Box Canyon to Madera Canyon

After having some lunch by the truck and leaving Kentucky Camp, we decided to drive over to Madera Canyon, by way of Box Canyon.

 

Back on highway 83 and through the Border Patrol Checkpoint, we turned onto the Greaterville/Madera Canyon Road.   Houses and ranches line the road which is paved for a few miles until you reach the turn offs for Greaterville and Box Canyon.

 

As you enter Box Canyon there is the usual sign warning you that you may possibly encounter smugglers and drug runners in the area, even though we’ve seen lots of these signs they certainly make you think, which is what I guess they’re intended to do.

 

It’s a lovely drive on a good dirt road as it winds along a dry stream over a mountain pass and down the other side and needless to say the views are great and, naturally I drove DB mad by asking him to stop so I could take photographs.

 

Starting up

 

Further up

Through the windscreen coming down the otherside as DB said he definitely wasn’t going to stop on this section!

Looking back, the road we drove down is somewhere up there.

Once on the otherside of the mountain we drove past the Santa Rita Experimental Range and onto Whitehorse Road, that takes you directly into Madera Canyon. 

Gorgeous views of the mountains and wildflowers.

Mexican gold poppies and lupine.

Deer at the bottom of Madera Canyon Road

The start of Madera Canyon road, more fabulous mountain views.

We drove as far up Mount Wrightson as the road goes, for a weekday it was surprisingly busy, but I believe it’s a good birding area and that it’s the right time of the year to be looking for Elegant Trogons. 

Even closer to the mountains

Heading back down to the valley.

It’s a lovely spot with lots of hiking, so I imagine this is another place we’ll be back to visit again.

Have fun, we are!