Travel cautions for Southwest chasing

[Susan Strom]

I have not chased AZ yet but heard it's awesome for lightning chasing.

Yes it is! I just chase around the unsafe areas. A lot of the safe areas are lightning hot spots too.

Why Arizona is chaseable for lightning and good for photography:

-Higher cloud bases for visibility of the lightning
-Cumulus not stratus
-Multiple branches in the lightning
-Storms are isolated and can be set well in a foreground
-Crazy mountainous terrain causing lift helping convection
-Incredible color from sunsets and desert light
-Many remote areas far away from cities and light pollution
-Amazing highway quality
-Views are unmatched
-We are a quick-change artist. Many terrains are available for your filming: multiple kinds of desert, dramatic mountains, forest/conifers/ferns, mountain meadow, aspens, lakes, red cliffs, Holy-land look, dunes, high alpine & ski, city, meteor crater, ghost town, ancient Indian ruin, ranch/cowboy, mining, golf resort, vineyard, fall color, massive river and dam scenes, so many different looks. We even have the old London Bridge (really...we do).

Monsoon activity July - mid Sept

cheers

 

[Phil Bates]

Susan, I noticed on the lightning frequency map, an area of orange in the middle of Colorado. Is that a viable option for lightning chasing during the Monsoon? Or is that area mostly active in the spring, thus not a good choice for summer?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[Susan Strom]

I see the BLM has a tips page for Southern Arizona borderland travel http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/natmon/border_concerns.html
It includes a phone number to report to if needed.

and for Phil, yes, the monsoon flow stretches up into Colorado at times.

 

[cshough]

So, the 2013 season is just around the corner, wondered if anyone could give their views on the current situation. Chase-cationing from the UK in August and would love to know what peoples thoughts were, if areas are now safer / even more avoidable ?

 

[Greg Campbell]

So, the 2013 season is just around the corner, wondered if anyone could give their views on the current situation. Chase-cationing from the UK in August and would love to know what peoples thoughts were, if areas are now safer / even more avoidable ?

I think it's safe to say that things haven't improved any since 2010.....

Any mountain range that's in contact with the border is a natural hot-zone. Regions immediately north of said mountains, or in line with an obvious city or road access point are also likely to be high traffic.

FWLIW, my personal 'nope' zones: (Chasing out of Tucson.)
Tumacácori Mountains. Arivaca Rd is fairly 'safe' but the surrounding mountains are dark and scary!
On the east side of I-19, the Patagonia and Huachuca Mountains.
Hwy 83, more than a few miles south of Sonoita.
92 S of Sierra Vista.
Highway 80 NE of Douglas is gorgeous, but terribly remote. The 'Chiricahua Passage' gets a lot of traffic. Frustrating, since the SE corner of the state gets a lot of storm action. (80 between Benson and Bisbee is not too bad, IMO.)
The entire area west of Kitt Peak and south of I-8. It's Reservation land and/or, very remote and thus inviting.
Cascabel Rd, more than ~10 miles N of Benson. If nothing else, the road quality degrades as you roam into the wilderness.
I don't know about the KOFA area. It's a ways from the border, but also has very low population density. It is wildly pretty!

Some suggested 'good' places in S. Az.
Fort Grant Rd, N of Wilcox. Enough farms and ranches to keep traffic low. Great horizons, low rolling hills, distant mountains. Altogether, very pretty.
The I-10 / 82 / 83 / 80 box. Open grassland, with a fair number of ranches.
The I-10 / 186 / 181 /191 loop, including Chiricahua NP.
Any of the overlooks along Catalina Highway.
Just about anywhere N of Phoenix (~33.5 degrees North.) Once the smuggling routes reach a major city, there's no further point in crawling around in the bushes. The broad corridor along I-17, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, including Prescott, Payson, Sedona, etc. is quite pretty, and probably as safe as it gets.

IMO, natch!

 

[joel ewing]

Why would you say such a thing? I've lived in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona since 1961, and what Mr. Dickson is stating is a bona-fide fact. Plus....I live IN the desert...not in any subdivision or any kind of a so-called community...and we have coyotes, javalina, western Diamondback Rattlers, etc. around our home constantly. What I'm saying is that I would truly worry about crossing paths with human and drug smugglers in the areas Mr. Dickson outlined if one was unarmed and unfamiliar with the area. But I'm just a guy that's lived in this area for 53 years....what do I know?

 

[TJKLECKNER]

...and we have coyotes, javalina, western Diamondback Rattlers, etc. around our home constantly. What I'm saying is that I would truly worry about crossing paths with human and drug smugglers in the areas Mr. Dickson outlined if one was unarmed and unfamiliar with the area. But I'm just a guy that's lived in this area for 53 years....what do I know?

Yeah, I'm not going to the SW anytime soon....I will take my chances avoiding rabid squirrels