On the way to Tucson, we visited Rope Lake Sate Park, just outside of Safford, AZ. I hadn’t really planned any day trips, it was just a place on the way. Had I done ANY research, I would have known, there is plenty to do!
The drive from New Mexico took us less time than we thought, so we arrived before check-in. A $10 day pass was our penalty. Luckily, on an overcast Friday in March, there was plenty of room for Waldo in the day use parking area. We disconnected the Jeep for a drive around the park while we waited for a call from the ranger’s station. In the loop we would be camping in, I saw some Gambel Quails, they always make me smile…
Mt. Graham was still wearing a thin blanket of snow…
Once we were settled into our site, we spent a relaxing afternoon playing Yahtzee (one of our favorite pastimes).
Looking at the map, I found several places of interest. The first was the Black Hills Rockhound Area, renowned for its deposits of fire agate.
Not one to miss a chance at picking up pretty rocks, we headed out. I spent our drive time reading about how to find and identify fire agate. I found a great post by The Rolling Rockhound which gave me, at least, a clue as to what we might find. I showed Steve what to look for and we set off it opposite directions. Every so often, I’d look up to make sure I could still see the Jeep…
In the end, we found lots of pieces of chalcedony and 2 containing fire agates. Without the proper tools and skills to reveal the agate, they will remain just pretty rocks in my collection.
Another area which drew my attention was the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. I confess, I had to look up what “riparian” meant. For any of you who don’t know either, it means “relating to or situated on the banks of a river.”
There are lots of off-road trails, but since we still don’t have 4 wheel drive, we stuck to the easy trails.
Our first stop was the information kiosk and scenic overlook…
As with several other of the places we’ve visited lately, the spring wildflowers were dazzling…
With so much scenery to take in, it’s hard to see everything, but we did our best!
We realized how a campground, chosen strictly as a place en route to Steve’s upcoming job, really could be a destination for adventures! Until next week…
Coming up…
While Steve goes to work, Laura goes to play!