St Johns, AZ
Both Clifton and Morenci are essentially bedroom communities for those who work at the Morenci copper mine -- or support those who do.
Stopped at the Clifton Library on Monday 12 Mar. While many of the streets are narrow (and made even narrower by thos who park in front of their houses), the library did have ample parking room for my rig. And their WiFi was reasonably good.
Since the Morenci Library stayed open til 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays (and Clifton's closes at 5:00 p.m.) I headed north on US191. Some of the older brick buildings are deserted and in general disrepair. While stopped for a switching engine (actually 4 or 5 of them) at the edge of town, I glanced to the right and saw where the chief honcho of the copper mine likely lived: an impressive white two-story house with many rooms and verandas on both floor surrounded by oak and palm trees.
When I got to Morenci, which like Clifton is, in part, perched on hillsides, the roads at Plaza Morenci, where the library is located, were torn up -- so I headed north.
A sign on the Freeport-McMoran Copper Mine claimed it was the largest "leaching mine in the world." [Let me check Dictionary.Com to see what that means.... The ore is either assembled in a dump or a heap and chemicals are used to percolate through those freeing the target metals. F-McM is also one of the larger U.S. gold producers.]
As you can see from these photos, the mine is indeed huge!
Like the fences around one of the copper mines in Bisbee, there were "ports" in the chain-link fence where photographers could do their thing without numerous tries to missing including part of the fence.
Safely inside the boundaries of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, I found a very level gravel wide-out at a hairpin turn; here's a photo looking SW as sunset approaches.
Roughly the same shot as the evening before, but slightly to the left -- in the morning sun.
The wide-out on a hairpin turn in US191 where I spent the night. Only had 5 vehicles drive by once the sun set. One reason for so little traffic is that there is a 39-ft max length because of some of the tight turns.
I forget the name of this US Forest Service picnic area, but this view is to the west -- with a blossoming cholla cacti near the picnic table. They're sometimes call "Jumping Chollas" -- which may be how it seems if you get too close to one of them.
There was a picnic table right behind me when I took a snapshot to the south.
Believe this is Mitchell Peak (elev 7???').
Note what looks like a large sand dune in the center of this photo. [Later discovered that it was merely dried grass. If it had been sand, there would have been evidence of shifting roadbeds.]
Panning left, note that there is more vegetation here that around Clifton and Morenci; the reason is that this is a northeast-facing vista -- with chaparrel and some small oaks.
Looking at Mt Rose Lookout from the northeast, where the snow remains the longest. While US50 from Ely to Tonopah, NV, has the reputation as the lonliest US highway in the U.S., I only saw vehicles about once every 40-50 minutes on US191 -- excluding USFS and ADOT [Arizona Dept of Transportation] workers.
From the same turn in the above photo, a view to the NE into New Mexico.
And, panning right, a shot to the southeast into the "Land of Enchantment."
A shot generally to the east. The tree at the right appears to be a Douglas fir.
It's definitely still winter in this area. But when the snow melts, that will encourage the bare aspens you see here to put sprout their triangular- or heart-shaped leaves.
The Rig -- framed by snow and fir and aspen trees. The area was just before US191 dropped down to Hannagan Meadow, which reminded me of Kennedy Meadows on CA108 [Sonora Pass] in California -- but without the people. Presumably they'll show up once the temperatures at lower level rise to the high 80s or above.
This photo was taken north of both Alpine and St Johns. Not sure if the snow-covered, nearly table-topped mountain is the one called Beaverhead, but it does look a bit like the head of a beaver swimming in a pond with no ears protruding upward.
Stepping around the rig, this photo shows the demarcation between the forested areas of Alpine to Show Low and the grassy, somewhat drier area north of St Johns, the county seat of Apache County. Of course, the further north one drives toward Holbrook, the drier and rockier Arizona become.
Of course, there were once forests around Holbrook, but they now part of the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park.
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Links:
- Wikipedia article on Clifton, AZ
- Morenci's history from theHistory of Greenlee County, AZ
- History of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold from Wikipedia
- Wikipedia article on St Johns, AZ
Sa 17 Mar Route: Homolovi SP - Holbrook - Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG
Su 18 Mar Route: Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG
M 19 Mar Actual Route: Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG - Holbrook - Chambers - Sanders - Chambers
T 20 Mar Actual Route: Chambers - Houck - Gallup - Red Rock State Park
W 21 Mar Actual Route: Red Rock NM SP - Window Rock - Ganado - Jcn AZ264 & US191 dry-camp
Th 22 Mar Actual Route: Jcn AZ264 & US191 dry-camp - Chinle - Canyon de Chelly Natl Monument - Cottonwood CG (Canyon de Chelly NM)
F 23 Mar Actual Route: Cottonwood CG (Canyon de Chelly NM)- Many Farms - Mexican Water - c8 mi east of Red Mesa (boon-dock)
Sa 24 Mar Actual Route: c8 mi east of Red Mesa (boon-dock) - Four Corners - Towaoc, CO - Cortez Lib - Towaoc (Ute Mtn Casino RV Pk)
Su 25 Mar Route: Towaoc - Cortez - Mesa Verdi Natl Park - Mancos - Durango
Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
- Free campsites website
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