On 12/22, I started driving South from Tucson with no particular destination or time constraint and ended up at Empire Ranch just North of Sonoita.
Historic Empire Ranch Headquarters
See all the photos and check out the Empire Ranch Foundation website
It’s a working ranch, but the old ranch headquarters are historic buildings from the late 1800s. It’s jointly managed by the Foundation and the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). I really like the area around the ranch – gentle rolling hills covered by grass that was dormant this time of year and a nice shade of yellow. I find it very similar to Sonoma County in California, and in fact there is a lot of wine production near Sonoita. I also like the massive cottonwood trees that grow in the washes where water is flowing underground year-round.
Getting There
Empire Ranch Road
My wandering path started driving South on Houghton Road, which goes over Interstate 10 and all the way down Sahuarita Road at a community that Google Maps calls Corona del Tucson. Not sure how they came up with that. I took Sahuarita Road East until it hit highway 83, an official scenic byway. At that point I was in desert, but you gradually gain elevation until you start getting into grassland and juniper.
Vegetation Changes
After about 20 miles and a few side-of-the-road stops, I saw a sign that said “Empire Ranch Historic Area” (or something like that) and immediately turned off onto Empire Ranch Road. The signs are terrible after that. I had no idea how far I had to drive or if I was even allowed to check it out. A nice Border Patrol agent told me it was just a mile or so after Hwy 83, but he’d never been there himself. I drove for a couple miles down a washboard dirt road and eventually ran into a complex of old ranch buildings – the Empire Ranch headquarters.
Heritage Discovery Trail
After parking near the restrooms (phew!) I headed off on the Heritage Discovery Trail, which weaved through the property and included many informative signs about the dilapidated buildings. Unfortunately it seemed to be rather incomplete, and I ended up just randomly exploring most of the buildings, which was fine by me. Many of the signs seemed to be a work in progress, as were most of the buildings themselves.
Heritage Discovery Trail
One of the first stops on the trail was frog ponds. The ranch is within the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and they had the ponds for Chiricahua Leopard Frogs that needed a head start, which was cool. After that, the trail goes down into the wash where the cottonwood trees tower above you, a few of them still had yellow leaves that came off when the wind blew. After a few more signs, the trail goes back to the main complex of buildings and that’s where it seemed to end, so I started just walking around as I pleased.
Cool Stuff
Gas Pump
Although all of the old buildings were pretty awesome, there were lots of little treasures to be discovered. One of the first was an old gasoline pump in very bad repair. I liked the old fashioned styling of it, and it was fun to imagine it being used 50 years ago. Can you even have your own gas pump anymore?
Adobe Hay Barn
Next was the adobe hay barn, which I probably wasn’t supposed to go inside, but I did anyways. Luckily it didn’t collapse on me. Did I mention that there were zero people around? Anyways, it was neat to be inside such an old, but vast building, and interesting to see the structural repairs they were doing to restore it.
Rusted Horseshoes
After that, I found a bunch of old, rusted horseshoes lined up along a fence. Most of them said S??? Forge on them. I wish I could read the first word and find out if they still exist. I also found a horseshoe inside one of the buildings that was rusted to the point of being half disintegrated.
Radiator
I made my way into the cowboy’s quarters (built around 1871) because the doors were open and there were informational plaques. If the plaques weren’t there I would have felt like I was breaking in. The rooms were mostly bare and parts of the ceiling and walls were being supported. I found a cool sink that I used as my photo-of-the-day, and a neat old radiator that was just sitting in an empty room, keeping no one warm.
If I Go Again
I’d try to go at a different time of day like sunrise or sunset to get more dramatic photos (I went at midday). It’d be fun to take a picnic lunch there and sit under the cottonwood trees. It’s easy to say this coming from Los Angeles, but one of the best things about this place was the quiet – there was hardly any manmade noise at all, just the occasional truck or plane in the distance.
Also, I’d go on a non-windy day. It was RIDICULOUS. Like 60 mph gusts. I ate lunch in my car because I couldn’t handle being outside. At least we got some rain and snow to show for it, though. After that the weather was great the whole time I was in AZ.
And again, be sure to check out the Empire Ranch Foundation site.
Mountains East of Sonoita, North of ElginThe dome on the left is Mount Bruce, I think
