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| no partners | | Usually when I say I am going camping along Turkey Creek, I am referring to the one on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains. But this time I went to a far more remote one. In fact, I had only been there one other time, way back in 1997. The last time I went as far as Klondyke was nearly 10 years ago, so guess I was overdue for a visit. Sort of on my mind after watching the "Powers War" movie recently.
Drove out Thursday afternoon with the intention of camping at the BLM campground by Klondyke. I knew Preston (kingsnake) was going to be in the area Friday, so I told him I would probably be there and I would be looking for him. I knew cell service was likely going to be lacking, so we didn't make any definite plans. If we found each other fine, if not, no problem. He had a more ambitious plan for the day. For me it was a trip to camp and re-familiarize myself with the area. Plus, I figured I could give him a lift up to the cliff dwelling or to the east end of Aravaipa for his hike, in case his vehicle might not be able to reach those spots.
Anyway, after checking out the BLM campground, I had enough daylight, so I headed toward Turkey Creek. It is so wonderful back in there under all those magnificent trees, that I changed my mind and decided to camp in the canyon instead (which I really wanted to do anyway  ). It was a very peaceful night camping by the old corral near the cliff dwelling.  In the morning I packed up the gear and drove back out looking for kingsnake. Found him at the perfect spot, by the parking area and bathroom just west of the Salazar place. This is where Stace, the Nature Conservancy land steward I met the previous day said we should park a vehicle. Preston loaded his hiking gear into the truck and I drove him up to the cliff dwelling. But before that we drove the short distance beyond to the the point where the Rug Road exits the canyon and the turn into Oak Grove begins, since I hadn't seen that before.
After some time at the cliff dwelling and visiting awhile, I dropped Preston off at the confluence of Turkey/Aravaipa Creeks so he could do his hike, and I headed back toward Klondyke. The timing for this trip was good in that the road from Bonita to Klondyke had just been bladed, making for a smooth ride along those many miles. |
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