We had yet to explore the areas between Wickenburg and Kingman, AZ, so David and I headed out early on a Saturday with the intention of camping near Hualapai Peak.  Shortly past Wickenburg, we found a dirt road to Alamo Lake.  The road to Alamo is wide and well graded, so we made a high-speed jaunt to the lake. Once there, we stopped at the ranger station to get directions around the lake. (Steve and his trusty GPS had a touch of the flu, so I had to recall my ability to navigate from a 4WD trail map... I have got to get me one of them "magic boxes.")  The really surprizing part was that Alamo Lake turned out to be the highlight of the day. To regroup with the dirt road on the other side of the lake, we had to drop down into a dry part of the lake to get across. Much to our delight, that area was extremely overgrown with vegetation, so the trail instantly turned into a tunnel-like path through a thick green canopy. You'd swear you were in the jungles of Panama. It was very strange to go immediately from flat desert to lush, humid plants and trees that were 30 feet tall. It was truly an amazing sight. (And a nice break from the heat.)

After our jungle excursion, we jumped back on Alamo Road north (again -- wide, flat and graded for high speed runs) and went into the back side of Wikieup via Chicken Springs Road. After a tasty lunch at Subway, we headed north on 93. While trying to find Olde Ranch Road, we took a wrong turn and followed a jeep trail to its completion. (Of course, the last couple of miles were deep sandy washes.  I dumped the bike once while trying to navigate that crap.) After doubling back, we found Olde Ranch Road (another wide, graded road) and took it Northwest toward Hualapai. We cut across on Antelope Wash trail (an excellent jeep trail) and finally made it to the Hualapai rec area. The campground was completely empty, so we decided to make a beer run to Kingman. Good thing we did, because we soon discovered that the Hualapai area was closed THE DAY BEFORE (!) due to Arizona's widespread problem with fires.  We stopped at a fire station and asked if there were any possibilities for camping. We received a resounding "no", so we trekked up to I-40 and then hauled ass back down to Wickenburg to recount our journey over some cold beers.

Overall, it was a fantastic day that spanned approximately 350 miles, with 115 of that on dirt roads. We'll definitely be exploring these areas again.  

Loaded and ready	First dirt of the day	Coming down into Alamo Lake	Arizona's "jungle"	It was so odd...

Back on Alamo Lake Trail	On the way up to Hualapai Peak	Another shot in the higher elevations	Nothing beats the shade of a pine	Oops...

I love these signs	A map of our route