 1 We've passed Lake Pleasant, going north on the N. Castle Hot Springs Road. We get to what is known as Castle Hot Springs. After being used as a sanitarium in the 1880s, it was opened as a resort in 1896. It closed in 1976 when a fire destroyed the main building. |
 2 An old picture of what the resort looked like in its heyday. Roaring springs here produce a daily flow of 200,000 gallons of water that’s between 118 and 120 degrees. Until White settlers moved into the area in the late 1800s, Native Americans were regular visitors; they believed the hot, clear water that pours from a crack in the rock wall had healing powers. Despite the isolated location, it attracted America’s wealthiest and most prominent families, including Rockefellers, Carnegies, Wrigleys and Cabots. Several U.S. presidents — including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Hoover — stayed there. During World War II, the resort was converted into a military hospital. John F. Kennedy, then a young naval officer, spent three months there, recovering from wounds. (From: Roger Naylor, Special for Arizona Republic, Fri Apr 5, 2013.) |
 3 The property includes 210 acres, 550 date palms, a 125,000-gallon swimming pool (an olympic-sized pool holds about 660,430 gals) several buildings and, of course, the legendary hot springs. |
 4 The property was sold in March 2014 for $1.95 million and the new owners are currently exploring options for redevelopment.There is activity going on, but there is no indication as to what this will become. |
 5 Just northeast of the old resort, we meet some desert dwellers, wild burros. These are offspring of burrows brought in by prospective miners years ago, but are now wild and causing havoc to the natural environment in some places. Visitors to the region are usually excited to see them. |
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 7 We turn off of N. Castle Springs Road onto an a rough, two-mile 4W drive road that hopefully leads to the trailhead we are seaching for. We surprise some more wild burros. |
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 9 We are approaching the trailhead and find another rough spot. Suzanne gets out of the Xterror to act as Don's spotter for wheel placement. It would be a long walk out, if we got stuck. |
 10 A composite panorama looking back over the 2-mile side road we came in on. |
 11 We reach where the road splits, the left fork going up this rutted hill to the Horse Creek Trailhead we are seeking and the right fork going up the hill in the distance to the Burro Flats Trailhead. The two trailheads are connected by the Burrow Flats Loop Trail. We park at the fork and walk up the hiill in the foreground to the Horse Creek Trailhead. |
 12 The trailhead register. |
 13 Some recent visitors |
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 15 Looking east toward the Hells Canyon Wilderness. |
 16 Surrounding views. |
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 18 The start of the trail into the wilderness |
 19 We see autumn leaves on an Arizana Sycamore in the valley ahead. |
 20 Zooming in. |
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 24 Suzanne met this old fellow in the wilderness and talked him into following along. |
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 26 We turned around shortly after this pic was shot. |
 27 On the drive back on the N. Castle Springs Road, Suzanne was touched by the welcoming warmth of the entrance to the Garfias Mountain View Ranch. |