{"id":9455,"date":"2019-01-26T09:49:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T14:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/?p=9455"},"modified":"2023-06-23T23:18:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T03:18:42","slug":"jeepin-our-way-to-the-desert-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/9455","title":{"rendered":"Jeeping Our Way to the Desert Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rewind – Last year we took our first trip to the Nellie Saloon or Desert Bar<\/a>, just outside of Parker, AZ. There are several ways to get to the bar but none are easy on your suspension. Last year the six of us piled in Andy and Candy\u2019s truck took what John told us was a short cut. It was a meandering route through the Buckskin mountains and was definitely not a short cut but the scenery was amazing. As we sat eating our lunch at the bar, we noticed there were a lot of Razors and the like, as well as a few Jeeps, coming from a different direction, out of the hills, to the bar. Hmm. A bit of paging through our Arizona 4-wheel and off-road trail books and I found that trail the others had used.<\/p>\n

Fast forward \u2013This year, for our trip to the Desert Bar, I want to take the off-road trip I found last year because, well, it\u2019s fun! The trail is listed as moderate, with some tippy spots and some fair rock climbing. Experienced drivers and aggressive stock vehicles recommended. Hmm, can Phil\u2019s Jeep do it? After checking the rating on some of the other trails we\u2019ve taken, this one seems doable. Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

John and Andy road in our Jeep leading the way. Candy and I road with Phil and Sue in their Jeep.<\/p>\n

\"0126191137\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After our first challenge, we took the time to stop at the top, check out the trail dedication and let a group of Razors and Jeeps speed on by.<\/p>\n

\"0126191233\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So sweet! These plaques are mounted on a big rock pile that John just had to climb.<\/p>\n

\"0126191235\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But what a view!<\/p>\n

\"50971863_378355812897368_2714686628361666560_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Phil is checking out the next section of road. It is always a good idea to scope out a plan for each section of difficult trail.<\/p>\n

\"0126191234a\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The road gets worse and then better again, some obstacles are big, some small, giving us adrenaline rushing thrills with some calm recovery time. Good job Phil, missing that big rock! Wait? We went over that rock! Phil you daredevil. Sometimes there just isn\u2019t enough room on the trail to miss or go around obstacles. Slow, careful driving is the way a Jeep gets through.<\/p>\n

\"51018161_345601769624393_3828473121111801856_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Whew, break time again. 4-wheeling is as hard on the driver as it is on the occupants!<\/p>\n

\"51426732_301641667187342_4441947605219409920_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eager to let Andy test his skills at rock crawling with a Jeep, something we really don\u2019t have the opportunity to do in Pennsylvania, John gave up the wheel for the second half of the trip. Part of learning the skill of driving a Jeep through some serious off-road obstacles, building confidence not only in yourself but in the Jeep\u2019s capabilities is \u201cdriving\u201d while coached by a seasoned off-road driver. Our time in Moab, Utah during Jeep week really helped John and I in all those areas.<\/p>\n

\"51243215_531111317409832_747606991366520832_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I feel very fortunate because Phil is letting me drive his Jeep. This is a HUGE thing for a Jeeper to do, let someone else drive their machine into danger. Thanks Phil!<\/p>\n

\"DesertBar\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve commented often about how pictures do not convey the roughness and steepness of the terrain we encounter. Thank goodness for the low gears on steep, loose rock, downhill and uphill grades. Downhill I don\u2019t mind so much, I figure we\u2019ll just slide. Uphill scares me. I\u2019m always afraid of tipping over backwards. Gravity is a tricky thing.<\/p>\n

\"DesertBarb\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our time in Moab gave me a lot of confidence in what the Jeep and myself are capable of but seriously?  Our final approach to the Desert Bar is an unbelievably steep downhill. I can see the hill part of the way down, but then it jogs inward and the last fifteen or so feet aren\u2019t visible. John hops out and checks out the trail for the best way down. He says something to Andy, but he doesn\u2019t get back in the Jeep. What? Oh, maybe he is going to spot for us.<\/p>\n

\"50931743_611101505983722_692048471246503936_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Andy creeps down the hill working his way down to the little ledge and\u2026.WOW! Our Jeep Rubicon in four low is sliding the last fifteen feet! Whew he made it. Our turn.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s instructions are to not hit the brakes just let the Jeep do its thing and be ready for the slide. What?! Phil and Sue were pretty quite in the back but Candy, having a front row seat, was making some incomprehensible comments. Phil’s Jeep did great as well, sliding the last fifteen feet where the slope became almost vertical. Again there is no way to convey, in a picture, how steep this slope is or how adrenaline pumped we all were. (this picture is taken looking up to the top of the hill we came down)<\/p>\n

\"DesertBar3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After getting to the bottom I noticed several other roads that we could have taken to get to the bottom but what fun would that have been? Everyone likes their life hanging in the balance occasionally, right? Taking advantage of one available parking spot we managed to get both Jeeps to fit.<\/p>\n

\"desertbar\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Look at Mr. Smiley. He\u2019s very happy that we made it with both Jeeps still intact. All this excitement has us feeling hungry! Time to find some food.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is crowded as ever with the nicest group of people, great food and awesome music.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We love coming here!<\/p>\n

\"50992438_281563759190041_8926807444168900608_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rewind – Last year we took our first trip to the Nellie Saloon or Desert Bar, just outside of Parker, AZ. There are several ways to get to the bar but none are easy on your suspension. Last year the six of us piled in Andy and Candy\u2019s truck took what John told us was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[957,4,951],"tags":[879,215,810,972,214],"class_list":["post-9455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boondocking","category-general","category-jeeping","tag-andy-and-candy","tag-arizona","tag-desert-bar","tag-phil-and-sue","tag-quartzsite"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/0126191137_thumb.jpg?fit=680%2C511&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3hvz5-2sv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8565,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8565","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":0},"title":"Desert Bar a.k.a. Nellie E Saloon","author":"Wendy","date":"January 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nellie E Saloon, or Desert Bar, is located in Parker, Arizona on an old mining camp where they used to mine copper. Ken, the proprietor who acquired the land in 1975 along with a liquor license, had the idea for a \u201cbar in the desert.\u201d Turns out, it was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boondocking"","block_context":{"text":"Boondocking","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/boondocking"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_8107_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_8107_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_8107_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8581,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8581","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":1},"title":"Palm Canyon","author":"Wendy","date":"January 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Palm Canyon is located off Palm Canyon Road in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Quartzsite, Arizona. It is a nice little hike and we thought Andy and Candy would enjoy the trip. The palms maybe the only native palm trees in Arizona and survive protected by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boondocking"","block_context":{"text":"Boondocking","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/boondocking"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7983_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7983_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7983_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3480,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/3480","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":2},"title":"A Trip Through AZ Back Country","author":"Wendy","date":"March 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We met up with our good friends Jim and Becky for a ride through parts of Arizona most tourists don\u2019t see. Jim spent much of his adult life in the Phoenix area and took us on a personal tour. First stop was Cordes, so we met at Bloody Basin Rd\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1975_thumb1.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1975_thumb1.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1975_thumb1.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8602,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8602","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":3},"title":"Dripping Springs Trail","author":"Wendy","date":"January 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in Quartzsite, Arizona!!!! Yay. It is sunny, warm and no humidity which is a welcome change from the summer we spent on the East coast which was cloudy, rainy and humid. After arriving we, along with Phil and Sue, decide to head downtown to look around and get the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boondocking"","block_context":{"text":"Boondocking","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/boondocking"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7931_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7931_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_7931_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10544,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/10544","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":4},"title":"Fortuna Mine","author":"Wendy","date":"February 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that John is home safe and sound and I\u2019m feeling 99% back to normal, I\u2019m ready for some real jeeping. To get us warmed up, we head out to the Fortuna Mine. This is a fairly easy trail with a couple of \u201cfun\" spots. A good warmup trail to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20200223_110609-rotated-e1584476937700.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20200223_110609-rotated-e1584476937700.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20200223_110609-rotated-e1584476937700.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20200223_110609-rotated-e1584476937700.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6675,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/6675","url_meta":{"origin":9455,"position":5},"title":"Kofa Queen Canyon Off-Road Trail","author":"Wendy","date":"January 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been a while since we have taken the Rubi out to play. 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It has been a while since any of us have been out 4-wheeling so John picked an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boondocking"","block_context":{"text":"Boondocking","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/boondocking"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSCN0610_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSCN0610_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSCN0610_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9455"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14220,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9455\/revisions\/14220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}