ARIZONA AGATES

                by Patrick Thomas

  To call the road you must travel to reach the Sheep Bridge landmark in the Tonto National Forest a road is truly an insult to all roads across America.

 Ask anyone who has braved the journey if the following testamony is hyperbole. I have been on many rough roads in America - none come close to this.

It is 40 miles from the I-17 to the Verde River. Now granted there are areas which are acceptable- but these are merely teasers, spots to enjoy - because the road gets miserable fast.

 This terrain is no place for anything other than a high clearance 4WD vehicle.  It is the last 11 miles of this trip that will take you the longest time to travel -easily over an hour- to get to Sheep Bridge.

It is a historical spot, the remains of the old bridge hoists are still there to enjoy and at its side a new bridge has been erected.

  Prepare for the physicality that the second part of this journey will test . A hike like no other through the 3 miles of sharp cactus, whip like cattails then across the cold shallow flow of the Verde River at the end of which you must climb a 90 degree Mountain side incline to the eventual collecting area. 

When you are done collecting and heading back through it all with 40 or 50 pounds of your collected treasure strapped to your back you will undoubtedly ask yourself if you will ever come back and do it again...most the time the answer is no, but rest assured once the trip to get to that spot is in the back of your head and all the bumps and bruises are healed over and the Agate you collected there has been cut and polished the answer is almost always yes.

A special thanks to two friends of mine who have accompanied me to this site on separate occasions to collect these agates, Jeffrey Anderson and Jace Romeo and my brother Sonny.