BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

adventure backroad A 30-mile Drive North of Yuma Traverses GRASSLANDS and STARK MOUNTAINS, Past MINE SHAFTS and BIGHORN SHEEP

THE FORMER MANAGER OF THE IMPERIAL National Wildlife Refuge, north of Yuma, tried to prepare me for what to expect on Red Cloud Mine Road. In a couple of phone conversations, Mitch Ellis called it a treat for the backcountry enthusiast with a highclearance or four-wheel-drive vehicle. The location is remote, the road challenging but not impossible over its nearly 34-mile round trip, and the scenery often reminds visitors of an alien landing site in a really bad movie. "There are some old mines out there, and there's a good chance of seeing bighorn sheep," Ellis added. "Anyone planning to camp should be prepared for the wild burros. There are a lot of them, and they bray all night. We call them desert canaries."

To photographer David Elms and me, it sounded perfect. We turned right onto Red Cloud Mine Road, off Martinez Lake Road, and drove about 5.5 miles to Ironwood Point, our first stop of the day.

The point overlooks a backwater lake bordered by giant cane grass, with stretches of the Colorado River visible a few hundred yards beyond.

The first thing we noticed was the moisture in the desert air and the sweet smell. It was 8 A.M. The morning shadows still hung in the creases of the aptly named Chocolate Mountains flanking the Colorado on the California side. The lake hummed with exuberant life this day. Hundreds of tiny swallows were lighting on the mesquite snags jutting from the water. With their fervent twittering, the nasal honking of the American coots and the assorted cheeps and whistles of numerous other birds, it sounded like we'd stumbled into a party.

We spent about 40 minutes enjoying the lake's shoreline before getting back on the road. It curled over rock hills, and, in a couple of spots, the surface was marked by deep depressions that had to be negotiated at slow speed.

Within 7 miles, we'd gone from water and grassland to the stark Trigo Mountains and the thrilling sight of three desert bighorns. We'd just hiked the crest of a hill when Elms spotted the animals hoofing down a ridge. They were too far away to photograph with his zoom lens, but close enough to examine with binoculars. While I had one ram in my sights, he caught the sound of our voices and turned to look— right into my eyes. What a treat to see these creatures up close as they ballet-stepped over this hard terrain like four-legged Nureyevs. Just then, three sand rail-style buggies buzzed past, the occupants waving as they went. We got into our truck and caught up with them at Black Rock Mine, about 2.5 miles down the road and around the next bend. We found these high-spirited outdoorsmen were retirees from Oregon on a daylong adventure. All but two were experienced explorers, and their sand rails were packed with gear, including CB radios to communicate while driving. We'd chatted for only three minutes [ABOVE] A visitor cautiously explores just the entrance to an abandoned mine in Black Rock Wash. [ABOVE RIGHT] Wulfenite crystals' fiery colors display the reason behind Red Cloud Mine's name. [RIGHT] Sand rails, such as this one driven by Bob Stroda, provide much-needed maneuverability along the bumps and dips of "the falls." [BELOW RIGHT] Prickly pear cacti, brittlebushes and ocotillos in bloom enliven the volcanic landscape near Black Rock Wash in the Trigo Mountains.

WARNING: Back road travel can be hazardous if you are not prepared for the unexpected. Whether traveling in the desert or in the high country, be aware of weather and road conditions. Make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape and you have plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone at home know where you're going and when you plan to return. Odometer readings in the story may vary by vehicle. TRAVEL ADVISORY: Definitely carry a map. To buy a map of the refuge and the Trigo Mountains, visit the Bureau of Land Management, Yuma Field Office, 2555 Ε. Gila Ridge Road, Yuma; (928) 317-3200. Cautious drivers can reach the Red Cloud Mine in an ordinary passenger car, depending on road conditions, but a highclearance vehicle is definitely preferred and a necessity for traveling beyond the mine. Before setting out, be sure to stop at the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge visitors center to ask about road conditions and acquire other information that will enrich your trip. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, (928) 783-3371.

U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground, directly east, adds to the otherworldly atmosphere. At just past the 15-mile mark, we reached the still-operating Red Cloud Mine. First worked for silver and lead in the 1870s, it was named for the brilliant red-orange wulfenite crystals found there. Caretaker Doug Hott, 58, sells an impressive selection of the crystals from a roadside tabletop. He has a silver beard, sun-beaten skin and a sense of humor. He told us his former boss at nearby Castle Dome Mine told him he planned to get rich off snowbirds. "I was young then," Hott remembered, "so I bit and said, 'How're you gonna get rich on snowbirds?' He said, 'If I can get the silver out of their hair, the gold out of their teeth and the lead out of their rear ends, I'll be rich.'" Hott entertains 3,000 to 4,000 visitors every winter. "In the summer, I get three or four visitors," he said. "But that's okay with me."

U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground, directly east, adds to the otherworldly atmosphere. At just past the 15-mile mark, we reached the still-operating Red Cloud Mine. First worked for silver and lead in the 1870s, it was named for the brilliant red-orange wulfenite crystals found there. Caretaker Doug Hott, 58, sells an impressive selection of the crystals from a roadside tabletop. He has a silver beard, sun-beaten skin and a sense of humor. He told us his former boss at nearby Castle Dome Mine told him he planned to get rich off snowbirds. "I was young then," Hott remembered, "so I bit and said, 'How're you gonna get rich on snowbirds?' He said, 'If I can get the silver out of their hair, the gold out of their teeth and the lead out of their rear ends, I'll be rich.'" Hott entertains 3,000 to 4,000 visitors every winter. "In the summer, I get three or four visitors," he said. "But that's okay with me when they invited us to eat lunch with them."

But first we had fun inspecting Black Rock Wash, less than a quarter-mile up the road. We saw, carved into its high banks, the dugouts that miners once used as homes. One still had a smoke pipe coming out the top of the hill, a crude ventilation system for the wood-burning stove that some enterprising miner had hauled into his hole. Less than a half-mile beyond the mine, we turned left down an arroyo, followed it to another fork at the head of Red Cloud Wash and turned right. Then we followed that road another 6 miles to a place nicknamed "the falls." Here, the road drops several feet in a hurry and hangs up quite a few travelers.

Visitors in high-clearance vehicles without four-wheel drive wouldn't get that far anyway. For them, the road is negotiable for only about The Trigos are full of old mines and markers, usually rock cairns, noting the location of modern-day claims. If you're like me, you wonder what combination of hope and desperation could make someone see these mountains as his ticket. They're a place of horrible beauty. The hills are strewn with black volcanic boulders that trace your footsteps down the slope, avalanchestyle, when you hike up. The ground is dry as a lizard's belly and supports almost no vegetation. Maybe a paloverde tree here, an ironwood tree there, but they're gnarled and twisted for lack of moisture. When it does rain, the monsoon water slashes over the ground, carving cracks and arroyos with 20-foot walls. The occasional ka-boom of military ordnance from the 2 miles beyond the Red Cloud Mine, where even finding a route becomes challenging in the maze of tracks and washes that look like roads. Then you have to turn around and drive out the same way. Those with sturdy fourwheel-drives can continue past the falls to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, 6 miles up. Elms and I had left our truck at Hott's and rode with the snowbird brigade in the sand rails, which easily negotiated the trail. At a wide spot, they stopped and prepared a meal of tortillas and sausages cooked over a big fire, with pickles, salami, beer, even mussels out of a can. It was a true feast and a raucous good time. "I even brought dessert," said Bob Stroda, of Monroe, Oregon. "Maalox!" Our only disappointment was not seeing any wild burros, although we saw signs of their presence everywhere.Late in the day, Elms and I drove back to the Painted Desert Trail near Ironwood Point. This enjoyable, self-guided hike runs 1.3 miles and passes bizarre volcanic rock formations, drops into a shady wash decorated with purple and red boulders and climbs dunelike mountains. From these peaks, we looked west and saw the Colorado River again, blessedly wet. It appeared as a ribbon of sparkling blue under the setting sun, which seemed the perfect close to a day of unusual fun in an unusual land. Al