I have been driving by this abandoned corral for a few years and have been telling myself to stop and take pictures of it for nearly as long. I try to bring my GPS with me wherever I go so that I can mark interesting photo sites to come back to at a later date. This gives me a ready cache of photo sites to choose from whenever I go out.
Unfortunately on the day that I decided to stop the light was very harsh and it was very dusty, making any wide angle or landscape shots very difficult. I only managed to take one decent photo of the corral, and that was standing inside the chute shooting away from the sun.
Rather than wasting my time on photos that would not turn out due to poor conditions, I stuck mostly to my macro lens, a Canon 100mm f/2.8. The rotting wood, rusted barbed wire, and old nails provided great texture that really popped against the soft background.
This site was very fun to work around, but caution was needed to keep from stepping through rotting boards or getting caught on the barbed wire and cactus. I always wear tall hiking boots and jeans when out in the desert, regardless of how hot it is. They offer much needed protection from cactus spines, barbed wire, and critters.
This site is located on New River Road about 4 miles South of I-17, or 6.5 miles North of the Carefree Highway between New River and Lake Pleasant. Other great sites in the area are Lake Pleasant, the Carefree Highway, which is a designated scenic drive that is covered with saguaros, and the Hells Canyon Wilderness. With the ever expanding Phoenix Metro area, housing developments are already planned all the way up to and beyond the Carefree Highway, so enjoy the relative peace and quiet while you can.
