Kawasaki Forums - Ride to Alto

About 7 miles from my house Salerno Canyon Road (FS 143) begins by heading north from AZ 82. 7.5 miles up this road you come to what little is left of Alto, AZ. Other than the last quarter mile the road is suitable (at low speed) for the family sedan. The last section not so nice, but all in all it's a nice run for an old codger. A little background on Alto: "In 1875 Joseph Goldree opened the Gold Tree Mine in the Alto area, which led to the establishment of a mining camp at the foot of the mountain. Apache raids were a constant threat in the early years and as a result it wasn't until after the turn of the century that a town really began to take shape. A post office was first opened in 1907 in the home of a local pioneer named Josiah Bond, who was a former mining engineer, the local justice of the peace, school teacher, and poet.[1][2]

Josiah's wife, Minnie, became the first female postmaster in American history. She was also a schoolteacher, but was killed instantly by a freak bolt of lightning not far from her home in 1922. The horse she was riding on was also killed. Her 14-year-old son, Albert, and his baby sister, Catherine, were riding with their mother that day, but were unharmed"

The only building left, the Bond home/Postoffice

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Looks better with the KLX in the foreground. :)

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Around the back - kind of a cool day where you needed to watch out for rattlesnakes sunning themselves.

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Although this doesn't look too bad, this is the part where you appreciated the KLX.

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The mountains on the right side in the far distance are in Mexico

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The mountains directly ahead are somewhat south of the town of Patagonia, and called what else, the Patagonia Mountains.

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Total miles for the little ride: 40, and I went on reserve at 83 miles. I'm not real thrilled with the mileage, but it does run like a top. :D