The narrow, winding road was built at the turn of the century to open up the Carr Reef to gold and silver mining. The Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed it in the 1930’s. The mines have come and gone, but the road persists with little change. The people who travel it, however, have changed considerably. Where hardy prospectors once searched for their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, outdoor recreationalists and history buffs now travel the Carr Canyon Road to enjoy splendid scenery and seek the flavour of the past.
For them, the Carr Canyon Road provides the reward of extraordinary views of Sierra Vista, the San Pedro Valley and a number of surrounding mountain ranges as it winds its way up the mountain. Since the road is so narrow, we recommend for safety that you use one of the pullouts along the road if you want to stop and enjoy the view. A forest recreation area stands in an area once occupied by the Reef Town site. Here you will find the Reef Town site Loop Trail, Reef Town site Campground and Ramsey Vista Campground. From the Reef, the Carr Peak Trail #107 and Comfort Spring Trail #109 connect to an extensive network of trails that lead throughout the Huachuca range. The first mile or so of the drive is paved; the rest is dirt and suitable for 2-wheel drive vehicles. The switchbacks are narrow and steep with no guardrails. There is a sign at the bottom of the road warning travellers that the road is not maintained regularly The road was very rough in places reminded Woody of some roads in Africa. Top speed was about 15 mph, but had to go slower at times, we did meet some traffic going and coming and also saw many hikers. There is a campground near the top about 7400 ft I think which is very nice for tenting with toilets, fire pits and tables but no water, there were a few people camping there although it is listed as being closed November 30th.
Starting up the mountain we were very lucky to see 4 Coues deer, the one below was nice enough to pose for us!
The road was gravel and most of way we could look down over the valley or straight down into deep gorges.
Was so cool to look back at the road we had travelled.
In the summer there is a waterfall cascading over the flat rock formation you see here. The area is fenced off as there has been 19 people killed from falling over the edge.
You can see part of the fence on this picture.
On the way up we had this great view of the Aerostat, we can see it from our park but was so cool to get this close. Some information regarding the Aerostat I collected off the internet.
The Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) is a balloon-borne radar equipped with state of the art technology, including infrared, and normal light cameras and heat sensing equipment. The primary aerostat mission is to provide radar data in support of other federal agencies involved in the nation's drug interdiction program as well as weather reporting. The air drug interdiction program consists of land-based aerostat radar detection balloons along the U.S. southern border and in the Caribbean, and a series of airborne surveillance assets such as P-3 AEW, interceptor aircraft, and apprehension helicopters. The purpose is to seal off the border to illegal drugs coming in by aircraft. The program has been expanded to interdict the narcotic flow before it gets to the U.S. border.
The aerostats the have been called the`most cost-effective counter narcotics detection and monitoring asset.’ By the time that half the land border, the New Mexico-Arizona-California stretch, was covered by aerostats, few drug aircraft tried to penetrate that half of the border. Aerostats carry a load of up to 2200 lbs., have a detection range of 400 km/248 miles, weigh around 8000 pounds and can be tethered up to 25,000 feet.
The vegetation changes when we reach the higher elevation, reminds us of hiking in the Rockies at home.
The aerostats the have been called the`most cost-effective counter narcotics detection and monitoring asset.’ By the time that half the land border, the New Mexico-Arizona-California stretch, was covered by aerostats, few drug aircraft tried to penetrate that half of the border. Aerostats carry a load of up to 2200 lbs., have a detection range of 400 km/248 miles, weigh around 8000 pounds and can be tethered up to 25,000 feet.
The vegetation changes when we reach the higher elevation, reminds us of hiking in the Rockies at home.
More views on the way back down!
Love the colour in the rock.
We had an awesome time visiting this area with Nels and Betty, thank you both so much!
We arrived home in time to walk the dogs, grab some dinner and then attended the Jam Session!
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