Camping eastern Arizona

C

Capt Steve

US Veteran
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
1,674
Reaction score
2,979
Just returned from a great trip out to Roper lake at the foot of Mt. Graham (10,717'), about 8 miles south of Safford. For grins we drove halfway up the mountain and climbed 4,000' in ten miles.

Roper is a nice little lakeside campground with a natural hot spring feeding a rocked in spa. Met several fellow campers, nice folks one and all and everyone was packin. We all agreed it was better to have and not need etc., etc.. I'm not sure which mountain view is more spectacular, looking up or looking down so here is one of each along with a shot of our campsite. The new (2006), F-150 pulled us along at 65 MPH and got 17 MPG and I can live with that. (o;

Roperlake008.jpg


Roperlake015.jpg


Roperlake001.jpg
 
Register to hide this ad
Sir.
Nice pics of some pretty country. I have hunted quail on the south side base of Mt Graham in the Fort Grant area. Was on the O Bar O Ranch. Down in the desert and 85 degrees and looked up at top of the Mount and it would be clouded in and snowing. Definately is an abrupt change in elevation from bottom to the top. What kind of a camp trailer is that and what does it have for features?
Looks like you had a good camp trip.
Bill@Yuma
 
Nice! Now, to follow on this trip, next summer, take your rig and family all the way up to the top of the Pinalenos, to Riggs Lake, a great getaway during monsoon season... a "Sky Island" adventure, similar to what you can find in the Catalinas, closer to home such as at Summerhaven, but, with a little lake...
 
Neat camper!

If it wasn't so for I'd join you. Neat little TT you got there.

I just got back from 5 days at a Missouri Forest Service campground that I take care of. It's an old grist mill that the FS bought in 1950 on Marble Creek.

10-31-09003.jpg


It was deer season and I did a little hunting, but didn't bag anything.

05-02-07005-1.jpg


I was out your way in May and tent camped at Lyman Lake SP and at a Forest Service CG near the Grand Canyon.

I need to spend more time out west.:D:cool:

Bob
 
jkc said:
Nice! Now, to follow on this trip, next summer, take your rig and family all the way up to the top of the Pinalenos, to Riggs Lake, a great getaway during monsoon season... a "Sky Island" adventure, similar to what you can find in the Catalinas, closer to home such as at Summerhaven, but, with a little lake...
Click to expand...

I'll put Riggs on our short list. We are just beginning to explore with the new rig. I camped a lot as a kid and did the marine version for 35 years on boats. The Aliner pop up draws a crowd wherever we go. Even had one guy watch me pop it up, come over and ask, "Can you do that again?"

Lots of the places we have gone or will go to have fishing so come January I will be getting my license and some gear. I don't know squat about fresh water fishing so any advice for these mountain lakes would be appreciated. Seems like we always meet the nicest folks while camping, they all have dogs and guns so we have a lot in common right off the bat. (o;
 
I just got back from a week in Safford. Many relatives in the Safford-Thatcher area including some that live about 1/2 mile south of Roper Lake. The weather was beautiful, 30's at night, 70's during the day.
 
Very nice. I love the great outdoors but I just can't get my wife and son to go camping or hiking.
 
Just returned from another great trip up to Mt Graham. We hadn't anticipated how crowded the Southern Arizona campgrounds would be due to the extended spring break. We beat the crowds by heading up Mt Graham and found the Arcadia campground empty. Now that may be because we were smart enough to go there but it is probably because at just over 7,000 feet it was well above the snow line. The shady places had 4" to 6" of snow and some spots were still a foot deep. Temps ranged from 60 when the sun was out to mid twenties at night. Averaged about 45 all day with a little snow falling around noon and hail, snow and rain blasting down on Friday night. I lit off the coffee pot every morning at seven and the campfire immediately there after. Kept the fire burning all day and well into the night. The forrest service had taken a few trees down so firewood was plentiful and free for the taking.

Here is our little A-liner tucked in to the trees
CIMG1236.jpg


Relaxin by the fire, temp around 38 degrees, campground empty, MP9C on my hip. (o;


CIMG1252.jpg


Here is where some of our tax dollars have gone...and thank you! (o;
CIMG1245.jpg
 
Southeastern Arizona...

Just returned from 3 days and nights at Patagonia Lake, very nice campground 12 miles north of the border. Saw lots of Border patrol but no illegals...maybe they are boycotting Arizona, after all, it's all the rage now. (o;

The campground features a 265 acre lake put in by the local rancher who wanted a place for his kids to learn to water ski. He turned it over to the park service on the condition that his cattle continue to have free range, and they do. Watch where you step at night as they are all over the campground. The fishing is good if you know what you are doing (I don't when the water is fresh - ask me about chasing tuna). Hookup sites with water and electricity go for $25 a night, regular sites are $17. This gets you clean restrooms with hot showers and flush toilets. It can get a little rowdy on weekends (forget about holiday weekends), but they quiet everyone down at 9. All in all a nice spot just 2 easy hours from home and we will be back soon. (o;



CIMG1357.jpg
 
mwtdvm:

I tried to answer you PM and hope you got it. If not let me know here. (o;

Steve
 
Last edited:
Peppersauce Campground

Peppersauce is located on the back side of Mt Lemon, outside of Oracle, 5 miles down a dusty but passable dirt road. The campground is a heavily wooded canyon with a creek that while dry now, roars during the summer monsoons. We set up in a nice site next to the dry creek and had the campground all to ourselves. Friday the camp host alerted us to the incoming weekend crowd including 35 boy scouts that would be right across the creek in the group site. We moved to the other side to a larger site away from the crowd but by Saturday morning all 16 sites were full and we headed home, a mere 45 minutes away. At $10 a night, water and pit toilets it is a beautiful nearby spot that we plan on returning to often. Another bonus is that my favorite shooting spot is just another mile and a half up the road.

The camp host was bitten by a rabid bobcat two years ago. It jumped up and bit him on the stomach as he was coming out of his RV. The cat ran off and attacked a 12 year old in the group site at which point his son in law shot it. He had some very graphic pictures of his wound and the very large, mangy dead cat. He said the rabies shots were hell on earth and now carries 24/7. A rare event to be sure but I kept the MP9c (JHP's) within reach.

Here are a couple of shots of our sites, some of the biggest Sycamore trees I have ever seen.

CIMG1380.jpg


CIMG1392.jpg
 
MaximumLawman said:
Anyone here every do any camping in the Blue Range Primitive Area???
Click to expand...

Not in the Blue, per se, but nearby, a couple times. Once, we found a pullulation of shaggy mane mushrooms, coprinus comatus, and abandoned our bear hunting in favor of mushroom collecting, and made an 80 mile round trip to Alpine to get some butter to saute some of our harvest. One Labor Day weekend on another bear hunt, we arrived after driving with the AC on in the truck most of the trip from the Valley of the Sun, to find many other campers abandoning their camps and inadequate equipment because of a heavy, wet snowfall capping a summer afternoon... This is very difficult country, steep, almost impenetrably overgrown in most places, subject to the aforementioned extremes of weather, and a fire trap just waiting for ignition. There are a few remaining Mexican Gray wolves that have survived the depredations of the local redneck ranchers.
 
Hawley Lake in the White Mountains

Another great camping trip, this time to Hawley Lake in the White Mountains. We did three days and nights at Hawley and went hoping for thunderstorms and boy did we get our wish. Hawley Lake is at 8,500' and the thunder storms were as intense and violent as any I've seen. We were awakened at 4 AM on monday morning to best storm of the trip. An inch of rain fell in about an hour and the gap between lightning flash and the roar of the thunder was something less than one or two seconds...dozens of times! Hawley is in the Apache Reservation and camping is $8 a night. They have water, porta potties and trash pickup. You can pick up all the firewood you want but watch your step as hundreds of cattle free range the campground and surrounding meadows.

CIMG1580.jpg


CIMG1573.jpg
 
...nice post Capt. I'm a long time RV'er and a shorter time "packer". We haven't been to AZ yet but we will join snowbird friends down there one of these winter seasons. Love the pictures, excellent motivators for getting out there...
 
I've lived in Maine my whole life but about 4 years ago I bought 75 acres just north of Douglas by the Leslie Canyon nature preserve at the southern end of the Chiracauhuas. The elevation is about 5000 feet so I it doesn't get super hot for very long. I've got about 7 years to go and I can't wait until I can move out. I spend about two weeks out there in April every year. It truly is wonderful country!
 
According to Wikipedia, "Hawley Lake is notable for being one of the coldest spots in the State of Arizona, in all seasons."

Sounds like a great place to be! :D
 
Hawley Lake: Cool and beautiful

truckemup97 said:
According to Wikipedia, "Hawley Lake is notable for being one of the coldest spots in the State of Arizona, in all seasons."

Sounds like a great place to be! :D
Click to expand...

I would not be surprised after seeing the winter shots posted in the lake store. Snow piled up over the roof and I'm told the lake freezes solid every winter. It sure was a nice get away from the heat of Tucson, most days in the mid 70's cooling down to the low 60's at night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Camping New mexico and Eastern Arizona (Pic heavy)
Replies
16
Views
3K
jkc
J

Latest posts

Back
Top