It was time to explore a few more areas of the park. There are a couple of drivable trails within the park itself. There is the Puerto Blanco Drive which heads northwest from the campground, and follows a 40 mile loop around to the south, then east running parallel to the Mexico border, before rounding back north on Highway 85. We were told there is a fairly lengthy stretch of the route that is rugged gravel and washboard, probably more suited to four wheel drive vehicles. Considering that we are a long way from home and need our Mazda to get around we felt it prudent not to take any extra chances with our transportation.
We opted to take the second option which is a 20 mile loop - on a mostly gravel road that heads northeast from the campground on the east side of Highway 85 and loops through the area just north of the Sonoyta Valley. The road was narrow but there was several short stretches of pavement, especially where climbing hills on the twisty mountain sections. Once you travel about 2 miles up this road, it becomes a loop with traffic only allowed in a single direction. There were lots of small pull-offs where you could move aside to let the faster drivers motor past. It seemed that some of them treated the route like a racetrack - wanting to reach the finish line first. We felt it so much better to take our time and look more closely on the way, and there was so many little details that were easily missed if you didn't take your time.
Something that became obvious after a fellow camper had mentioned it earlier in the day. This area is much greener and lush than the desert areas around Quartzsite and Yuma. There are so many more cactus and bushes, and everything looks much more alive - at least from a plant perspective. We have yet to see any significant wildlife. There were sections that looked like forests of Saguaro Cactus, while other areas looked like forests of Organ Pipe Cactus, and then others looked like forests of Chainfruit Chollas. Yes, it is still a desert, but there is a lot of green.
Another feature that became obvious is the colour of the mountains. At home the mountains have that blue-green colour. Here, you can see browns, reds, yellows and the green of the plant life. Very different from what we are accustomed.
