By: Mike Nevitt - February 2005

Every now and again between modifications, repairs and maintenance we get the urge to go hit the dirt, finding new and revisited off road sites. In this article we hope to rekindle the urge to just day trip and explore your hometown back roads!

Getting out to the backcountry

You will need some basic items for the trip:

• Lunch / snack items
• Water, at least two gallons per person
• Minimum tools and recovery gear (hand tools, strap, jack, etc.)
• Maps - Local Topo / USFS at a minimum
• GPS coordinates (when available)
• A willingness to let the road take you where it goes...

For our Sunday day trip, we decided to go it alone. In an area where there is very little vehicle traffic or communications, a one vehicle trip needs to be stocked more robustly than the Planning List provided in this article, however the road we would travel on this trip is fairly populated. Our destinations, Crown King, Cleator and Bumble Bee, AZ and as many roads as we could fit in between! The more exciting, wheeling is the "back way" to Crown King and down the "paved" dirt road, so we decided to travel the back way in and take a handful of the marked OHV trails or visibly traveled two track mining roads on the way back to Phoenix.

As many times as we have traveled this loop of a trail, we always find new and different places along the way. Here are a few areas that were exceptionally appealing on this trip.

AZ Winter Desert	Primitive roads	More primitive roads

Cleator, AZ	More Cleator	Old iron in Cleator

More AZ Winter Desert	There is water in the desert	River rock constructed shoring walls

Crown King, AZ

Cool Rescue / Fire equipment

The areas surrounding Crown King are rich and varied in the terrain and scenery. Unfortunately, Bumble Bee is no longer the Ghost Town is used to be and Cleator is an outpost between I-17 and Crown King. This particular "dirt road" is one of the most traveled in northwest Arizona for mines, industry and yes, suburban sprawl. Due to some of these mines being in active use, selected photos from this trip are withheld with respect to the mine claimant and residents.

Fortunately, the folks through this 30 some odd mile stretch of mines and "Ghost Towns" are very friendly and helpful. Most own 4X4’s and have been down the local two track roads and trails. In Cleator, the owner of the local watering establishment led us down to a closed mining area (due to explosive remains) and showed us some interesting areas of 19th century mining and panning.

Crown King is an outpost between northern AZ and the high desert. One of the older and more popular "towns" nestled in the Bradshaw Mountains of AZ has been a harbor of mining, exploration and, best of all, OHV folks of all kind. Expect to be treated as if you were at home when stopping in at Cathy’s for a burger (yummy!) or The Mill Restaurant for lunch or dinner.

From Crown King to Bumble Bee the main road is a more or less graded two lane dirt road. In some areas, through carved walls of hills, the road narrows to one lane and if you look closely, there are a few signs that indicate the driver to use "common sense." There are opportunities to depart the main road in several areas and explore designated OHV trails, mining and cattle trails / two track roads throughout the area.

The purpose of this article is to enlighten or re-ignite the flame of exploring new areas of the places we live. Supporting your local historical society or mapmaker can be the best bet for day-tripping in your geographical area.

Please always remember to tread lightly! Getting out to hardcore rock trails or a favorite camping / picnic / hunting spot has been the right of 4WD owners for decades, let’s respect the places in which we choose to recreate. Do not ignore road closed signs, even though they are soooooooooo tempting! Don’t blaze roads where they are evidently not traveled for some time. Keeping these trails open for future wheelers is our legacy and our "free time stress reliever."

Airing up and counting quarters to go clean all the mud from the drivetrain

After a nine hour day of driving and wheeling the back roads of a historic area of our state we were relaxed to air up the tires, look at the pictures of the day and enjoy the country areas of AZ.

Funny, we were wondering what other folks in other states were doing at that very moment in time...