Went looking for the Monroy Ranch this past week.  It was one of the landmarks on the early 1900's topo map I found online.  I found the old Arizona Dam site the week before last.  The top map showed the ranch  SE of what is now the Ellsworth - Bush Hwy intersection in the Salt River Recreation Area.  I looked around that area on Thursday but didn't find any sign of ranching like old fencing, corrals or foundations.

Kikki feels that this photo needs a unicorn

Today, I walked around SW of the same intersection.  While I still didn't see much in the way of direct physical signs of ranching,  much of the are seemed to have been overgrazed.  It was very pretty with the new grass but the plants were much less dense than in neighboring areas.  There were also several old roads crossing the area.  It would be my guess that the area was part of a ranch at some time.

Adios

Arizona Dam Site - Salt River Recreation Area

This week's walk went much easier.  I was determined to find the Arizona Dam site (it's a dam site better than most).  It was the original source for the Arizona Canal but the Arizona Dam was washed away in a 1905 flood and replaced by the Granite Reef Dam.  It's located downstream from the Salt River & Verde River confluence.  Last week I tried to find it by parking at the Phone D Sutton Campground and bushwacking west through the Mesquite and Salt Cedar thickets.  Not a good idea.  Scratched, spooked and tired, I skulked back without finding the site.

This week, I parked on Bush Highway just south of the site and followed a well traveled horse trail down to an animal ford on the river.  The dam site was just upstream.  Along the way, I passed this handsome fella.  He kept a wary eye out but otherwise ignored me.

The trail wound back and forth through Sonoran desert shrubs then through a mesquite bosque down to the river.

Old Mesquite (does this qualify as a selfy)

Trail to the river

After passing through the mesquite, the trail crossed the old river channel and ended at a ford on the river.  The animal ford was just west of the dam site.

Dam abutment in left background

As I started east towards the dam, I met a couple who had been unsuccessfully duck hunting.  They had just packed up their blind and were getting ready to return to their car.  We exchanged hellos and they said they were returning by way of the campground.  I told them about the easier route from the south and my trials with the campground route last week.  I closed by saying that I was spooked at times in the thick brush.  The wife said, "try it when it's dark before sunrise."   She said she pleaded with her husband to load his shotgun as they bushwacked through the dark thickets.  He prudently didn't but he said that he was tempted when they at some point passed an old cow somewhere unseen in the brush and she started making a big racket.

All that's left of the dam

Red Mtn in background

West from dam site

After getting a few photos, I started wandering back by a different route.  It took me through some old growth mesquite and what appeared to be some sort of man-made clearing.  The stumps in the clearing were very old but I didn't see any sign of habitation so it could have been an old hunting camp.

On the way back

Old Mesquite

Old camp?

Trail through the mesquite

The next place I want to visit is the old Monroy Ranch site.  There were several ranch sites along the river in the 1900's.  One in this area is the Monroy Ranch.  Monroy was married to the daughter of another local land owner, Dr. Jones.  The 1905 topo map (below) shows the Monroy Ranch site and Jone's crossing.  Another ranch, the Stewart Ranch, is covered by Saguaro Lake.  It also shows some lime kilns which are supposed to be still accessible via Blue Point.

1905 (1906?) topo map (McDowell Quad)

I made it back home in plenty of time for my son-in-law to borrow the truck and for me to do some book shopping on 50% off day at Goodwill.  I found several good books including a geography book I'd been looking for.  Hey, what's up with all the used microbiology books at Goodwill?  Maybe that's spooky too?

Adios

Went for a walk Sunday along the Salt River.  I parked at Phon D Sutton Campground and intended to meander to the west and find what's left of the old Arizona Dam.  Arizona Dam was replaced decades ago by Granite Reef Dam further downstream.  The Salt River gets shallow for a while to the west and the campground is near an old river ford.

The campground is located at the confluence of the Verde River with the Salt River and at this time of year,  the upstream dams are setup to supply most of the downstream water through the Verde system while the Salt River system recharges.

The Verde is coming into the Salt from straight ahead.  The Salt is to the right.

I headed east from the campground in the general direction of a posted trail on the upper river terrace. You had to walk off the trail to see the river.

From west of campground looking northeast

from campground trail looking west

It got harder and harder to get to river as I went west.  In order to get to where you could see along the river required crossing an old river channel and dropping down through dense thickets of mesquite and Salt Cedars along the rivers edge.  That wasn't always easy.  It was especially spooky for me since I don't like enclosed spaces anyway.

spooky trail leading to the old river channel

Every so often I'd find a narrow animal trail that meandered down to the river.  The trails were made by the several horses and occasional cattle that roam the area.   Oddly, several seemed to be dead ends (also spooky).

One of the trails took me through the brush and down to the old river channel.  It was easy walking as long as you stuck to the sandy edges.

Old river channel.  The river is now to the right. Not sure what those cones are.

I didn't make it all the way to the dam,  the bushwacking took longer than I expected.  After trudging through the brush one last time I got to some rocks that let me see both directions along the river.  No Arizona Dam.  Turned out that I was still a fairly long way from the dam site.  At home, the boss had ordered me not to dawdle around too long because we had to go to a Christmas part later in the afternoon.

Rocks upstream of dam site

The rocks were a conglomerate similar to that of Red Mtn

So, I turned around and started bushwacking back.  (not nearly as much fun as coming in)

Finding a way (without crawling on my belly) from the old channel to the upper terrace turned out to be a bit of a challenge.  At one point along the way,  I suddenly found myself horizontal instead of vertical.  Turned out I missed a buried section of abandoned barbed wire fencing.

Lucky it was sandy

(We've been watching "Lost" on Netflix and I regularly comment on the foolishness of the folks that trigger the Mad Frenchwoman's traps by tripping over a wire across the trail.  "Come on, I'd have seen that".  Well maybe not.)

After trying several false trails from the old channel to the upper terrace, I decided to throw in my destiny with that of a large cow (judging from her less than dainty hoof size).  She seemed resolute where the several horse trails were fickle.

Onward to better grazing

Once back on the upper terrace she left a calling card.

The recent rains have brought lots of bright green grass.  The runoff from the rain washes sticks and other debris towards the river and the grass get's its best start near the debris.  It makes the grass look like its rippling downstream.  Very artsy.

I headed back more like a dog than a cow.  I zigzagged back and forth to the campground sniffing at interesting looking trees and old abandoned roads.

Abandoned east-west road with Burr Sage and Creosote Bush

Old Mesquite Tree (or Ironwood, don't remember now)

Finally made it back to the river down below the campground.  The above sure seems like an old river ford but its downstream of where the map shows it.  I've been using an old 1906 top map of the area.  It has some other interesting stuff I want to look for.  But they'll have to wait for another day.

Adios