Mileage:  69,230

Catalina State Park Tucson, Arizona

We heard the coyotes again last night…first in the distance and then they sounded so close…like maybe they were in the campground!

We had a short drive today.  We stopped for our breakfast at this Tom Mix rest area.  Tom Mix was the very first American cowboy movie star.  He and his horse, Tony, did 291 films, all but 9 were silent, from 1909-1935.  This was the beginning of the western genre of film.  Tom Mix was killed at this site in a car accident when he crashed his flashy yellow Cord into a construction barrier and rolled into a wash. 

We drove to Catalina Sate Park just north of Tucson.  We were lucky to get a spot here for the next 4 nights.  The view from our campsite.

We took our bikes out to explore the park.

We have seen lots of roadrunners and I had been trying to capture a good picture…Roadrunner, the Coyote’s after you…Roadrunner, if he catches you, you’re through!

After lunch, Tim wanted to go for a Jeep ride.  We had heard about the Charouleau Gap Trail from our friend, Lee, in Tucson.  We also read about it in our guidebook and the ranger here at the park recommended it as a wild ride.  It is a 19-mile trail into a very isolated and remote area.  The book called it a hard-core Jeep trail, difficult and challenging…but we have done other difficult and challenging trails!  It began in a dense thicket of agave, yucca, saguaro, prickly pear, creosote, mesquite, cholla, and lots of other scrubby stuff.  The trail was a gentle undulating ride in sandstone and on sand.

We made it to the Charouleau Gap where the views were very pretty. 

There was a steep climb where we decided to air down the tires even further.

After the gap, the trail got incredibly dicey.  We had come too far to turn around and go back the other way. 

NO KIDDING!!

The first time I thought we were going to roll over…I knew we were in pretty deep.  Tim and I built a ramp out of rock to get the Jeep up and over the tough part.  The tough parts just kept on coming.  

The second VERY difficult portion was extremely steep and long with large rock obstacles.  Tim had me climb out of the Jeep and stand on top of the hill.  As he tried to maneuver up the hill and it was tipping badly, I knew he had sent me up the hill, not to watch for rocks…but rather to keep me safe.  Tim was patient and methodical and determined to get us up and out of there and with perseverance, he and the Jeep climbed that hill.   It is amazing what that man and that machine can do together.  My heart was pounding as I watched as one of the front tires rose two feet off the ground.  It wasn’t fun.  It was still an adventure and between the two of us…we were going to get home safely!

The third terrible obstacle had Tim plenty worried…and he really doesn’t ruffle too easily.  Once again slowly and surely, he climbed his way up the sharp steep rocks.

When we got to the part with the 2-foot climb onto the trail, I almost cried.  By now, it was getting dark…I got out while Tim drove that Jeep right up and over the obstacle. 

It was still pretty…just hard to notice!

At twilight we caught sight of a coati running across the trail. She was followed by a baby coati. Too fast to get a picture…but here’s one I googled!

The trail was tight and narrow and the limbs of all of those scratchy trees scraped at the sides of the Jeep.  That almost didn’t matter somewhere in the middle of the trip…we just wanted OUT!  Thankfully, by the time it really got dark, we were over the worst parts.  The Elevator Shaft, steep and loose rock, seemed relatively easy!  Did I mention that the trail was difficult to navigate???  As we drove, I kept watching for any kind of marker that showed we were headed in the right direction…just when I would get worried, we would find another landmark.  At the end though, we really were not sure.  I was so grateful to find that GPS was finally showing that we were on a real road that led to a paved road that led to the campground.

I didn’t take too many pictures because we were just trying to survive!  If you want to see what craziness we really endured…look up Charouleau Gap Trail and watch the YouTube videos!!

If you are thinking of taking this ride…think carefully!  Take a buddy! 

We stopped at Lupe’s for dinner.  It was almost 7:00. 

It will be a very long time before Tim can convince me to go on a hard-core Jeep trail!  This was a very INTENSE experience and we are quite lucky that we made out as well as we did.  The Jeep has some scrapes and scratches…but it’s okay and we are okay!