Wanted to spend some time in Apache National Forest but it was too cold for me. Not that it was cold. Last night was in the 30's but I didn't want to sleep that cold and it didn't warm up much past the 60's during the day making it chilly to bathe with a wind blowing.
Coming up from Clifton on US-191 I passed the largest open pit copper mine in the U.S. They move 825,000 tons of rock a day. Huge earth moving equipment looked like lines of ants working away from my vantage point way above them.
Lots of free camping, horse trails and hiking trails all along the 100 miles of US-191 through the Apache National Forest. Some nice views of valleys below and mountain ranges in the distance. Signs warn this is wolf country and others warn to watch for elk on the roads. I didn't see any of either. Lots of deer though.
I did run across a 3 foot long bull snake. I got out of the truck, thinking it might be a rattler but no. It still had a lot of spunk. I tried to pick it up with my walking stick and it curled up and wanted to fight. No teeth at one end and no rattles at the other. I was finally able to encourage it to slither off the road.