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This was another
one old guy and a jeep tour. Butterfield Pass is southwest
of phoenix on the back-road way almost to Gila Bend. The
area I went to is part of Sonora Desert National Monument
and had a lot of historical significance as you will see
from the pictures.
Trip: Leaving home around 10
wearing a sweatshirt It was a very cold ride down highway
347 to Maricopa and so I stopped there and got a coffee
which helped quite a bit along with cranking up the heat as
far as it would go. I then got off on road 238 and headed
west toward Gila Bend. After about 15 miles on 238 I saw a
small sign and a few people off the road by the entrance to
a dirt road and thought this must be my exit.
It turned out
not to be the exit I was really looking for but it ended up
in the right spot anyway along with giving me a lot longer
trip off-road. The road headed off out into the desert
filled with only brush and scrub. I came upon a few camp
sites then the road headed west. After crossing a
large dry creek bed I met with a Park Ranger heading the
other way. She was a wealth of information and got out every
map she had in her truck. Most importantly she assured me I
was on the right road and that it paralleled or was on the
old Butterfield Trail route.
Eventually
the road started heading up into the Maricopa Mountains.
With a little elevation the Saguaro, Ocotillo and other
cactus started becoming a big part of the landscape. The
road also got rougher but perfect for the Jeep. It wasn't
rocky just lots of ups and downs, small washes etc.
I stopped at
all the historic sites along the way like the cistern to the
right. I can not imagine how tough it was to pull a wagon
through this terrain let alone something like the Rocky
Mountains. Those people were crazy but they did it.
While I was
researching this route I came across an interesting story of
a family that was murdered ( The Oatman Massacre, if you're
interested) and two of the girls taken captive just
Northwest of Gila Bend in 1852 about 30 miles from
Butterfield Pass. I don't know if they took that route and
neither did the Park Ranger I had encountered earlier in the
trip, but they might have.
Anyway, this
was a fantastic adventure with almost everything I want from
a Jeep trip. I left at 10 and was back by 2, the terrain was
manageable yet challenging and it had an interesting history
which might come in handy on Jeopardy. I would do this one
again.
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