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Old 05-02-2018, 07:19 PM   #1
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White Mountain Apache Reservation

These RVLife articles happened to pop up in my sidebar and I am sharing because this is home to me.

Ft. Apache and Kinishba Ruins


Salt River Canyon

Entry fees had gone up to $6 last time I visited Ft. Apache. If your knees are up to it, make sure to hike the mile-and-a-half loop trail that descends into the canyon behind the museum. There is a small cafe in the park featuring foods with a Native twist.

If you stay overnight in the area, the tribe runs a full-service RV park, there are public campgrounds with hook-ups and facilities at Show Low Lake and Fools Hollow Lake, as well as many primitive sites on and off the reservation. Reservation camping requires a daily camping permit from the tribe, developed national forest campgrounds have a fee, and dispersed camping in national forests is free. Summer weekends get crowded, but fall is great.
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Old 05-03-2018, 07:06 PM   #2
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Thanks for all the good information, its much appreciated
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Old 05-04-2018, 04:40 AM   #3
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On our way home from a visit to the North Rim we stayed within a hundred miles at Homolovi Ruins state park. Had we known...... Now we do. Next time. Thanks for posting. Raz
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Old 05-04-2018, 07:52 AM   #4
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The area is somewhat off the beaten path to and from the big tourist areas of the state, but worth a day or two detour if you have the time. Roads are good for the most part.

Several nice lakes with campgrounds dot the reservation. They don't assign sites, so you just buy your permit and squeeze in. Porta-jons only. Other than summer weekends, it's not bad. Horseshoe Lake, Hawley Lake, Reservation Lake are all nice. Daily reservation fishing permits are also available.

My favorite day hiking trail is the East Baldy Trail in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area (aka Phelps Cabin Trail in older literature). Great views about 2-3 miles in. The wilderness area is off the reservation, so no permits needed. Mt. Baldy summit itself, at just under 11K', is the second highest in the state, but sadly off-limits as a sacred site within the reservation boundary.
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Forest fire season here is generally May-June, give or take. Summer "monsoon" thunderstorms run July- August, dries out in September-October. Aspens usually peak in early October, when the above photos were taken. Temperatures vary significantly with altitude.

Feel free to shoot a PM if you are planning to be in the area.
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Old 05-08-2018, 07:54 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz View Post
On our way home from a visit to the North Rim we stayed within a hundred miles at Homolovi Ruins state park. Had we known...... Now we do. Next time. Thanks for posting. Raz
What are your thoughts on Homolovi Ruins? We're heading out next week and will be spending about 5-6 weeks in northern AZ / southern UT.

Jon, thanks for your recommendations; we'll likely give Salt Canyon a stop. I spent much of my two years in the Army at Ft Huachuca back in 69 and came to really love the southwest.

Thanks - Al
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Old 05-08-2018, 08:01 AM   #6
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About 10 years ago I was traveling on business, driving east from Phoenix, and happened upon the Salt River canyon. I was amazed, had never heard of it before. It is worth a visit.
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Old 05-08-2018, 08:11 AM   #7
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If you happen to be in Globe near mealtime and like Mexican food, I'll recommend Reynosa's El Rey Cafe (not to be confused with two other El Rey restaurants in the area). Skip the usual combo platters and try their green chili stew (loaded with chunks of pork, tomato, onion and of course, green chili; you can request hot or mild), the Baja-style shrimp platter (mildly spicy with jumbo shrimp, red chili, garlic, and lime, a house specialty), or the carne asada burro.

It's easy to miss under the cottonwood trees on US-60 just west of the RR underpass. Room to park a trailer.

My sister was stationed at Ft. Huachuca during her tour as an Army nurse back in the 90's. That's another fascinating area of the state I haven't really gotten to explore much.

When exploring north of I-40, don't miss Canyon de Chelly ("Shay" for the uninitiated). There's a campground at the mouth of the canyon. I don't recall if there are hook-ups, but it's well shaded under large cottonwood trees.
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Old 05-09-2018, 07:24 AM   #8
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Thanks for the additional info Jon and, yes, I am a fan of Mexican fare. We'll definitely stop by Reynosa's when we're in that area.

Ft Huachuca and the surrounding area is a great place to spend some time. Lots of history and great natural beauty for those who like a Sonoran desert environment (I do). A day or two after arriving there I caught guard duty at a remote radar site and within a few hours saw my first Javelina, Coatimundi and jack rabbit then heard coyotes for the first time. Thought I'd been dropped off on another planet. Please tell your sister thanks for her service.

We've been to Canyon de Chelly a couple of times and hiked the White House trail but have never camped there. I'd like to get back and possibly take one of the guided tours.
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Old 05-09-2018, 08:05 AM   #9
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Coatimundis... similar to our local ring-tailed cats, known here as "Apache monkeys," but actually another smaller relative of raccoons. Cute but fierce.
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I had to trap one that had taken up residence in the attic of the church where I work. We never saw it because they are apparently mostly nocturnal, but we knew we had something because its dirty footprints were all over the kitchen. We suspected a small cat.

It took several weeks, but we finally snared it in a live trap. First time I had ever seen one. Called the local game & fish and they relocated it 20 miles away. Two weeks later it was back. We were careful to keep our trash cans tightly closed, but it was careful to avoid the trap this time. One day I noticed the trash can lid was askew. I popped it back on without thought... and several days later opened it... to find the dead ringtail inside.

Problem solved, but not exactly the way I planned. Cleaning out its den in the attic was a nasty job. Glad there was only one!
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Old 06-23-2018, 04:31 PM   #10
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Open and Plenty of Camping Sites

Just spent last night at one of the reservation campgrounds- Horseshoe Cienega- tenting with the guys, not Scamping. With temperatures over 110 degrees in Phoenix and some forest closures in effect, I expected campgrounds to be packed on a Friday night, but there were actually plenty of empty spaces. Lake is low and campfire restrictions in effect, but it's cool and pleasant at about 8000' elevation. Fishing at Horseshoe Lake was a wash, but our group caught 4 large trout at nearby Sunrise Lake.

Camping is $9/night or $175/month with reasonably clean porta-johns and water nearby, no other facilities on site. Pinetop and Springerville are about 30 minutes away. I did fall sleep to the hum of generators, but woke up a few hours later to dead quiet and no lights.

If you're visiting northern Arizona, consider spending a night or a week on the White Mountain Apache reservation, about an hour south of I-40 near the New Mexico border. Permits are available at the Hondah Outdoor Store on AZ-260 just west of the AZ-73 junction.

Spotted one molded trailer in residence, a Casita 17 towed by a white Chevy/GMC pickup.
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Old 06-23-2018, 05:27 PM   #11
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In the vicinity, US 191 (AKA Coronado Trail) from Safford to Springerville is a beautiful and entertaining drive. It's a twisty mountain road, but shouldn't be a problem for FGRV enthusiasts. Along with the scenery, you also drive right through a huge copper(?) strip mine which is interesting in it's own way. Big machines!! Even the number of the road has a story. Formerly it was known as US 666. Rather than continue to court disaster, the state lobbied to have the number changed in 1992.
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Old 06-23-2018, 05:33 PM   #12
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Thats the strange thing about camping right now. Many areas are booked months in advance, meanwhile other camping nearby has room. I was actually able to make reservations last week at Yellowstone, for several days early September.
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Old 06-24-2018, 06:14 AM   #13
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Quote:
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In the vicinity, US 191 (AKA Coronado Trail) from Safford to Springerville is a beautiful and entertaining drive. It's a twisty mountain road, but shouldn't be a problem for FGRV enthusiasts...
Agree- beautiful drive, and a fascinating slice of Arizona's diverse geography and economy. The 40' vehicle length restriction might affect some larger molded rigs, but smaller trailers should be fine.

Last time I took that drive it was still US-666. Folks where I live take that particular number pretty seriously. I was issued a license plate with that number once. I declined it as offensive to some. The DMV made me pay for a replacement plate.
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