Ajo Loop Road

Odometer- Not Moving

Trip meter 0

December 22, 2013

Joan and I invited our neighbor Barb to join us on a short drive to see some of the local sights.  We took the car and drove an 11 mile loop road that roughly circumnavigates the mine on the south side of Ajo.

The recent rain, though very light, was enough perk up a lot of the desert plants, which made this a great time to be out exploring.  The loop road we took was a county maintained gravel road that had many, not so well maintained spurs- and that's were where we had the most fun!

Most of this area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and as such is open to "wild camping".   Anyone who wants can dry camp out here for up to 14 days.

Old  structures are always a magnet that pulls our interest.  We always have to wonder what the enterprise looked like in it's day.

A short distance off the main road was a place called Darby Well.  We decided to check it out and found that  there is a real working water well there.  The wind pump was turning in the breeze, and the pump rod kept a steady trickle of water coursing into this concrete cistern.  A minor miracle in the heart of the desert!

Loved this old maintenance rig parked nearby.  Looks like a '46 Chevrolet with a home made crane on back.

 Not sure it would pass an OSHA inspection, but it sure looked the part for a home made crane.

On our way back into town we rounded a corner to find three wild burrows grazing alongside the road.

Your Traveling Friends

Jeff and Joan