Sunflower Mine
Feb 21, 1999
(Trip Report by Doug Schulz)
We couldn't have asked for better weather. The
mighty Bronc's started gathering at the Saguaro Lake cutoff of the Beeline
Highway about 9 am, and were all there at 9:30 ready to start the meeting,
however several members left to see if they could help at a nearby rollover and
car fire, so we did the 50/50 raffle and meeting a bit late. I hope everybody
was OK. Smoke and an AirEvac chopper are always bad signs...
Several new faces were in the crowd, most
notably Mason
Coggin, a long time
member who was finally able to get away for a run, and Jeff Adkins who is a new member, and obviously a real
trooper, since he was AirEvac-ed from a motorcycle accident just the night
before and was heavily bandaged due to road rash.
Two other prospective ACB'ers (Don Lauchner and a friend) tagged along as well, hoping to see what we're all about. Mason drives an uncut and very original green 77, and Jeff's red softtop shines like a new penny. We rejuvenated the Cow Pattie Award and announced Dean and Mike's recent website and newsletter awards which brought a big round of well earned applause.
After hearing that Jerry and Melody Steele would catch up after they finished rendering aid to the crash victims, we made a beautiful long line of 11 Broncos and headed past the little town of Sunflower where the off road portion starts. Todd Zuercher got his rig running just in time to lead us and Brownie faithfully assumed the tailgunner role. Alex Gilmour and his family rounded out the regulars. We aired down just off the highway and thanks to the AlliedSignal 4 Wheelers, who adopted the trail, it was in good condition and well marked.
We crossed a steel bridge in a narrow canyon
after a while and our illustrious trip leader, Todd, told us how the Viper Militia had blown it
up a few years before and that it was just recently rebuilt using the Heritage
fund money. It sure is good to have his tour dialog- even though he claims he
makes it up as he goes, it makes a good story.
The road meandered around the narrow canyons with only a few sort of tough spots until we reached the Sunflower mine which is surprisingly still in pretty good condition. It turned out Mason Coggin was a Director in the mining and geology world before retirement (now his business card reads "Cowboy Poet") and he did a fantastic job of describing the theory and operation of the mine. It must have been quite an operation in it's time.
After a lunch break, we fired 'em up and headed
back through a boulder wash where Janelle Bonesteel's carburetor started giving her fits, resulting in a fried
starter after about 200 restarts. (Enter the Cow Pattie Award.)
Jack Jones strapped her out and pull started her several
times through the rough stuff.
Mason's stocker bounced and roared over the
rocks just fine making a lot of us realize what capable rigs Broncos are in
stock form (I'm sure Mike Lachance agrees- he slid right through in his '66, too, stopping to
crank pictures like he was at a Victoria's Secret photo shoot.)
We finally came to a hard right turn up a series of steps and Janelle's carb just wouldn't cooperate, so I tried to strap her over it but just couldn't get traction on the loose rock and dirt.
We hooked up my winch to a tree, hoping it wouldn't pull the tree out and block the road, and finally got her over the hump, but I still couldn't strap her up the hill without Todd's help.
We did the 2 mule team thing up
the long uphill until we came to a tight left where Todd
yanked me left and I yanked Janelle
into a bush at the same time. Great fun, but we took a few minutes to get
straightened out and continued to pull and restart her up the long grade until
we reached the top, where there was a fantastic view and a nice juniper forest.
We passed several mine shafts- probably a lot more we couldn't see- then followed a shady canyon and finally made it out to the highway where we said our goodbyes and left in small groups back to town. The Steeles never caught up with us, but we talked to them on the CB- Sorry they came all the way from Tucson and missed the run, but I'm sure the folks in the rollover would agree they made the right choice. On the way home, I made a short side trip to Sycamore Creek so my daughters could drive my Bronco in the big wash and not be a public menace. Now I know why they don't give four year olds driver's licenses!
All in all, another great trip and nice to see both some new trails and new faces.
Great job, Todd!
-Doug Schulz, President
Arizona Classic Broncos
