A Few More Pictures From Red Rock State Park
We took a few more pictures at Red Rock State Park because it is such a pretty place. You can see them here. 
We have been back to this park at least once and usually two times a week since we moved to Cottonwood. 
We have taken a couple of nature walks with rangers. The nature walk on Wednesdays and Sundays goes up to and inside the House of Apache Fire. The place is in serious need of repair, but there aren’t enough state funds left after the opening of Kartchner Caverns to spare for this project. 
The house really must have been something in its day, but the roof leaks now, and a lot of the lumber is kind of rotten, so you can’t even walk through the entire house.
The stone work inside the house is really beautiful. Unfortunately, some of the owners since Mrs. Fry have added their own touches to the place, and I do not think those touches helped it any. We have also been on the birdwatching walks a couple times. It is so frustrating to hear the birds and not be able to see them. 
We go on the birdwatch walks to get information from the rangers on which birds sound like what so we know them when we hear them. These pictures are some of the more interesting new birds we have seen since we came up here. One of the most interesting birds we’ve seen is the Blackhawk. There is a young one being guarded very carefuly by its mother right along the park roadway. She will generally let you get close enough to see him through binoculars, but if you get too close to the nest, she has been known to dive bomb. One of the park volunteers told us he sometimes gets dive bombed when he walks to lunch.
Turkey Creek Trail
July 2, 2000
You can get to this trail two ways: from the East Gate of Red Rock State Park, or by travelling on Verde Valley School Road from Oak Creek. We started from the state park, although next time we may go the long way around. We used up a lot of hiking energy getting to the trail this time and if you go from Oak Creek, you can park right at the trailhead. The road is supposed to be accessible in a passenger car, but we try not to go on dirt roads in the van. (It really hates dirt and gravel.) Whichever way you choose to come in, you have to be on the lookout for the trailhead. It is not marked with anything except this sign. Once we tracked down the actual trailhead, the walk was outstanding. We decided that this was the first real “hike” we have taken since we came to Cottonwood. It’s the first time we actually got off the beaten path inside some kind of park or recreation area. Along the way, we talked about being away from people and how it feels to be someplace where you really are all on your own to take care of yourself. We also talked about how much fun it would be to some day backpack into a camping area, stay the night and hike back the next day. Now this is the really surprising part: this is the first time in my entire life that I have thought backpacking might be a good idea. Prior to this both of us always scoffed at backpacking. Seemed like too much work just to sleep outside for a night. Now, it seems like a possibility. You never know. Here are a couple pictures we took during this walk. Our rating:
Return to Woodchute
July 12, 2000
We needed a cooler place to hike because we got a really late start, so we decided to go back to Woodchute Trail. Since it is at about 7000 ft. the temperature was only in the mid to upper 80s which isn’t bad at all. Besides, we have walked a lot of miles since the last time we were there and we figured we could walk a lot further. That was sure a good idea. The first time, we were out for a little over an hour and this time it was almost three. The trail winds through a ponderosa pine forest on Woodchute mountain. We went to the top of the mountain this time and got to enjoy the view. There are a couple spots where you can see all the way to the San Francisco Peaks, north of Flagstaff. That doesn’t sound like a big deal until I tell you that it is 50 miles to the Peaks. Between the San Franciscos and where you are standing is also the Mogollon Rim, plain as day, and very large. For those of you who don’t live in Arizona, the Mogollon Rim is an escarpment that runs east-west across much of Arizona. It is like a gigantic cliff wall that divides the Colorado Plateau from the low desert. If you are going from southern Arizona to northern, you will probably climb the Rim at least once. It is quite amazing to look at, especially when you think about it running across so much of the state. Next time we take the camera out with us, I’ll have Gary take some pictures of it. Anyway, in addition to the Peaks, and the Rim, you can see most of the Verde Valley, which is where Cottonwood is, and you can see the Prescott Valley from a different overlook. Prescott is about 35 miles from the mountain. We still plan to do at least one camping trip to this spot.
West Fork Trail
This trail is amazing! It is the best hike we have been on so far this summer. Except for being stung by a wasp at the very end of the hike, I can’t think of anything negative about the whole walk. The trail follows Oak Creek officially for about 4 miles, and then for another 14 miles if you are into boondocking. It crosses the creek numerous times and all along there are 300 to 400 foot high rock walls on both sides of the canyon. The entire walk is through a pine forest which means that you get to watch jays and listen to the wind in the pines. Once again, I can’t describe the sound if you haven’t ever heard it. Maybe it’s like a loud version of the old “ocean in the seashell” sound. The trail actually goes into the Secret Mountain Wilderness, which means that if you take your pet, you must keep it on a leash.
To get to the trailhead, you go about 3 miles north of Slide Rock State Park on Hwy 89A to a day use area named Call of the Canyon. It costs $5.00 to park for the day, and the trailhead is in the parking lot. The trail starts out by going through an old apple orchard and what we think might be pear trees. A few minutes later, you cross a bridge over Oak Creek and pass through an old homestead. There are a couple old outbuildings and this “cave” which must have been some kind of storage for the family that lived there. There is also a wonderful spot just as you head into the trail where there is a huge field of ferns. They look like the kind that come in many flower arrangements. Here is a view of the field and a close-up of the ferns.
All along the creek, there are side trails that branch off from the main trail. Most of the branches head down to spots on the creek where you can cross on stones, like this. Here are a few shots of the creek at various points on the trail. This viewer gives you an idea what most of the trail looks like. Now if it is scenery that you are interested in, you should check out this second viewer. It has pictures of the rock walls of the canyon. And, finally, Gary has started to take some close-up of flowers and creatures. Here are two from West Fork.
We have so many other trails we want to try that we may not make it back to this one in the summer, but we have decided that we absolutely have to return in the fall. This has to be astounding in the fall. To give you an idea, check the August 2000 issue of Arizona Highways Magazine. There is a photo segment on this trail in that one. Our rating for this trail:
...but we haven’t seen it in the fall yet...
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