![]() ![]() There are several dispersed camping sites directly off Silverbell Road that would be fine for bigger setups, but a lot of the off-shoot type roads appear to be washed out from last summer’s monsoon and are probably only appropriate for high clearance vehicles.If your setup is big and heavy, set your GPS to route you around this bridge. There’s a one lane bridge with a 3-ton weight limit here.The paved section of Silverbell Road before you hit the dirt in Ironwood is hot garbage.If you enjoy dry camping, we can’t recommend Ironwood Forest National Monument enough. ![]() There’s too much cool stuff in this area to see in one trip, and items on our list for next time include the Sasco ghost town and Titan II Missile interpretive site. After a mild freak out over “BEING LOST IN THE DESERT 4 EVA OMGZ” compliments of my anxious brain, we turned around and got ourselves out using Gaia GPS (and earned a few Arizona pinstripes–yay!). There’s nothing fun about blowing sand, scattered gear, and a flaptastic rooftop tent.Īfter packing up camp, we got lost when the road GPS wanted us to turn on was closed (Red Rock Lane), and ended up on a dead-end road near Silverbell Mine.Īlready tired and frustrated from a sleepless night, (and hangry to boot), getting lost ratcheted up my anxiety. We enjoyed two nights in our camp spot, but when the wind picked up on the second night, it was time for us to peace out the next morning. Navigating the rough, washed out roads was worth it though, as the camp spot we found felt a lot like camping inside Saguaro National Park. Last summer’s monsoon was a doozy, and it shows on some paths branching off Silverbell. This time, we ventured farther back into the monument and picked a spot with a view of the base of Ragged Top Mountain off Silverbell Road. That dispersed camping area, while rough and narrow in places, is suitable for most RVs. The first time we camped at Ironwood, we stayed off Pump Station Road. This area is 129,000 acres of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land with lots of scenery, wildlife, points of interest, and history worth appreciating. It was the second place we took our trailer after we bought it last year, and we’ve been wanting to get back ever since. Ironwood Forest National Monument near Marana, Arizona checked all our boxes. So it’s no surprise that, after not being able to take the squaredrop trailer out for a couple of months, we were feeling the ache for saguaros and solitude. I’ll get off my soapbox now.Empty spots give way to out-of-town neighbors and all the horse mess that comes with them. Leave your campsite looking better than when you arrived. How hard is it to pick up after yourself? People clean up your trash. I get so frustrated by the lack of consideration and conscience by people who use public land. What you don’t see in these photos is the incredible amount of garbage and broken glass. However, life required us to be grownups occasionally, so I’m adulting. Lots of peace and quiet, space for Murphy to run when we’re out for our walks. I much prefer to be out in the middle of nowhere without another person in sight. Perhaps making a rotation between locations when the time limit comes up. ![]() It looks as though some are living here short-term. It’s crowded and there are all kinds of campers here from big rigs to camper vans to tents. ![]() I can’t take Murphy along and it’s supposed to be in the 90s tomorrow. Every little bit helps, right? I’ll be getting up early so I can get back here before it gets too hot in the trailer. We parked with a small tree between us and the setting sun. That’s me, center left trying to get a tiny bit of shade. ![]()
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