Last target for the day is the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. We are not sure if we should visit it given that it is at a low altitude but we decide to try and see how it goes. Our first stop is at the old settlement of Sanchez, a large ranch with its own cemetery and school. We are looking for a cache here but that is no reason to not explore the historical area.
The cache is an easy find sllghtly above the cemetery and it also has a good description of the history of the area, always welcome.
We then continue towards the Gila Box Riparian Conservation Area and the road becomes a dirt road. We are a bit scared as there still is a way to go but soon as we turn toward the Gila Box instead of the ranch it becomes paved again till inside the conservation area, phew.
The entrance is marked with a panel and it also has an observation point. From here we can see, from high up, the Gila River down in the Box. It is flowing quite impressively and we can’t wait to see if there are any birds in the green belt near the river. And also to escape the heat maybe a bit, it is 110 degrees Fahrenheit at this altitude.
We continue on the narrow paved road up and down with some nice views of the valley before finally the road descends towards the river, maybe we will have a chance to reach it.
The next parking sounds exactly what we wanted, Boat Take Out, so there has to be river access. Unfortunately it is party town here with a few very loud groups near the water with music and all so we decide to explore the shore and see if there are no other accesses.
Unfortunately there are none that go to the water proper. We can see the water from a few spots but getting down to it seems to be quite dangerous as the river cut quite deep into the banks. At least the swallows were using the rock ledges created by the water for nesting.
While the swallows are not here today we see quite a few birds including some beautiful cardinals, lots of black-throated sparrows and even a heron. The sparrows especially are quite plentiful and behave differently than we expect. They enter small caves and overhangs and really do not look like the desert birds we know.
Sema Cabin is the next stop. It is a very steep descent for our car and we are happy that it is paved as otherwise we would have been quite scared of making it. The cabin seems to have been impacted recently by the elements and right as we were visiting there was a repairman working very conscientously on it in the midday heat.
While here we can get to the river, there is no river in this section. It is all dry so we watch for birds for a short while before moving on.
On the steep road towards Sema Cabin we noticed another parking area and we stop there on the way up. Here is the Watchable Wildlife Area, a short trail leading to a covered overlook and given that the clouds have covered the sun for a short time we decide to try it.
It is a nice trail which would have been even nicer outside of the summer heat with some great views of the dry river valley. The interpretative panels are also quite interesting and from the overlook we see the black-throated sparrows at work in a shallow cave and a Summer Tanager, nice.
The last area we explore is the campground and the river access right after it. It is our only remaining chance to reach the river. The campground itself has good spots, quite widely spaced with some nice views but we really want to get at the river so on we go.
And yes, we can finally reach the river. It is cooler at the edge of the river and we enjoy the great views before starting to look for birds.
Given the abundance of water there are fewer birds than we expect here. We see a Song Sparrow and House Finches and that is it mostly. And then it is time to return to Phoenix with a short stop in Globe to buy something to eat at Wendy’s and narrowly escape a speed trap. Overall we really enjoyed the trip, we saw some beautiful new areas and escaped the heat, mostly, on top of Mt Graham.
