Anyway we made Tucson in Spring of 1964 and was camping in a tent at Molino Basin. There was a family near us that had a deaf daughter my age and we became inseparable. Where I was so was she and vice versa. My Dad wasnt finding the job he wanted because of an old injury to his shoulder preventing him from passing the physical so on July 5, 1964 we were packing up to head for Denver to look for work. A Mr. Miller came by to see my Dad. Seems the Forest Rangers who knew our situation had sent him and he owned a 40 acre mining claim across the road and up the canyon. My folks worked out a deal for us to live there while we continued to look for work.

It was a fantastic place for 2 young boys 11 and 12 to live. The rules in those days were to be home for dinner so we hiked, climbed, and roamed the mountains, canyons, and really everywhere within literally miles of the cabin. No close supervision, heck other than on the mountain our Mom had no idea where we were. We had our chores of course like finding and chopping wood, milking the goats, getting water, etc

The cabin had a wood cookstove and it was 10 miles down the mountain to school. I remember one trip where it had snowed really good and we drove down to go into school. At the bottom there was one of those "sandwich board" signs sitting in the road. My Mom said Bruce, see what that sign says. I told her it said road closed due to snow. We all laughed but after dropping us off for school she wasnt allowed to go back because the road was closed. no amount of argueing or saying the one set of tracks coming down were ours would work and she had to stay in town all day.

I had a teacher that would whack us on the knuckles with the metal edge of a ruler when we misbehaved which I tended to do with some regularity. I remember my Dad coming to school and in front of the class telling her I had a butt to spank if I mis-behaved but if she ever hit me with that ruler again ,,,,,,, I was sent to the office. Didnt seem fair 8(

I called my Mom to get some of this story and she told me this one. One of my little brothers (George) was born on the mountain. When he was a couple months old my Mom realized she needed to get the car ready for winter and had forgotten to. I guess my Dad was somewhere looking for work. Anyway she had Randy and Iget some extra wood in, made a few bottles of breast milk, etc. and told me that she had to head down the mountain to get the car done and if she wasnt back in two days we were to take the baby and hike the 4 miles over the ridge to the prison camp and they would know what to do. I guess I stood at the door and very solemly said Mom, please come back Im to young to be a Dad. 8)

Anyway, I digress, there are many stories from that mountain but I am talking about today. I stopped at Molina basin and decided to hike the 1/2 mile up the creek bed to see what I could see. I remembered there was a huge tree Randy and I use to play under (I honestly believe if I dug around under that big tree I would find some of the Hot Wheels my brother and I played with under the shading branches of that huge Pinion Tree.) so that was my goal, to find it.

Eventually I found the tree, and though still not really sure started walking the creek itself looking for remnants of a dam we had built across it to catch water and save my brother and I a mile walk to the campground to fill jugs. After walking the creek a short bit with a bunch of maybe here, no maybe there's, I came out and found a piece of the old slab from the floor of the cabin. (In fact the Arizona Trail crosses right over it) from there I saw that I had in fact found the correct tree and with these guiding points found some pieces from the dam we had built 50 years ago when I was 12.

I was looking around thinking, I remeber climbing those cliffs, Randy and I had a couple forts up in those rocks, I remember crossing that washout way up there once when we were trying to get above the falls (where we were NOT supposed to be) at the end of the canyon. I remember when that rattler cornered me on that cliff and I had to stand my ground against him. I looked down the creekbed and here was a group of people hiking and they were letting thier dogs and kids cool off in a couple of small pools of water.

One guy was walking on upstream away from the others and I said Hey, you want a little story from long ago about this place? he said sure and I began to tell him the tale of two young men who lived there 50 long years ago. he listened politely then said your hat.

Where's the bamboo Room. I said Haines Alaska why. he said I live in Skagway. I said go figure here we are 4,000+ miles from there, 1/2 mile from a road in a desert mountain streambed, whats the chances. WOW !!

So, he continued saying yeah, I spent many a day there drinking coffee with Layton Bennett.

I know Layton I said

to which he commented I use to fly for L.A.B. 

No ____ (Ashleigh wont let me say that word) my daughter use to be thier head dispatcher

Whats her name he asked

to which I said Amanda Hale

he said no kidding, I know her and her daughter Samantha, your her Dad?

I said yup.

He said I flew you all over the place up there your Bruce right?

Wow, whats your name? I asked

Francious he said

I remember you, wow, what are the chances.

We talked a little, I met his wife and daughter, tried to call Amanda but had no signal.

Coincedence, or guidance. You choose i just know that the chances of meeting someone from close to home out there and then to know them blah, blah, blah, Pretty cool in the grand scheme of coincidences or guidances. Either way it was cool

I had to stop for some dinner on the way home so with Dan in mind I had a burger and fries and a nice cup of ice water.

I have a sign in Box II that reads "Home is where I park" with that in mind I am home again. Tired but a great day, even better when I went over and told the wimps I did it anyway. Of course they all said they would have gone but ,,,,,,,,,, LOL