Sunday, December 15, 2019

Scenic Loop

Ajo, Arizona - Sunday, December 15, 2019

Didn't sleep late like I thought I would after my late night.  Awoke again at 8 o'clock and we had our breakfast and I read and responded to blogs.

We took our morning walk along an abandoned Jeep road around to Darby Well Road and back to the RV.  Yuma gets ahead of me and shows me the way.
It's starting out without a cloud in the sky and a little cooler today.  Only going to be a high of 62 with a cool wind out of the northeast.

Decided I didn't want to travel far today, so we took the Scenic Loop through the mountain pass behind Ajo on the western side.  Not a long drive but it is pretty.  If you like mountains.

We jumped in the Jeep around 1 o'clock and before I even got up to the main road, I had to back down to the RV.  I forgot my camera.  Yuma was giving me that "come on Dad" look.
By turning left to the west on Darby Well Road and follow it for several miles staying to the right at each intersection, it turns into Scenic Loop. 

That is the mountain we'll go around.  I believe it is "A" mountain that can be seen above Ajo on the other side.  I notice we now have puffy white clouds coming in from the north.


The drive continues around the west side of Ajo going between two groups of small mountains.  Didn't take long till we hit the sign telling us to stay right.  If we went left accidently, the road goes for miles out into the Sonoran Desert towards Yuma.  Not good.
Al, Kelly and Pheebs Travel With The Bayfield Bunch :) have stayed in their MH near this dome rock a number of times.  I met them there once and Al, Pheebs and I climbed on that rock.
Here's a picture without the zoom.  Hey Al, there is only one RV in the whole area.  Better hurry.
After traveling through several deep washes with signs warning not to cross when flooded, we were coming up to the "A" mountain.
Now I can tell because there is a Cross at the top of the mountain that can be seen in Ajo on the other side.  Can you see it top left center?
 Now you can.
It wasn't long before we came around the mountain to the north side and there was Ajo looking up at us.
We are heading right down to the center of town.  You can see the open mine pit to the right of the picture.  Beautiful view on a beautiful day.
Always like to take a picture of the lizard done in mason on this house.  It also has a history.  Al may remember better than me.  There was an artist living there and he had a lot to do with the mural on the Ajo Copper News building that I covered the other day.  

Anyway he was a blogger at one time with a name like Wolfman, but not sure.  Had a wolf in it.  Anyway, his blog was weird, but interesting to read.  More of an "R" rated blog if I remember.  He stopped blogging and I've wondered what happened to him.

Enough nostalgia.  Next I passed the Calvary Baptist Church.  There are a number of churches in Ajo.
Looking back to the west there is the "A" on "A" mountain.  If you look closely you can see the cross at the very top.  
Now we're stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of highway 85 that is the main drag through town.  Across the street is the mall with the palm trees and green grass.  Yuma wants to walk on green grass.  It is decorated for Christmas with a Christmas tree in the center.
Yuma walked on the grass but I didn't get a picture of him.  Across the way to the east is the historic train station that used to come through here.
The Tucson, Cornellia and Gila Bend Railroad.  It is a beautiful restored station.
A closer view with all the arches.  It is the main building with the two malls to the north and south.
Beautiful church right across highway 85 from the mall.
That's enough of Ajo for the day.  Yuma and I headed the four miles back to the RV and called it a day.

See you later.

23 comments:

  1. I didn't think you could top yesterday's post, but I may be wrong. Wonderful pictures of the mountains, churches and train station. Loved them all.Im glad you had such a perfect day for the Loop. That Yuma is a good guide dog! 😀

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    1. Thanks Dolly. Ajo is a very pretty town. I could almost live here. There's a beautifully located one bedroom studio with 34 acres of rock located on the backside of "A" mountain for sale. Haul your own water and solar electric. For only $200k. Can't beat that.

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  2. A great scenic drive. Nice to have Yuma as a 'guide dog'!

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  3. First of all, Tom and I just looked at your pictures from your Child's Mountain Sunset Tour and all we can both say is beautiful. I will be putting that on our calendar for February and hope we are in the area the second Saturday to take it.
    We have taken that Scenic Look both ways, but I like the way you went the best because of the view you captured really nicely as you came into Ajo. Great pictures of the mall area.

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    1. Thank you Deb. It is a great drive. You can see forever from there. This is my second time. Glad for the good weather too. Last year it was rained out.

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  4. That dome rock might be one of Al's "cow plop" hills.? Ajo is such a scenic little town - perfect place to spend some time. It really has everything you need.😎

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    1. Thank you Moonfly. You're right. Al did call them cow plops . Good thing someone has a memory because I sure don't.

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous area and photos. When we left Tucson, stopping in Ajo for a few days was the plan. But that plan didn't work out so it's still on the bucket list. Thanks for sharing the beauty of the area.

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    1. Thank you Elba. This is also a very artistic community. They have an Artist Alley full of local paintings. There is art everywhere and I hope to get pictures of them or at least put a link of the many I took last time I was here. http://missadventuretravels.blogspot.com/2018/01/visit-to-ajo-arizona.html
      I found the link.

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  6. What beautiful photos. Love that blue sky and all the gorgeous buildings.
    Love seeing pictures of Yuma too. :)

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  7. Great pictures. I skipped Ajo on my way across this time so now don't feel like I missed anything. I want to mention to you about Tucson and the Casino del Sol. I too bit the bullet and stayed there this year. The next day though I moved to the Desert Diamond Casino on the Old Nogales Highway next to the Airport. They have one lot set aside for RVs and trucks and were very welcoming. If you go into the Casino at the Security desk you fill out a form and are welcome to stay a week. It is much closer to downtown Tuscon.

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    1. Thanks Peter. I have made a note of the other casino and will stay there next time.

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  8. I think Wanderwolf's name is Mike and the last we heard he still lives in Ajo. Yes, you and I and Pheebs did indeed take a hike to the top of the smaller Cow Plop. So nice to see photos of the green Sonoran desert in that area with it's abundance of plant life like Saguaro and Organ Pipe Cactus. One of the best parts of last winter for us was there in that area when we stayed at Gunsight Wash south of Why Az. On Dec 9th, 2011 on a morning walk we found water and part of a stone foundation which might be the original Darby Well. It's on the west side of the loop road opposite the big slag heap somewhere in the area of Indian cemetery road. I remember a rough little road angling down to a what almost looked like a dirt parking area below. It also looked like a party area for the locals. The well as I recall was just yards south of that parking area right alongside the Darby Well loop road. In the link below I have a couple photos I took there....Title of the post is 'The Bayfield Bunch Meets RV Sue And Her Canine Crew' http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2011/12/bayfield-bunch-meets-rv-sue-and-her.html

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    1. Thanks Al. I knew you had a better memory than me. Yuma and I will just go hunting and see if we too can find the original Darby Well.

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    2. Moonfly also reminded me those were cow plops and not domes.

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  9. Replies
    1. Thank you Deb. We enjoyed the day and the short but interesting day. Short is good for me right now.

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  10. What a beautiful area to explore we love it , and thanks for the in depth tour.

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    1. You're welcome George. I'm sure you've driven it many times but there can always be one more time.

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