Kay is NOT a shopper and refuses to battle the crowds today so instead, we are headed out on the quads to the Desert Bar. Being a holiday, the bar is open an extra day.
The Desert Bar (the Nellie E Saloon) nestled in the Buckskin Mountains outside of Parker Arizona is situated on land that was an old mining camp. The idea of a "bar in the desert" was given a try and in 1983, was open for business. The concept became a success and over the years has gone from the original 3 sided building to what now can only be described as a major tourist attraction. It is powered by solar energy and now has running water provided by wells. No longer is the ancient firetruck used to haul water to the site. It is only operational October through April, on Saturdays and Sundays from noon till 6:00 o'clock. If holidays (like Thanksgiving) fall on the weekend, the bar will stay open for an extra day. It is a cash only bar - no credit cards!!
Before we headed out today, we did take a quick trip into Parker to do some laundry and get water. When we got back to camp, John had the quads packed and ready to go.
It took a bit to find the trail head but after a few attempts, we found it and headed down the trail. Since we had travelled this trail a few days ago, we made good time and Kay and I were more than happy to be on a decent trail. This of course was soon to change as John had another trail in mind. He wanted to do a trail that would take us in "the back way". We turned off the main road and accessed a trail that I would consider a Class 5 trail. One of the most difficult trails and definitely not a "girls" trail!! Yikes, it was awful. Filled with steep climbs, steep stair steps both up and down and huge rocks to climb over, not to mention a few nasty off camber sections that I refused to ride. This is soooo not a trail for Kay and I. Several times, I wanted to smack John with one of the many rocks along the trail!!
It was probably less than 3 miles long but took us about 3 hours to complete with Kay walking much of the way. I managed to cry once and pee myself twice. Shit, Oh Dear…..John is soooo dead to us!! This trail is such a guy's trail. I am sure our boys would have loved it!!
At one point, the stair steps down were so steep that we had to winch the quads down backwards as they would have rolled over had we attempted to go down forwards. This is soooo not a girl's trail - have I mentioned that before!!!
At one point as well, John somehow managed to blow his front tire off the rim but he was able to pump enough air back into it that it popped back on the bead and we were able to carry on.
We finally made it to the end of the trail and we stopped for a much needed refreshment and a pee break. Just before the end of the trail was the backward winching thing and we did have an audience during this. They were shocked that we had managed to travel this particular trail.
While we were resting, we heard vehicles coming down the same trail. We walked to see and found two jeeps attempting to come through the very tight spot at the steep stair steps we had winched backward on. The jeeps made it but certainly not unscathed. One jeep got huge scratches along its hard top and the other took a nick on its back corner panel. It was a very tight squeeze for them!!
John guided both of them over the final stair step and with a thanks to him, they headed to the bar - our destination as well.
The bar itself was awesome and despite the fact that it is stuck 5 miles into the desert in the middle of nowhere, it was packed. Hundreds of people were milling around taking in this incredible attraction.
There was a band playing and helicopter rides were offered for whoever wished to see the sites from the air.
Because we had to travel back to camp, we stayed for only two beer, bought t-shirts and beer koozies and headed towards home.
At least we would be travelling the road this time!! It was dusty but we managed to get to the trail head that would take us cross country to the camper without incident.
We were once again treated to a phenomenal sunset and got home safely. We sat around the campfire in a can for a while before John cooked us supper. Kay and I were both feeling the effects of the nasty ass trail we were on earlier and the shower helped a little although I was convinced that I had been hit by a truck!!
It was tylenol and then bed with prayers that I would be able to walk in the morning!!
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| Getting the tire back on |
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| Getting ready to winch down |
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| Made it |
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| Ya thats a trail |
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| These Jeeps came behind us |
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| A little body damage on this tight squeeze |
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| John spotting them down the last section |
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| Entrance to the Desert Bar |
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| The band and dance floor or should I say dirt |
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| Helicopter rides |
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| At the Chapple |
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| She took the first pic |
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| Nice fire when we got home |
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