Trampled by Arizona: Fossil Creek and Tucson

I have a brother! He was in town for 10 days taking his WFR course before he goes to the Florida Keys to Scuba Dive with the youth and teach them about ecology by riding dolphins. After beasting the course, he stayed for 7 days to see Arizona. First stop was 3 days camping by Fossil Creek, a spring fed creek just below the Mogollon Rim. We rented a Subaru Outback to tear up the dirt roads we would be on, and 1.5 hours after leaving Flag, we were wading up this beautiful mineral blue creek.

Within an hour we found this sick waterfall with plenty of good jumping rocks and crystal clear water. Fossil Creek is one of the few wild rivers in Arizona, and through great efforts has been repopulated with all native species. It kept calling us back as we discovered countless beautiful and deserted swimming holes.

The next day we spontaneously struck out to the Verde River. After cooking up a breakfast of oatmeal and trail mix at the camp ground, we once again took off up the river...the true spirit of the original Canyon Boys. A stream crossing and a shotgun-wielding-crazy-rancher property crossing later we were heading up fire road 68E into Prescott National Forest. Spring time meant amazing blooming cacti like the one above.

Apparently it also meant snakes. After nearly stepping on a 5 ft gopher snake sunning itself on the road, we were on the lookout. About 1 hour later, this rattle snake gave us a warning when we walked by his hiding place in the bushes. It was refreshing to feel a bit of fear in the wilderness and renew that respect for the power and wonder of nature.

The return hike went quickly as we craved a dip in that inviting Verde River. Plus, there was the promise of a hot springs which we had heard about, but not found on the way out.

Following the abandoned infrastructure of a burned down lodge we found the healing waters and a hot tub prophet; a kindred and kind spirit from Kansas who came out here to meditate in the desert, lose weight and find God. We didn't agree with all his ideas, but he was promoting love, happiness and self-fulfillment in a peaceful way, so we were grateful for the encounter and wish him the best on his journey.

We headed back up Fossil Creek towards Strawberry and made a day hike down to the Springs, where 20,000 gallons per minute gush out of the side of the Mogollon Rim and create the beautiful waters we'd been enjoying for the past 2 days. Further down, we'd heard rumors of a great swimming hole called Fossil Dam, and all I can say is, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Probably the coolest swimming hole I've ever been to. The creek plunges over a 30 foot dam into an 8 ft hole, with caves behind and a swirling whirlpool churning in a 15 ft. diameter granite basin. Chris showed these high school yahoos the flying chinchilla as they waffled on the precipice and eventually left without jumping. Well, it's hard to follow an act like that. *FUN FOR THE KIDS: Can you find the snake in the above picture?*

This big old snake was swimming around our garden of Eden and trying to escape by climbing up the waterfall, presumably after falling in. We're thinking it wasn't poisonous, but it thwarted our efforts to explore the cave behind the falls. This made snake number four for the trip after Chris spotted a garter snake in the bushes on the hike down.


Chris couldn't contain his joy and went for one more jump, this time from the falls, after our exploratory trip further downstream.


After our great hike and swim, we headed into Strawberry and feasted on a delicious spread of ribs and buffalo wings. Then it was back up to the rim where we found this money camping spot looking out over beautiful Arizona. An hour drive the next day took us back into Flag for a little civilization before heading down to Tucson the next day.

After a wonderful drive, we made a quick expedition to Milagrosa Canyon to find a waterfall that was either dried up, or just well hidden. Though we didn't find any water, we did get a great desert sunset, surrounded by the Saguaro Cactus bloom.

After a night on the town with friends, we rallied to find a swimming hole near Tucson and heard of Romero Pools in Catalina State Park. A very hot and dry 3 mile hike had us wondering if there was really any water out here at all, but we were rewarded with a multi-pool spot with plenty of good jumping spots and sunning rocks.

Refreshed after swimming and sunning for a couple hours, we cruised back to camp and got our Memorial Day on.
Chris tended the dogs while I sauteed bacon, onions, green chiles and black beans for our signature "Romero Dogs". The spirits of friendship, family, happiness and the outdoors were abundant, and I couldn't have asked for a better end to this amazing trip with my brother and friends.
We've only scratched the surface of this state. To more full bellies and amazing adventures in the future!

Trip Playlist: Trampled By Turtles (Codeine, November, Wait So Long, Whisky, Never Again, At Your Window, School Bus Driver, The Outskirts), Old Crow Medicine Show (Tell It To Me, Wagon Wheel, New Virginia Creeper), Greensky Bluegrass (Into the Rafters)

Wupatki Rhythms

My one chance to get out on project in the last month was a four day project to Wupatki National Monument, the site of an 800 year old pueblo in the volcanic fields around Flagstaff. The short drive, small group of five people and short days made for a very laid back hitch that felt more like a family camping trip. Anasazi and Sinagua people inhabited this area for about two hundred years after the eruption of Sunset Volcano in 1050 a.d. On a very interesting guided tour by one of the NPS Archaeologists we toured the site and learned that trade routes extended from this Northern Arizona location all the way down to South America, and included copper bells, live Macaws and the rubber balls used to play the popular South American ball games.

Our work was a continuation of an earlier ACE project. The previous crew had backfilled some of the excavated rooms in the Wupatki Pueblo to stabilize the walls, and we were shaping and tamping the dirt so that rain will drain properly in the upcoming monsoon season. This effort will keep water from pooling up in the ruins and damaging the walls. We used pressure sprayers to water the dirt, and then waited for it to dry to just the right consistency so we could tamp it into place.

Tamping a steeply angled backslope in a small room with an 8-10 lb tamper was challenging and monotonous, but we passed the time by getting into a rhythm as a group and "dancing with the tool" as the Hopi NPS guys advised us to do. The best moments were when the whole group was working in unison, singing and dancing in this sacred site. The project partners were awesome and it was great to get to know them and talk about their connection with this pueblo of their ancestors.

We camped nearby in the Coconino National Forest at a primitive site set up by one of the ACE supervisors. The volcanic sand and vegetation was unlike anything I'd seen before, and we spotted unexcavated dwellings and structures sitting peacefully among the scrub. Our chef, Junior, kept us well fed and entertained, introducing a game of tug-of-war that involved two people balanced on elevated platforms. When another ACE crew rolled in for a fencing project, we had a battle for crew supremacy late into the night, accompanied with drum rhythms banged out on the hand wash bucket and garbage can lid.

At the end of our short days, we rolled around to other impressive archeological and geological sites like Wukoki, Sunset Crater and The Citadel (pictured above); an unexcavated pueblo atop a hill that sits right next to a big sink hole. Seeing volcanic stones in the walls of the dwellings reminded me of man's connection to the land and made me realize that 1000 years ago, people were sweating and laboring and working together to move rocks. They would have been kick-ass conservation workers!