Agamemnon on Redington Road

Agamemnon on Redington Road

Our little Honda Fit, Agamemnon Jetson, is named after its ancient color (bronze -- get it?) and its futuristic shape. In Tucson, it stands out a bit, but so do Smart Cars and motor scooters. Lots of pickup trucks, muscle cars, and SUV's in Tucson, and in the wealthy Foothills, lots of Mercedes and two-seater vanity cars.

Tucson from Redington Road

A car like Agamemnon might pass in Tucson (we won't even mention Peenix) metro area, but in the rest of Arizona, it's an oddity. This is a cowboys and Indians frontier state where the Sonoran Desert and dirt roads breed pickup trucks and other vehicles with big wheels, big engines and high clearances driven by guys wearing big hats.

Looking south, past agave bloom to Rincon Mountains

Redington Road is an extension of Tanque Verde Road, sort of. Tanque Verde may have been a dirt road in its past, but now it's mostly a four to six lane upscale urban retail sprawl heading east. Recently widened to accommodate the growing suburban population, Tanque Verde ultimately resumes a conventional, two-lane status and turns into Redington Road. This is an area of very nice houses surrounded by lots of acres. Continuing east and gaining elevation, we arrive at the boundary of the Coronado National Forest where the asphalt ends. From city to country estate to desert all in the space of a mile or two.

The first six miles of dirt road take you to the pass itself, merely a high point somewhere between the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincon Mountains. Another twenty-two miles of dirt road takes you to Redington.

San Pedro valley from Redington Road, Galiuro Mountains in the distance

Local members of Redington Chamber of Commerce

Redington is marked on most road maps as if it were a town with a gas station, mayor, and a chamber of commerce. In fact, it's only a concept in name, a farm-ranch accessible only by dirt roads. Once the home of a post office, one of its founders was lynched in Florence on suspicion of being involved with a stagecoach robbery near the ranch.

I think the map makers did not want to leave an empty space in the middle of the San Pedro valley, so they seized upon the idea of Redington.

Agamemnon and I got past mile 18, about two-thirds of the way to the Redington metropolis, over a reasonably good gravel and dirt road, rarely going over 20 m.p.h. for fear of hitting something with the bottom of the car. The stunning view of the San Pedro valley and the Galiuro Mountains in the distance can only be hinted in a photo. Add the agave blooming this time of year, and you have a very Sonoran experience.

It was Memorial Day weekend, but very few vehicles, and almost all of them pickups.  Most of the holiday weekend activity was in the three informal shooting ranges. These areas are designated by the broken glass, cans, and other garbage that carpet the ground and brush.

As Tucson News reported last November, the EPA is investigating these three sites of Merkin macho. "The area is littered with lead shells and bullet ridden trash that people have used for target practice. . . . According to the complaint filed with the EPA, soil samples collected from various sites at Redington pass show extreme soil lead levels. . .. There were several signs warning people not to dump waste and to pick up their shell casings . . ..  Almost all of the signs we drove past were riddled with bullet holes."

Agamemnon and I kept moving as we heard the rat-tat-tat of pistols and the bursts of a machine gun. I kid you not. This may be the real Merka of Sarah Palin, and Jesse Kelly would call these contaminated garbage dumps "freedom," but I have to admit I don't like guns or garbage.

East of the pass is a ranch. One has to admire the fortitude of living here. Some distance away, by the side of the dirt road, is a sweet sight. Some kind person took the trouble to build a brace for a barrel cactus growing among rocks. For me, that ranch and cactus brace are parts of the real America.

Agamemnon and I got back to town safely; no incident. I'm awfully proud of the little guy trekking over rugged Sonoran hills in the company of 4x4 trucks and off-road vehicles. Not only can this tough little beast handle the dirt roads, it is air-conditioned, has an iPod connector, plays MP3 disks, and gets damned good mileage. It looks cute, too.