Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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Alamo has great bass, catfish, and crappie fishing. We were up there with Greg Pishkur one May and we caught a bunch of nice largemouth on Chatterbaits in the main lake. Greg also took us up into the submerged trees in the river end and we tied into some big bass flipping white jigs.... 
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Arizona Lakes, Arizona Pros – Lake Havasu With Dean Farrell Lake Havasu, on the Colorado River between California and Arizona, is one of the most popular lakes in the west for outdoor recreation of all kinds. People from both sides of the river flock there not only to fish, but also to ski, jet ski, sail, or just lie on the beach and catch some rays. Lake Havasu City is located right on the shore of the lake, and the resorts, restaurants, and shops of the city add to the allure of the a... Website
Jewel Of The Creek – Dragonfly Trail (Easy) Jewel of the Creek is a 26.6-acre preserve that protects a beautiful riparian area - one of the last remaining perennial streams in Maricopa County. The Desert Foothills Land Trust bought the land in 2001. The Dragonfly Trail is simply a one-mile loop through the riparian area. It is one of the prettiest desert hikes you will ever see, with towering trees, lush vegetation and flowers near the creek, and giant saguaros and other cacti a stone's throw a... Full story
You must have a valid hunting license for all hunts, and permit tags for some. You must read the regulations. You can pick up a hard copy at many outdoor stores and all Game and Fish offices. You can also read and/or download all the regulation booklets at www.azgfd.gov. Application Deadlines This Month Elk and antelope online application deadlines: • Antelope permit tag fees: resident $103, non-resident $565 Deadline for paper applications was January 15. Apply online until February 12. • Elk... Full story
Alamo Lake can be dynamite in April. The average high temperature is 79 degrees and the average low is 44 degrees. Bass may be spawning, and crappie fishing will be great. With all the rain we've had, the ramps are open now and it's a great place to go. April At Alamo Should Be Great One of the reasons I like Alamo so much is that it's far from anywhere and it's not on the way to any place either – you have to want to go to Alamo, and it's a pretty good drive no matter where you live, so the l... Website
On my Topo Maps app, this place is shown by a dark square and the name "Fort Tule", designation site. It is north of Lake Pleasant off Cow Creek Road, and from the T-intersection where Castle Hot Springs Road turns sharp left in front of the entrance to the Castle Creek launch ramp at Lake Pleasant, it's a little over 16 miles one way. It took us about four hours to get there, but that's because we keep stopping to walk around all the time. It took us about 2-1/2 hours to get back to the truck... Full story
When the weather starts heating up in Arizona, everyone begins to long for a large body of water to dive into. In an ideal situation, this body of water would also be beautiful and have lots of things to do and to look at. This pretty much describes Saguaro Lake in a nutshell. Now before I go getting you all excited about Saguaro, let me first tell you that Saguaro is a very popular lake and if you want to find a parking place for your boat trailer, you need to get there early. Fat Bass Add To L... Full story
At times it seems as if there is no winter in the Arizona desert - some years we're still in shirt sleeves on Christmas day. Winter weather like this makes up for the 118 degree summer days, and Alamo Lake is a prime example. You'll swelter at Alamo in summer, but the average high in December is 63 degrees. This makes for awesome days on the water.... Website
I've known Rob Vanderkooi for decades and he's one of the best bass fishermen I know. He's also a heck of a good hunter. Rob guides for The Arizona Fishing Guides now, so if you want to learn some great techniques and have a super good time, call them and set up a day fishing with him. Carolina Rigs Come To Mind One thing I always think of when Vanderkooi comes to mind is Carolina Rigs. I'll never forget when he and his partner brought a 42-pound 6-fish limit to the scales in an All Star tournam... Full story
Arizona Is Ablaze With Color - As a native Arizonan, I tend to believe that Arizona is the most beautiful and amazing place on the planet – and autumn in Arizona confirms that belief. John and I and the granddaughters are out and about pretty much all year, and we especially love to see fall colors – yellow, orange, and even red light up the hillsides and the banks of our streams. Ir can be magical to stroll along with color above and below from leaves that have already fallen and those that are... Full story
One of the things I like most is simply to drive around off the highway and explore. My dad and I used to do that a lot when I was younger – we'd scout for deer and we'd take every road we found. Sure, a lot of times we had to turn around because the road was too rough – after all, we were driving a '62 Chevy pickup with a Power Glide transmission. That means it had just two gears, low and high. Weird, right? But we took that thing all over the place, especially in Hunt Unit 21. Dugas Road was... Full story
Summer is the perfect time to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon because the higher elevation of the North Rim means forest and cool summer days. The North Rim is usually a lot less crowded than the South Rim as well, mostly because it takes a lot longer to get there. We took a five-day trip in June that included Page, Marble Canyon, Lee's Ferry, and the North Rim, and it was awesome. Granted, the weather was a bit hot in Page and Marble Canyon, but not quite as hot as in the Valley, so we... Full story
Hopefully we will get some rain soon - and during the summer months - and the forests will re-open, but if not, there are still places you can go to enjoy the outdoors. Arizona's State Parks are super places to visit - John and the girls and I have been to many of them. Here are a few of our favorites, with cooling-off in mind. Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park This beautiful place is near Superior, Ariz., on highway 60. It does get warm there during the day, but they open at 6 a.m. from May ... Full story
I grew up in a world without personal computers or cell phones, and since I also grew up hunting, I know how to use and read a paper map. In fact, with a topo-quadrant map and a compass, I can pinpoint my location quickly and easily. I love paper maps and I have a lot of them, but I also use GPS extensively. In fact, I use both because paper maps and GPS or electronic maps both have their strengths and weaknesses. For me, GPS will never replace a paper map. Topo Quadrant Maps I have an entire... Full story
Every year on the way to the SHOT Show in Vegas, we pass through Kingman, Ariz., and see the sign for the Hualapai Mountain Park turnoff. For years we've been saying that we would love to go there, and this year we finally did it. Now we wish we hadn't waited so long! Kingman itself has great restaurants, lots of history, and fun things to do outside and in. The mountains are awesome, with pine forests, fantastic rock formations, and ten miles of hiking trails, plus lots more. Hualapai Mountains... Full story
We recently lost our old French Brittany, Rosie. She was an amazing hunter, a tireless hiker, a lover of children, and a fishing fool. She had almost reached the ripe old age of 17 – she would have been 17 in September of this year. We miss her terribly. The past couple of years or so, though, she gradually let us know that her adventuring days were over. When a dog starts to age, they can't talk to you, but you can tell from observation if they are in pain, and you can sense that they have lost... Full story
We decided to take the granddaughters to Monument Valley for spring break this year. Excellent decision! John and the girls had never been there, and I hadn't been there since I was a kid, so we were all excited about going. We drove up to Flagstaff and spent the night – Em was able to stay in Trinity's apartment dorm with her – then we drove from Flagstaff to Monument Valley in the morning. It's about a three-hour drive from Flagstaff, which isn't too bad. Monument Valley actually extends ove... Full story
A new lake opened in Arizona just this year – Hidden Lake near Buckeye. This is a private lake, and you pay to get in, but you pay to get into any lake, right? Hidden Lake is being managed as a trophy bass lake, and has been stocked with Florida strain bass. The Gila River feeds this lake, which used to be a gravel pit. There is an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other, but for the most part the water is kept fresh because the Gila actually flows underground here, but the gravel pit was d... Full story
The road to the top of the Harquahala Mountains takes you to the historic Solar Observatory. We had read several accounts of the road, and many of them said that it was very rough, even dangerous. The day we went there it was neither. Yes, there are a couple of place where 4WD came in handy because of loose rock, but for the most part it was not that bad. There is one short stretch near the end that has been paved with concrete, and that part was apparently the worst place before the paving was... Full story
The Hassayampa River begins somewhere south of Prescott and flows through Wickenburg before joining the Gila River near Hassayampa, Ariz. It is around 113 miles long, but most of the time the Hassayampa is flowing, but you can't see it - the water is below the surface of the ground and the river looks like a very wide dry wash. However, near Wickenburg are a couple (or three) places where you can enjoy seeing the waters of the Hassayampa flowing on the surface. The Hassayampa is one of the few... Full story
When I met John (decades ago!), I had never really fished much at all. My dad took my brother and me hunting and camping all the time, and we always did a lot of target shooting, but we never really fished. In fact, I hadn't even seen most of the lakes because Dad didn't go there. Too many people, he said. But John was both a hunter and a fisherman. And once he took me fishing, I was hooked. We went to Christopher Creek and caught trout. I had a blast. Bartlett Was Our Favorite Once we got... Full story
John and I went Coues hunting this year. We have a great 4-wheel-drive pickup, but while scouting and hunting we discovered that we needed more. Our little whitetails are spooky, and once the season opens, you have to get far away from the easy roads or you're just not going to see any. And although we could get over a lot of stuff in the truck, there always seems to be an impassable piece of road keeping us from where we want to be. I'm sure there are guys who insist they can get their trucks... Full story
We have a family tradition of going on a fun hike on New Year's Day each year. Since we live in the desert, this is the best time of year to hike close to home. If you are also a desert rat, now is a great time to go for a hike. Here are some great hikes near Phoenix to get you started. Wave Cave Hike This trail is in the Superstitions and it gets quite a bit of traffic - for good reason. The trail takes you to a large cave with incredible views. It's called the Wave Cave because right in front... Full story
The show has officially opened and from what I understand, if you wanted to visit every booth you'd have just 22 seconds per booth. So we are trying to cherry pick, and concentrating on outdoor things not only for hunters, but also for campers, RV'ers, fishermen, and hikers. We've found plenty, and it's only lunch time! Right off the bat we visited the HydraPak booth. They make collapsible water containers in many sizes, for everything from a day hike to a long hunting trip. Our granddaughters... Full story
Well, yesterday we put over 9 miles on our shoes at the SHOT Show, and today just a little less than that – because we had a couple of meetings and a press conference to go to. But it's so much fun seeing all the great products that we really don't mind all the walking. Of course, SHOT Show has tons of guns, and that means that there are also tons of accessories designed to help you shoot better. Up on the third floor of SHOT is an area called NEXT, where the companies who didn't make it into t... Full story
