I had the opportunity to ride along with Gene from Roadrunner Desert Adventures as he took a few people out on Wednesday morning. Our tour departed from the Hotel Valley Ho at 7:00 AM. We headed North out to the Table Mesa Road off the 17, just past Anthem.

In past lives, I’ve been an avid off road enthusiast. I’ve done some serious trails in northern California in some very serious rigs. So, I wasn’t sure how much of this trip would be rock crawling and how much would be maintained dirt roads.

Almost immediately, we got a little taste of what the Hummer we were in was capable of. This video doesn’t do the steepness of the downhill justice, but believe me when I tell you it was well over 50 degrees.

That was the only part of the trip that felt like true 4 wheeling. The rest of the ride was much more tame, but I still wouldn’t take a stock SUV out there.

Anyone that has ever been on a guided tour knows that it’s the driver/guide that really makes it special. This was no different. Gene stopped many times to explain the nuances of Teddy Bear Cholla Cactus, Saguaro Cactus and other Sonoran plants. He also sprinkled in tips on survival, like eating 10 to 20 arms of Teddy Bear Cholla will allow you to last three to four weeks in the desert.

During our trip, we stopped at three different locations. An old abandoned Turquoise mine, a 1,000 year old Indian Fort and the ghost town of Gillette, Arizona. At each stop, Gene provided great stories and commentary on the historical significance of what we were looking at.

The trip lasted until about 11:30 AM, four and a half hours. Make sure you wear good hiking clothes. You will dusty and sweating so make sure you leave plenty of time in your itinerary to clean up before lunch.

I highly recommend the Jeep/Hummer tours. It’s a great way to see the desert up close. Make sure your camera is complete charged and has lots of free disk space. The picture opportunity is amazing. You can see my photos of the Sonoran desert here.

Related posts:

1. Pink Jeep Tours Enhances Community Through Trail Maintenance
2. Looking for Last Minute Valentine’s Day Plans?
3. It’s a Motorcycle. It’s a Bicycle. No, it’s a Segway!