This 42,000 acre area is designated by Congress in 2000 and is a vast desert grasslands with rolling oak studded hills that connect the two sky island mountain ranges. Cienga Creek has a perennial flow and the riparian corridor is the heart of this area. It has a rich diversity of vegetation and wildlife and includes the fawning grounds for Pronghorn. This is the site of one of the oldest ranches in Arizona and the buildings and corrals of the Empire Ranch are part of this and open to the public to wander through. This is all managed by the BLM and dispersed camping is allowed so we can pull over and park most anywhere. We are enjoying peace and quiet and spectacular views. The grasslands and mesquite trees make it feel a little like we would imagine an African Savannah and I am waiting for the elephants and rhinos to wander through. There is hardly anyone here with our closest neighbor just visible about 1/4 mile away. So far we have seen eagles, hawks, and falcons hunting in the grasslands, and coyotes singing at night under the stars in this very dark sky, and while a lot of this is for 4WD some of the gravel roads are passable by us and we hope to explore as much as we can. This is a free camping area and while it is at over 5000ft we are enjoying warm days and frosty nights. Will stay here as long as the weather allows. Wishing again that we had brought our bikes.
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