Travel cautions for Southwest chasing

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Feb 10, 2004
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Location
Scottsdale, AZ USA
Monsoon chasers please be aware of the shifting political situation in the Southwest before heading off into parts of Arizona to film lightning and sandstorms at the current time.

There are many recent reports that the borderland troubles with the smuggling and illegal immigration have worsened and spread north, creating unsafe travel conditions in some areas.

A few years back after speaking to the border patrol first-hand for their advice, I made a personal decision not to chase in certain areas in Arizona. Most were in the borderlands.

I admittedly feel pretty sad right now as I cross off a few more vantage points where I shoot lightning. These are places I have chased a hundred times and feel close to...and they are quite a ways north of the border. This year for me, they're out.

Stanfield (outside of Casa Grande):
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromLightningFactory.jpg

Pinal County deserts:
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromMaricopaHabH.jpg

The Sawtooth range near Eloy/Arizona City
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/LLCallofthedesert.jpg
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromDarkBeauty.jpg

I-8 and also Gila Bend, and my list is not limited to these.

Please talk to the county sheriff or border patrol, rather than just the media, for news on the changing situation and whether travel to some of the places is recommended.

Travel caution sign:
http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/photographs700/travel-caution.jpg

Losing parts of Arizona:
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...can-drug-cartels-now-control-parts-of-arizona

Arizona persists as the wild west it seems.

Monsoon chasers, please know where you are and what the situation is, for the areas you chase this year...
 
I live in Casa Grande, Arizona and Susan is very correct with her assessment of the current situation in southern Arizona urging those unfamiliar with our area to use caution when you are out enjoying the marvels of our Monsoon. I would like to add that most of the issues so far have not been with individual folks from Mexico trying to enter our country illegally to improve their lot in life.

Even though there has been a lot of press about the porous nature of the international border with Mexico, increased activity by the Border Patrol in some areas has forced the drug dealers and suppliers into more remote areas. In addition to the drugs, there are also the various groups that deal in human trafficking and are quite willing to kill to protect their routes and territory. One of the favored routes at the present crosses the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation and then on through western Pinal County on the way to the Phoenix area. This is a very vast area that is sparsely populated but furnishes a number of dirt roads and trails with a lot of vegetation to hide in. The area where Susan showed the sign along the road about illegal activity in the area is near the Vekol Wash and Freeman Road south of Interstate 8, west of Stanfield. This beautiful area has long been one of my favorites, but I no longer go there.

In addition to lightning photography, I’ve become addicted to photographing Iridium Flares and spend a lot of nights out in the darkness. Not to start a round of gun control debates, but I’ve had a concealed carry permit for about eight years. Starting last summer, there has been a second weapon lying right on the hood of my Jeep while I am taking photos. This started after one evening when I had the very strong feeling I was being watched while I was in one of my favored remote locations. I’m not the least bit paranoid and ready to quit my hobby, but situational awareness is the key thing to remember. In one respect, a good portion of our desert has become like certain areas within some of our major cities in the United States; you know you might be getting into a bad situation if you go into that part of town.

This year, I will be doing more of my lightning photos in some of the more rugged mountainous areas of the southern Arizona desert that people would not normally chose as a travel route because of the difficulty with terrain. It is a sad state of affairs to have to warn others about the dangers when they come to visit what has historically been a Mecca for travelers. I don’t see it getting any better until this becomes a full blown military operation, but I’ll stay away from all of the political arguments that would bring. Do come to visit and have a good time, but remember that part of southern Arizona isn’t like Iowa or Oklahoma where you seldom are concerned with your safety. Sorry for the somewhat long post, but these folks are playing for keeps.
 
Good warning

Good words of advice. What do you think about N. Arizona? I think tensions have been building up for a long time now down in S. AZ. You could also become a target of law enforcement especially with out of state plates in remote areas. It would be cool to see an ultra rare AZ tornado though.
 
Excellent post Richard. You are right on with what I have been hearing as well. I guess that comes from living right near it in Casa Grande, and maintaining your "situational awareness" which was the whole point of me posting about this. Thanks. I don't want Plains chasers to tear off into parts unknown and end up running into a bad scene.

Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression either that "all of Arizona is a dangerous place" and scare people. This is still the Grand Canyon state. Tourists still flock here.

It is just a good idea to stay tuned to the reality of what is going on in some areas and not assume that it is only down by the border. Read azcentral.com. Get up-to-date data from perhaps the public info officer at the border patrol. Contact the sheriff's office.

Up until just last season I chased Casa Grande, Stanfield, Maricopa, Picacho and other parts of the Central Deserts rather unimpeded. Part of the big lure is that it is Sandstorm Central.
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromSandstormAZ.jpg

This year, I will be sticking to safer more populated areas if I go down south or into Pinal County (I have spots where people are, where I feel safe and the photography is still good) and focus a lot more on the Mogollon Rim. No guarantee of safety on the Rim either, but it is a lot further away from the border. They're going to get used to seeing my face around Show Low I think. http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromGoldStrike.jpg

However, up on Colorado Plateau (the Mogollon Rim is the cliff where it ends) the lightning storms are nothing short of...well...savage and barbaric, combined with a peculiar variety of hydroplaning. Heavy rains dislodge forest debris such as pine needles and cones and it floats across the highway.

But, if things get too extreme, I can call it quits and head somewhere indoors. There are some cabin-type saloons and such here and there. I have done that during very extreme nights. The Rim is dark, remote, full of pine-tree targets, and the storms just pound the ever-loving life out of it because it juts out into the sky and you're inside the storm's livingroom. Why do I chase there? Big thunder, diamond-clear air and wilderness foregrounds (not to mention, I like the people.)
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromMogollonThunder.jpg
I guess you trade one hazard for another, right...

So the question is...what should an Iowa chaser do before chasing in the Southwest? Stay informed, know where you are, get good (current) data from the authorities, focus on weather hazards as always but remember that those aren't the only hazards and understand that for now, it is not the Arizona that we've always known.
 
I was planning a trip to AZ for lightning photography the first week of Sept. Are there some locals on here that would want to go out in small groups to be less of a target? Susan? Richard? Warren?

Doug Raflik
 
No offense but I think that you all are over-reacting. This may seem like a very dangerous type of situation, and for what we're used to in the US, it is. But in comparison to what Mexico and the vast majority of Central/south America has been dealing with for years, this pales in comparison. This is just a tiny dose of what the rest of the world experiences all the time. Remember, not everyone has a country that spends 663 billion dollars a year on defense.

So I know it may be a little scary, but honestly, the mexican drug cartel probably doesn't want a whole lot to do with storm photographers. It just seems really dangerous to us because we hear isolated acts of crime occurring in the desert.


but thanks for the concern!
 
No offense but I think that you all are over-reacting. This may seem like a very dangerous type of situation, and for what we're used to in the US, it is. But in comparison to what Mexico and the vast majority of Central/south America has been dealing with for years, this pales in comparison. This is just a tiny dose of what the rest of the world experiences all the time. Remember, not everyone has a country that spends 663 billion dollars a year on defense.

So I know it may be a little scary, but honestly, the mexican drug cartel probably doesn't want a whole lot to do with storm photographers. It just seems really dangerous to us because we hear isolated acts of crime occurring in the desert.


but thanks for the concern!

I love it! Someone from Norman, OK who knows more about Arizona than a few Arizonans. So glad that when someone posts something informational and potentially life saving, someone else 'knows better' who probably doesn't live there and doesn't have to deal with the potential threat while doing photography.

I'm sure the drug cartel would have no problem mowing down a few photographers who happen to be in their smuggling route. Why would they risk being turned in by the photographers when its so much easier to pull a trigger and hide a body in the vast desert.

Just because it is "worse" in other countries doesn't mean it isn't bad here. The last thing I'd want when out photographing monsoon storms is to be in the path of criminals who thrive on secrecy and have no issue with eliminating anyone who might come across them. You're more than welcome to be a lookout!
 
I love it! Someone from Norman, OK who knows more about Arizona than a few Arizonans. So glad that when someone posts something informational and potentially life saving, someone else 'knows better' who probably doesn't live there and doesn't have to deal with the potential threat while doing photography.

I'm sure the drug cartel would have no problem mowing down a few photographers who happen to be in their smuggling route. Why would they risk being turned in by the photographers when its so much easier to pull a trigger and hide a body in the vast desert.

Just because it is "worse" in other countries doesn't mean it isn't bad here. The last thing I'd want when out photographing monsoon storms is to be in the path of criminals who thrive on secrecy and have no issue with eliminating anyone who might come across them. You're more than welcome to be a lookout!

Agree with Scott. Just visited Arizona purely as a tourist this winter and was told many of the same things the Arizonans have posted here. Know where you're going and have situational awareness. For someone coming from outside the state, it seemed strange...then we spent a week there watching the news and talking to locals.

There's a context to what's going on in Arizona that many of us can't understand.
 
I recently read an article about Mexican Pirates.

What?

Yes.. pirates. It sounds like the punch line of a joke, but apparently down in Texas on Falcon Lake there have been several incidents of people who were fishing being robbed on a border lake, but on the American side. Robbed by men in all black with automatic weapons, WHILE FISHING.

Huh?

Obviously this story is different than the original point of this post, but it just goes to show you we should all watch our surroundings.

Interesting read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/29/AR2010052903707.html
 
No offense but I think that you all are over-reacting. This may seem like a very dangerous type of situation, and for what we're used to in the US, it is. But in comparison to what Mexico and the vast majority of Central/south America has been dealing with for years, this pales in comparison. This is just a tiny dose of what the rest of the world experiences all the time. Remember, not everyone has a country that spends 663 billion dollars a year on defense.

So I know it may be a little scary, but honestly, the Mexican drug cartel probably doesn't want a whole lot to do with storm photographers. It just seems really dangerous to us because we hear isolated acts of crime occurring in the desert.

but thanks for the concern!


From everything I know about Susan, she is not a confrontational type person and I'm seldom that way myself. What we are referring to is not a memo put out by the U.S. State Department warning people not go to Arizona out of fear for their safety, more like what you might hear if you go to some portions of L.A., Chicago, New York, etc. It's like looking over your shoulder at the ATM, not a Chicken Little, the sky is falling sort of thing.

I appreciate your comments and if you would be kind enough to translate your post into Spanish, I will print a copy to carry with me and be sure to show it to some of the drug runners if I'm ever unfortunate to meet up with them. I'm positive that would clarify the whole situation and they would quietly go back across the border.
 
No offense but I think that you all are over-reacting. This may seem like a very dangerous type of situation, and for what we're used to in the US, it is. But in comparison to what Mexico and the vast majority of Central/south America has been dealing with for years, this pales in comparison. This is just a tiny dose of what the rest of the world experiences all the time. Remember, not everyone has a country that spends 663 billion dollars a year on defense.

So I know it may be a little scary, but honestly, the mexican drug cartel probably doesn't want a whole lot to do with storm photographers. It just seems really dangerous to us because we hear isolated acts of crime occurring in the desert.


but thanks for the concern!

Hi E Hale,

<sigh> I wish that you were right, that we're overreacting. I really do.

The thing is with me, I have a particular fondness for the Sonoran Desert. And I love chasing, both here and in the Plains. I’m up to about 13 years now of intimate Sonoran Desert knowledge, the plants, the animals, the mountains, the Monsoon and have guided. I love my desert.

But, you bring up a good point. Because it does sound kind of alarmist, and it is not fun to think about. Places in my own state, my own country, where I can’t chase? Are you kidding? But it just isn’t Kansas. It is a different feeling out here.

The main reason for my post was that a couple years ago some chasers came out from the Plains, got to AZ and tore off into the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation down in the borderlands, a place where the Tohono people have to constantly patrol 75+ miles of their own reservation against traffickers. Nothing happened, luckily. But the chasers really didn't know where they were. They just saw the open desert, the lightning, and went after it.

I don’t chase on the rez because of respect and not wanting to interfere with Shadow Wolves patrols (native ICE employees). Also, on reservations I would get permission first for photography or tribal permit. It is their land and their community. But really, my post isn't about reservations, just about moving around in the desert w/o knowing where you are...and what could be there.

For me, knowledge of the illegal immigration and drug activity came in a roundabout way. Since I love the desert, I have given talks and done gallery shows for wildlife parks and donated photography uses to the Sierra Club. It was from that interaction that I learned of the border issue…not because of politics or the media, but because of illegal roads (a.k.a. drug and human smuggling corridors) being cut in to the fragile desert ecosystem and the trash left behind. Some environmental impacts don’t need much explaining…
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EqPD4PYBMRk/RunzYHYPSkI/AAAAAAAAAIg/XAiYkUXbcSE/s400/IllegalsTrash1.jpg

But all this aside, feel free to contact the border patrol, park ranger or the Pinal County sheriff. Definitely come out and chase. Just know where NOT to go. Things have recently changed. Know what’s around and the current information, that’s the key to it. Don’t let your imagination run away, because Arizona is 116,000 square miles, and it is so large that it would take 20 lifetimes to chase it all. There is vast opportunity and world-famous tourism. And there are many areas you can chase freely and with full enjoyment of the experience. Just know where to avoid, that is all I suggest.

Here is the Tucson sector border patrol office.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/border_patrol_sectors/tucson_sector_az/tucson_general.xml

And if in a National Park, you could talk to a park ranger ahead of time. For example, don’t run around Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument chasing lightning at night. Even being experienced, I wouldn’t. This park, although startlingly beautiful, abuts the border and has the dubious distinction of being the “Most Dangerous National Park” in America. Don’t avoid seeing it, it is beautiful, but just do what the Park Service advises:
http://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/boarder-concerns.htm

Now, Pinal County is a ways north. Phoenix is 2 hours away from the border by car, and I-8, Casa Grande and Gila Bend, sites of shootings in the past weeks, is just south of town here. It is creeping up. If you want to know, you can contact the sheriff’s office. http://pinalcountyaz.gov/Departments/Sheriff/Pages/Home.aspx

And to that last sentence in your post... you have to ask yourself, what is a chaser? Well an inventory here… a nice well-maintained SUV with air conditioning, carrying cash & credit cards for travel, extra water supply, expensive cameras & radios on board. For someone running the Sonoran, a very attractive target, I would think. Cell coverage can also be spotty or non-existent so don’t count on it for help.

Here is a bit about one of my chase stomping grounds, even up until last year. The lightning and sandstorms are really good there. But this year Western Pinal County will be on hiatus for me. I just don’t want to deal with it. It is a personal choice.

“The rugged desert area where the shooting took place, near the junction of Interstate 8 and Arizona 84 in south-central Arizona, is considered a high-traffic drug- and human-smuggling corridor.”
http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2010/04/30/20100430pinal-county-deputy-shot-immigrant30-ON.html
On a different shooting last week:
http://www.kpho.com/news/23872908/detail.html

So the takeaway is, know where you are and know the most current information about it. I’m going to chase all summer, heavily, but I will not go to a couple of my old places in the Central Deserts this year. I will do what I always do, retreat if I feel I need to. I plan to go for safer desert places that still offer incredible beauty and chasing, and there are many. If I go to the Central Deserts, I will use common sense and not push it or get so lost in the storm action that I fail to pay attention. I want to enjoy my chases, not make them worrisome. Use the resources above be aware of surroundings. That’s pretty much it.
 
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Susan: Thank you for this post. It frustrates me that this is all unfolding the way it is. Last summer I encountered three border patrol checkpoints while chasing in Arizona. One was along US 95 between Quartzite and Yuma, which was a total surprise. The second was the usual checkpoint along I-8 east of Yuma, and the third was long SR 85 south of Gila Bend near Ajo. My chase partner and I were interrogated "politely" for about 10 minutes at the Gila Bend/Ajo checkpoint, mainly to give them enough time for their drug-sniffing dog to circle our vehicle and give us the all-clear. The conversation we had with the agents was quite nice actually, sharing storm chasing stories and showing them how we track storms with our laptop running GRL3. But, the one thing I got out of that experience was the realization that times have changed and that my excursions into the open desert south of I-8 has pretty much come to an end.

I am quite surprised that the Gasa Grande area is becoming quite dangerous, and that has bummed me out. That is some really prime monsoon chasing area. I guess I can stay in the more developed areas close to people, but to lose the solitude and the ambience of the open desert during an electrified monsoon storm is disappointing. I guess staying along and north of I-10 is the way to go from now on.

...
 
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Susan: Thank you for this post. It frustrates me that this is all unfolding the way it is. Last summer I encountered three border patrol checkpoints while chasing in Arizona. One was along US 95 between Quartzite and Yuma, which was a total surprise. The second was the usual checkpoint along I-8 east of Yuma, and the third was long SR 85 south of Gila Bend near Ajo. My chase partner and I were interrogated "politely" for about 10 minutes at the Gila Bend/Ajo checkpoint, mainly to give them enough time for their drug-sniffing dog to circle our vehicle and give us the all-clear. The conversation we had with the agents was quite nice actually, sharing storm chasing stories and showing them how we track storms with our laptop running GRL3. But, the one thing I got out of that experience was the realization that times have changed and that my excursions into the open desert south of I-8 has pretty much come to an end.

I am quite surprised that the Gasa Grande area is becoming quite dangerous, and that has bummed me out. That is some really prime monsoon chasing area. I guess I can stay in the more developed areas close to people, but to lose the solitude and the ambience of the open desert during an electrified monsoon storm is disappointing. I guess staying along and north of I-10 is the way to go from now on.

...

I too am frustrated with the situation. However, it will not affect my remaining positive about chasing, because really, the land sizes out here are so staggering that the travel caution is akin to saying, “Chase the entire Moon but don’t chase this crater and that crater.”

Just a few thoughts about Arizona…

If you decided to go for lightning over the Grand Canyon, the Park is 1.2 million acres in size…and is nowhere near the I-8 drug corridor.

Here is an example of the size of one landform here: Lake Powell - 186 miles long, 1,900 miles of shoreline.

Monument Valley includes 91,696 acres.

If you tried for lightning in the Superstition Wilderness, you have 159,757 acres to work with.

If you prefer the Tonto, like I do, here is what you have. I chase everywhere, but this is my main chase stomping ground. (Zane Gray knew what he was doing when he made it his home).

Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Size: 2.8 million acres (slightly smaller than the State of Connecticut).
Elevation range: 1,700 to 7,900 ft (higher to the 9’s if you go east)
Miles of road: 2,590
Terrain: Rugged wilderness, canyons, lakes
Vegetation: Sonoran cactus desert, chaparral, oak, mixed woods, conifer, aspen

A couple notable landforms in the Tonto that I like to work with:

Four Peaks Wilderness: 60,000+ acres with this mountain in it:
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromFourPeaks.jpg

Mogollon Rim – a cliff edge that is 200 miles long, with an abrupt drop-off of up to about 2,000 ft in places.

Mazatzal Wilderness: 252,500 acres within the Tonto and Coconino National forest.

Lightning density map of the United States: See Arizona showing higher number of strikes in the borderlands BUT, the more northerly part of the orange zone is in the Tonto National Forest further away from the border:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info/lightningmaps/US_FD_Lightning.pdf

The lightning up there is extreme though, really crazy.

Of course there's no complete guarantee of no illegal activity, but it is so far away from the borderlands and cities.

What I am going to do is just stay current, pay attention to the danger zones, and chase the vast expanses of Arizona that does not include them.

Happy Monsoon, it is declared today!
 
Latest News Article

Another article from todays newspaper:

Arizona Monument Gets Stronger Warning About Smugglers

Jun. 15, 2010 03:41 PM
Associated Press

CASA GRANDE - Officials say an increase in smuggling violence at the Sonoran Desert National Monument has led to a stronger warning to visitors about drug and immigrant traffickers passing through the public lands. The monument and three other federal lands in Arizona already have signs warning visitors that they may encounter smugglers.

But 11 new signs have been erected and two more were planned at the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The signs tell visitors about speeding smuggling vehicles and instruct them to walk away when seeing something suspicious and avoid abandoned vehicles and backpacks because they might contain drugs stashed there by smugglers.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/artic...-monument-smuggler-warning.html#ixzz0qxtTW77I
 
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