Scouting For Anza--A 'Reconn" Trip

Highway 238 in Sonora Desert Natl Mon

On February 10, I did a "reconn expedition" for our upcoming Big Adventure through the Sonoran Desert along Juan Bautista de Anza's trail.  My two main objectives were 1) to assess the possibility of a route that leaves the pavement (we're going to be on road bikes, so just heading across across the desert into the scrub and cacti is not always a good option), and 2) to find lodging in places where I was not able to find any via previous research.

 I connected to our route at Casa Blanca Road and Interstate 17, a two and a half hour trip south from our home in Prescott.  This road will take us across part of the Gila River Indian Reservation.  I then went down to Arizona Highway 238, which cuts across to Gila Bend, and traverses Sonora Desert National Monument on a beautiful stretch of road.  Hopefully the desert wildflowers will be out when we're riding.

Space Age Lodge, Gila Bend, AZ

At Gila Bend, I made sure that the Space Age Lodge Restaurant would be open for us at breakfast.  Yep, as you see in the photo, the entire motel--inside and out--looks something like the Starship Enterprise.  Now, Kent and I had considered actually staying here, just for kicks.  However, to stay in this oddity in the middle of the desert would cost $120/night (plus tax).  Sorry.  No way am I going to pay that much money to sleep for 8 hours in Gila Bend, Arizona!  Instead we're putting ourselves up at the less-than-fancy Knights Inn just down the road, and pretend we are voyagers with Starfleet.  The restaurant opens at 5 am, so we'll be there for breakfast.

I tried an unpaved route from Gila Bend to Painted Rock Dam(n) Road, through the agricultural land just to the west of Gila Bend.  The gravel roads were less than smooth, and I about got run over by large trucks barreling down what they perceived was something akin to the Phoenix International Raceway.  I think we'll opt instead from the Frontage Road which parallel's the interstate from Casa Grande to San Diego.  Much safer!

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, near the Gila River

When I finally arrived (safely) at Painted Rock Dam Road, it was a great drive to Painted Rock, a stack of volcanic rocks full of Native American petroglyphs ("rock art," although some archeologists argue that it served more as an ancient "message board," or maybe even graffiti).  The road here turns to gravel, but it's straight, flat and not too bad at this point.  A few miles down the road, the gravel turned into bigger rocks, and where streams crossed the road (which goes right through the Gila River--well, what WAS the Gila River; dams upstream have rendered this once lush river dry, except after rainstorms) it is very sandy.  The road paralells a large lava deposit (which you can see in the background of the photograph), and is strewn with igneous rock

Where our route will cross the Gila River.  (Do you see any water?)

So, unsure about this, as soon as I got into cell phone tower range (which was about 13 miles down the road), I called Kent up in Canada, to describe the situation and get a second opinion.

"Bro, I just got done driving the dirt part of our route.  I lost two hubcaps and chipped a tooth driving on this road.  Whaddayathink?  Still want to try it?"

I was sure this would be enough to discourage him, and opt for a smoother route.  But, alas, my little brother, has turned into quite the adventurer.

"Could we walk our bikes through some of that, like we did in Sedona?"  he queries.

"Well, ya... I suppose."  I was trying to sound as unenthusiastic as possible, even though this way is closest to Anza's actual trail.

"Let's do it, then!"  I could see him smiling with a perverse kind of glee on the end of the airwaves.

"Alright."  That's about all I had to say.  I will make sure we have plenty of spare tubes and a patch kit.

So across the desert it is.

Hyder Valley Supply, Hyder, AZ

The next challenge, then, was find a place to stay.  The "town" of Hyder is on this route.  Calling it a "town" is generous.  There is one small convenience store with ONE gas pump.  No motels.  No campgrounds, No nothiing.  But as I've read about other cyclists adventures in places similar to this, I'm not discouraged.  The consensus there are good people in all places.  I stop at the store, "Hyder Valley Supply," go to the cooler and pick up an ice tea.

I say to the person in the store, a lovely middle aged woman working in the corner of the store, "I would like to buy an iced tea from you, then I have a question for you."

"Ohhh, that sounds intimidating!" she replies, though I didn't sense that much could really intimidate her.

I was wearing one of my "Life is Good" t-shirts with a smiling cycling figure on the front.  "Are you a biker?" she asked.  I answered affirmatively, sharing with her that was what my question was about.  I explained that Kent and I would be biking from Tubac to L.A. following Anza's trail, and asked her if there was any place we could overnight near here, and that we would be willing to pay.

Train cars along the So. Pacific Railway near Hyder

After some more very pleasant conversation, Sandi offered to find lodging for us when we arrived in Hyder.  I learned that her husband's father originally homesteaded a farm in the Hyder area, and that only seven months ago they bought the store.  (After this, I received an email from Sandi saying that she was going to be out of town that day, but her partner, Charlotte, would look after us.)  A large solar power station is being constructed near Hyder, and during the week workers stay at the small trailer park that is along the store.  I can't wait to meet other people from Hyder.  I am touched already by their kindness.

Leaving Hyder, I explored some other possible routes, and drove through Dome Valley to connect with Highway 95 northbound back home.  I drove over 500 miles that day, and have much more confidence in our route--and our prospects for survival!

Rich farmland along the Gila River (and our route)  in Dome Valley