A Day Trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park

 

Does this sound like a familiar experience? Driving somewhere what feels like thousands of times, passing the same scenery, the same highway exit signs.  Sometimes we say, "That sounds like an interesting place to visit..we'll have to go some time," but we're busy coming and going and never do.

Until we retire. Then we can go to any of those places that have tickled our interest whenever we like!   Dead Horse Ranch State Park is one such place.  About 50 miles south of us in Cottonwood, we'd passed the exit traveling to and from both Phoenix and Tucson for 25 years.



 

It was a chilly 22 degrees when we left Flagstaff.  This state park allows dogs, so we all get to enjoy the trip!

                                Once again we're southbound on I17.                               

 

Because Cottonwood is 3,300 ft elevation compared to our 7,000 ft, we arrive to enjoy their balmy winter weather.  It's sunny with brilliant blue skies, making it a perfect time of year to visit.

 

One of the interesting things about this park is its name.  Here's the story from the park website:

"How Dead Horse Ranch Got Its Name

The story of the park's name begins with the Ireys family, who came to Arizona from Minnesota looking for a ranch to buy in the late 1940s. At one of the ranches they discovered a large dead horse lying by the road. After two days of viewing ranches, Dad Ireys asked the kids which ranch they liked the best. The kids said, “the one with the dead horse, Dad!” The Ireys family chose the name Dead Horse Ranch and later, in 1973, when Arizona State Parks acquired the park, the Ireys made retaining the name a condition of sale."

We found this park to be a jewel.  The facilities include RV camping, tent camping, and cabins.  Activities include hiking, bicycling including a small skill development area with jumps and obstacles, horseback riding, birding, fishing and an orienteering course. 

The Verde River runs through the park.  At this time of year the water flow is low.  The main channel narrows and there are many shallow secondary channels.

 

 Our first hike was beside the river, where the dogs (strictly speaking on leashes :)) had a blast.   As anyone who has dogs knows, getting impromptu pictures of dogs doing just about anything is a REAR view. 

 

Ron has been enjoying using his new camera zooming in on wildlife.  He took many pictures of birds including this shot of a roadrunner.

 

These photos include a cactus with fruit protected by BIG thorns, an interesting  snag, a distant view of the mining town of Jerome, and coots swimming in one of the lagoons. 

 

 

 

Both Ron and I enjoyed taking pictures of this old cabin. 

 

 

 

One of our ongoing conversations right now is how we might choose to do some retirement traveling , including camping.  One of the lightweight campers Ron has been looking at on-line is called the Cricket.  They're new on the market, so imagine our delight when we saw this one at the campground.  Just before we left the park, we checked to see if the owners were back, and they were.  They were happy to share their experience with the camper and the flaws they'd encountered, as well as dealing with the company owner in getting most everything fixed.  Nothing beats getting knowledge firsthand! 

 

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed this park and spending the day outdoors with our dogs. 

 

That the sky is brighter than the earth means little, unless the earth itself is appreciated and enjoyed.
-- Helen Keller