April 21, 2007
Last updated September 6, 2007
Photos taken April 22, 2007
Going east from Highway 79, the Florence-Kelvin Road is paved for about the first 12 miles. Then it becomes a good-quality graded dirt road, easily traveled by any vehicle.
The first part of the trip passes through an area of moderate density cactus with plenty of saguaro. Then the cactus density lessens, and great surprise awaits the uninformed traveler: the boulders at skyrise. Proceeding east the terrain becomes hilly, with the final section a descent into Kelvin.
Overall, scenic qualities are moderate-to-good, and this is a good trip for someone interested in seeing the desert environment close-up.
This is a typical view of the paved section of the road.
Here the paved section ends and the dirt road begins.
The saguaro presence dimishes and the dirt road crosses desert range.
All of a sudden a boulder field appears ahead.
Here is a view of the boulder field from a nearby hill.
Desert vegetation around the boulders.
The gate announces the Boulder field along the main road. I initially approached it from the back side where it is not secured.
Here is a dirt road along the back side of the boulder field. This is a side road off the main Florence-Kelvin road.
Typical desert vegetation.
Loose cattle along the road.
Ahead there is an area with thick yucca cactus.
About two-thirds of the way from Florence to Kelvin the road becomes more winding and starts a descent.
The road crosses a high voltage corridor.
Typical view.
A well-formed saguaro along the route.
The road continues across the desert.
The saguaro density increases as the terrain become more mountainous.
The high-quality dirt road allows for a high speed limit.
As we get close to Kelvin the road becomes paved.
A one-lane bridge ahead.
Here we cross a desert river, which actually had a decent water flow.
The road ends at Highway 177. There is a lot of copper mining in this area, including a huge open-pit mine to the north.