Read These First!

Recent Comments

Archives by Month

Hiking to the Roy Rogers Mine

Man’s quest for mineral wealth is ancient and predates historical records by thousands of years. Indeed, the paramount reason why pioneer explorers and miners came into Arizona in the 1800′s was the hope of finding riches.

The area east of Wickenburg, bounded by Constellation Road on the north and Buckhorn Road to the south, was the virtual center of the Black Rock Mining District and saw some intense mining activity between 1870 and 1940. This article describes a hiking route that will take you on an historic stage coach road past several old mines and settlements, ending at the …

Continue reading “Hiking to the Roy Rogers Mine

Flying M Air Featured in Arizona Highways Magazine

Wickenburg-based Flying M Air, a helicopter tour and charter company, is featured in the May 2009 issue of Arizona Highways magazine. The 10-page article, “A Better View,” was written by Keridwen Cornelius and features amazing aerial photography by Adriel Heisey.

Flying M Air has been based at Wickenburg airport since the company started business in 2001, when it began offering helicopter rides and tours in a two-seat Robinson R22 helicopter. In those days, most business was local, for aerial photography and survey work. The little helicopter also appeared at several outdoor events to offer inexpensive, short helicopter rides.

In 2005, the company took …

Continue reading “Flying M Air Featured in Arizona Highways Magazine

A Vulture Peak Hike

Another trip up the mountain.

On Sunday, my husband’s cousin and his girlfriend were in town from Seattle. They were bummed out because of the weather — it was rainy with low clouds — but we desert-dwellers were thrilled. We’ve had quite a bit of rain this winter and the desert is lush and green — or as lush as a desert can be, anyway. Every time it rains, we think about how much greener the grass between the cacti will get and how incredible the spring flowers will be in another month or so.

They wanted to do something and we wanted …

Continue reading “A Vulture Peak Hike

Sophie's Flat Celebration

After over two years of effort by the Wickenburg Conservation Foundation in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management the Sophie’s Flat Trailhead and Trail System is open for business. The opening celebration, held November 8, 2008, had over one hundred in attendance. Eighty horseback riders and several trekkers “tested” the newly marked trails after which all enjoyed a BBQ lunch catered by Charley’s Steak House. An official dedication is planned for this coming spring.

The trail system will become part of the official Arizona Trail System and was selected from some of the many trails that exist in the area. …

Continue reading “Sophie's Flat Celebration

Calendar of Events

Did you know wickenburg-az.com maintains an interactive Calendar of Events in the Wickenburg area?

The calendar is accessible from two places on this site:

In the navigation sidebar’s Read These First! area, you’ll find a link to the calendar. Click the link to open a new browser page with the calendar inside it. You can use buttons on the calendar to switch between day, week, and month views and move forward or backward through dates. Clicking an item may display additional information about it.
Farther down in the navigation sidebar’s Upcoming Events area, you’ll find a list of the next five scheduled events. If …

Continue reading “Calendar of Events

Hiking the ATOS Loop Trail

by Lee Pearson and Allan Hall

Many of you may be familiar with the great book on horse and hiking trails written by Dana Burden titled “Hiking Out Wickenburg Way”. In his book, Dana documented trails that lead to the ATOS Mine and Balanced Rock, east of Wickenburg. This article ties these two trails together and links them to a third trail that passes from the Hassayampa River up Slim Jim Creek; creating what is essentially a closed-loop trail that is 4.72 miles in length.

We have little doubt that Dana knew about the Slim Jim Creek segment, but he omitted …

Continue reading “Hiking the ATOS Loop Trail

Group Hike Scheduled for Upper Hassayampa River Wilderness

Lee Pearson and I are scheduling a hike in the upper Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness Area on Saturday May 17th. The hike distance will be 2.7 miles from Williams Ranch to Buckskin Canyon, with the return leg following the same route.

This is a uniquely beautiful riparian habitat and mid-May promises another great show of flowers along the river banks. The migratory birds will be nesting in the river willows and there are always abundant signs of four-footed critters on this stretch of the river.

We hiked this area on April 12th to check out river conditions and spring growth. …

Continue reading “Group Hike Scheduled for Upper Hassayampa River Wilderness

Desert Clean-Up Volunteers Needed

The Wickenburg Conservation Foundation, recognizing the immense value of cleaning up the desert, recently assumed responsibility for the Wickenburg Clean and Beautiful program that was begun quite a number of years ago by Dana Burden (deceased), Tom Riggs, and John and Debi Main.

The help of groups and individuals is needed to continue improving our surrounding areas. If you can volunteer for desert clean-up activities, please submit your name, phone number, eMail address and preferred clean-up dates to Lee Pearson at WCF.WCB@GMAIL.COM, call 928-684-7473, or write to Wickenburg Conservation Foundation, Wickenburg Clean & Beautiful, P.O. Box 20008, Wickenburg AZ 85358.

Primary clean-up …

Continue reading “Desert Clean-Up Volunteers Needed

Group Hike Scheduled

Allan Hall, Lee Pearson, and several other experienced hikers have graciously agreed to lead a group hike in the Lower Slim Jim Creek area northeast of Wickenburg. This will be the second group outing organized by wickenburg-az.com authors — the first was a 4WD trip to Bradshaw’s Grave in late 2006 that attracted 31 people.

This trip is planned for March 15, 2008 with a “weather date” of March 22, 2008. This is a hike — not a 4WD trip — so it’s vital that you wear appropriate footwear, carry water, bring a bag lunch, and be prepared to walk.

According to Allan:

The …

Continue reading “Group Hike Scheduled

Sophie's Flat Trailhead Kiosk

For 10 years, the Wickenburg Conservation Foundation (WCF) has worked to preserve the Western heritage of the area and to provide future benefits based on the scenic beauty and outdoor lifestyle available in the Wickenburg area.

WCF Trails Committee members and other local riders, hikers and mountain bikers have used GPS units to track and document nearly 500 miles of trails during the past two years. Generous donations of labor, material, equipment, and funding from businesses, organizations and individuals have culminated in the establishment of the first information kiosk. The pictured kiosk marks trailheads located on Sophie’s Flat, several miles east …

Continue reading “Sophie's Flat Trailhead Kiosk