DesertDweller
Posts:2564
 | | 02/04/2008 9:42 PM |
 Alert | Last year Anewman and I made a trip in my Jeep out to the west side of the Estrellas north of 238. About a mile west of the powerlines we came across an abandoned airstrip called Rainbow Rancho. Here's what it looked like - from the paper and stuff laying around it looked like it had been abandoned about 4 years ago:
One of the first items that I came across is in the picture below. It looks like someone in a hurry abandoned their kilo of cocaine. As it turns out, the stuff is some sort of powder but not drugs. Nevertheless, we did find a room with dozens of pairs of abandoned shoes - evidence of immigrant smuggling.
Evidence that this runway is very much still in use, probably at night, are the strips of aluminum foil unrolled and weighted down with rocks and whatever else. Light these up with a flashlight and you have instant runway markers. It is VERY dark in this area.
Lamplight's right - this isn't someplace I would like to be at night. | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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NukeGM
Posts:259
| | 02/04/2008 10:41 PM |
Alert | So are we talking about the area I circled on this map?
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DesertDweller
Posts:2564
| | 02/04/2008 10:57 PM |
Alert | Exactly. The mountains just southwest of the Estrellas is Sevenmile Mountain. Most maps show the airport I am talking about as Flying A Ranch Airport. There is an airport due south of it which is Mobile Airport. It is used by the airlines for pilot training. Southeast of it is the Estrella Sailport, one of the sites under review for the Maricopa Airport. I believe this whole area is called Rainbow Valley. South of it is Vekol Valley, which extends all the way south of Interstate 8.
This is amazing country to explore. I take my Jeep out some days and just drive until my gas tank hits the halfway mark.
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Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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NukeGM
Posts:259
| | 02/04/2008 11:03 PM |
Alert | Now technically that area is private owned correct? I know the BLM land starts just west of the tire recycling place. I so need a 4x4 to explore these places  | |
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STUDGLOVE
Posts:176
| | 02/05/2008 1:00 AM |
Alert | | it is amazing that there are places like that in the middle of nowhere. I would love to check it out someday, however like you've said, never at night. | | | |
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LampLiteSniper
Posts:463
| | 02/05/2008 5:33 AM |
Alert | | It's amazing what goes on right under the publics nose, I can school you on Lufwanza airpark all day as well, but I don't want to scare anyone with circumstantial evidence. | | | |
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DesertDweller
Posts:2564
| | 02/05/2008 9:02 AM |
Alert | Posted By NukeGM on 02/04/2008 11:03 PM Now technically that area is private owned correct? I know the BLM land starts just west of the tire recycling place. I so need a 4x4 to explore these places 
Yeah, four-wheel drive helps. In this area, almost everywhere I went in my Jeep I was in two-wheel, but there were a few washes that made it easier with 4-wheel. Hey, if you get some time and want to set something up, I am always wanting to go out. I have one spare seat in the front of the Jeep. Maybe some other Jeep owners would like to organize a ride through the area some weekend. | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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NukeGM
Posts:259
| | 02/05/2008 11:03 AM |
Alert | Posted By DesertDweller on 02/05/2008 9:02 AM Posted By NukeGM on 02/04/2008 11:03 PM Now technically that area is private owned correct? I know the BLM land starts just west of the tire recycling place. I so need a 4x4 to explore these places Yeah, four-wheel drive helps. In this area, almost everywhere I went in my Jeep I was in two-wheel, but there were a few washes that made it easier with 4-wheel. Hey, if you get some time and want to set something up, I am always wanting to go out. I have one spare seat in the front of the Jeep. Maybe some other Jeep owners would like to organize a ride through the area some weekend.
That sounds like a plan. We will have to set something up when I get time.  | |
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Lees2
Posts:586
| | 02/05/2008 1:47 PM |
Alert | DD - If my husband is off work, we would love to go. We like to go off road where we can take our truck.
Which airport is the one where you take a right at the Mobile school off the 238 and pass the waste site? It's a dirt road out there. | |
Previous Post Count: 2731
Member Since: April 22, 2005 at 3:24 p.m. | |
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DesertDweller
Posts:2564
| | 02/05/2008 1:54 PM |
Alert | | I think that's Mobile airport that you're talking about. It has a concrete runway and is all fenced it but it's accessible by dirt road. | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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Robert B
Posts:960
| | 02/05/2008 4:34 PM |
Alert | | DD I would like to go too I'll take my truck but it not 4x4 but I have deep meat on the tires and a chain and wench so I think I'll be good. | | | |
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LampLiteSniper
Posts:463
| | 02/05/2008 6:47 PM |
Alert | | Probly gonna need 4x4, we have Humvees and still get stuck in the area at times. | | | |
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hastings1066
Posts:1004
| | 02/05/2008 6:53 PM |
Alert | Posted By Robert B on 02/05/2008 4:34 PM
DD I would like to go too I'll take my truck but it not 4x4 but I have deep meat on the tires and a chain and wench so I think I'll be good.
Does your wife or girlfriend know that you call her a wench and expect her to dig you out if you get stuck in the sand? | | | |
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celltech
Posts:0
| | 02/05/2008 9:53 PM |
Alert | | How much further west do I have to go from the Mobile school on the 238 before I turn north on dirt? Is is a straight shot north to that airport? It looks like fun to explore. | | | |
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celltech
Posts:0
| | 02/05/2008 9:53 PM |
Alert | | edit | | | |
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DesertDweller
Posts:2564
| | 02/05/2008 9:57 PM |
Alert | | Where I went up is between 91st and 99th Avenue. There are a couple of dirt roads heading North. | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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celltech
Posts:0
| | 02/05/2008 10:03 PM |
Alert | | Thanks! | | | |
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jhall
Posts:1342
| | 02/06/2008 8:17 AM |
Alert | | That sounds cool, I've got a jeep and would love to drive out there. We should all join up a do a jeep trip, isn't there a group on here that does that? I went shootin with some buddies out west of the 347. It would be fun diggin around there too. It looks like someone stole someones guns cus there was a cabellas gun safe that was cut open from the back. It had some rust so it could have been there a few weeks. | |
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
--Edmund Burke | |
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DesertDweller
Posts:2564
| | 02/06/2008 9:46 AM |
Alert | Okay, how about February 16, which is a Saturday. Meet at Basha's at 9AM. We will make it just a mild trail ride with frequent stops to explore and take pictures. I have been along the powerline road west of the Estrellas and it's what the off-roaders call a level 2 trail - dirt, bumps, washes but no rocks to climb and you don't need a winch. Most trucks with a decent clearance should be okay. I have maps, radio, GPS. I will try to find a couple of items of interest on the west side of the Estrellas to explore and when I get some time I will post a trail map.
Let's do a pack your own lunch type deal. Who's down for it? | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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LampLiteSniper
Posts:463
| | 02/06/2008 10:26 AM |
Alert | | 7 mile is 10 times worse than it used to be and is washed out in the first 3 ravines, after that it's smooth sailing all the way to Goodyear. | | | |
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