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Kofa NWR Weekend Escape


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#1 Cayuse

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Posted 30 January 2018 - 04:23 PM

With my roomate studying for her Series 24 test it was time to get out of the house for a few days and heading west to Kofa seemed like a good plan.

 

Friday morning after I got on the road and headed towards Yuma.  The plan was to stop at the headquarters there and get a map and maybe get some additional information since online resources were a bit limited.

 

First stop in Yuma was Prison Hill Brewery to fill a growler, always try and support the local economy and buy independent craft beer whenever possible :-)  After that I went to the refuge HQ but they didn't have much for maps and instead directed me to the local BLM office.  The local BLM office sold me an OK map for $2 and I was on my way but remembered I was out of paper towels so pulled into a Wal-Mart (evil empire in my book) to grab a roll before heading north.  In the parking lot I noticed a large A Class with Washington plates and pauhanatravels.com emblazoned across the windshield, was pretty sure I knew who it was and decided I'd check when I came back out.  Anyways, when I returned to my truck there was a group standing around by the RV including Gary and Stacey, I had worked with Gary probably 20 years ago and the two of them have been traveling for I don't know how long now, small world.  After a brief conversation I wanted to head into Kofa and they were on their way to Phoenix so we said goodbyes and headed our separate ways.

 

Once past the Yuma Proving Ground I headed east on King Rd, not really sure of my destination for the night.  Eventually I followed it all the way out to the King Of Arizona mine for which the area is named and ended up camping a ways below there for the evening.

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Saturday morning I discovered that it was still archery season for deer in the refuge and decided to move camp so took a few minutes and broke down and moved to a different local that was maybe 10 miles away but I only saw 4 jeeps and two adventure type motorcycles come by all day so it was a better choice.  Unfortunately the wind also came up on Saturday which was less pleasant.

 

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Sunday morning the wind was still blowing so I decided to strike camp and explore further north.  The first stop was Palm Canyon where a brief hike leads to a stand of palm trees that are native to Arizona.  You can kind of see them behind the fin in the center of the picture.

 

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I also met a fellow WtWer along Palm Canyon Rd driving a white truck with a 2004 Hawk on the back but don't recall his name on here, though he did mention he lives full time in the camper.

 

After Palm Canyon Rd I went back out to the highway and continued north to Pipeline road where I took it across and did an 18 mile loop past a spring but didn't get any pictures as I spent a good deal of the time stressing about not having communication should I break down and whether or not I should buy a SPOT, In-Reach, HAM or what.  The loop was much narrower and more rugged than the previous roads, four wheel drive came in handy a few times and I added a bit of new pinstriping to the sides of the truck.

 

Sunday night was again windy but Monday morning was cal for the drive back home.  Looking forward to going back and exploring some more of the side roads, hopefully with another rig so that If one breaks down help is available.


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#2 ski3pin

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Posted 30 January 2018 - 04:26 PM

Very timely! Thanks! :)

 

 

"evil empire" earns a gold star from us. :)

 

We recommend the InReach.


Edited by ski3pin, 30 January 2018 - 11:17 PM.
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#3 takesiteasy

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Posted 31 January 2018 - 02:25 AM

Looks like a good weekend get away. Thanks for posting your report!


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#4 Horseshoe

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Posted 31 January 2018 - 03:35 AM

Yeah! Stoked you made it out there. This reminds me I need to get back that way as well. Hope our paths cross soon.
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#5 dr.tucson

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Posted 03 February 2018 - 03:23 PM

KOFA is beautiful.  The photo with the cholla in the foreground has KOFA Butte in the distance.  It is fairly easy to get up on top of it by hiking around the backside, past KOFA Dam, and the view is worth it.  Lawnmowerman and I have hiked to within a few feet of the top of Castle Dome Mt, and while much tougher, was fun too.  The way the BLM and volunteers have maintained the old ranch cabins and permitted use of them is fortunate for all of us.  I've stayed in the Wilbanks cabin and the one at Hoodoo Well.  KOFA was my first encounter with the system of marking roads by intersection posts and it made route finding pretty easy!!  Palm Canyon is nice, but because it is close to Hwy 95 is often very crowded. 


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