Tag Yuma

Castle Dome Mine Road

Avion C11 truck camper navigating a rocky dirt Castle Dome Mine Road in Kofa Wilderness Refuge.

Kofa Wilderness Refuge is a special destination to us. It's the first place we ever boondocked and we fell in love with the remote and dramatic rock formations. That said, as much as we have explored the area, we stuck to relatively major roads in the past. Yes, all of Kofa's roads are dirt, and, yes, they can have some mean washboard or washouts. But the main arteries in the park that connect to the highway are recognizable on maps, wide enough for two vehicles to easily pass, and easily distinguished from the rest of the landscape. But when we turn down Castle Dome Mine Road, we don't encounter another soul. And we're grateful for that because this trail gets incredibly narrow and rough with tight turns and high brush. But when we reach a clear vista point, that view is all ours.

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Dirt Roads, Primitive Camping, and White SUVs in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona

Returning from the King of Arizona Mine. See the sign on to the left of Dodgy? That marks the beginning of private property and our strange chase scene.

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge sits between Quartzsite and Yuma, Arizona. From certain parts of the refuge, you can hear the explosion of ordinance from the neighboring military proving ground. This time, however, we intent to explore the heart of this 665,400 acres of Yuma desert and the refuge's namesake.

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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay. This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge. This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves. It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive. Oh, is it worth it!

We were looking for a place to sleep. There is no shortage of options along the California/Arizona border. Snowbirds flock to expansive RV parks for the warm weather. But we weren't interested in parking in a lot, staring into the windows of neighbors right next to us. No, we wanted something rugged and beautiful. We wanted the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

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