If you can make out the fuzzy picture, you will have some sort of clue as to why it took 5 hours to go 127 miles.
We took the Apache Trail which starts out east of Apache Junction on a nice paved road, then quickly turns to washboardy dirt one lane road, and then on the other side, back to paved again. It was fun! Here, come along on a little ride on the mountain road.......
Ready? Start singing: Ernie and Marge went over the mountain, Ernie and Marge went over the mountain, Ernie and Marge went over the mountain, to see what they could see!
There were many spots where our big Ford 350 diesel had to pull way to the side to let other vehicles pass. And corners like this one were quite interesting!
You can see by the dust in the photo below that there was a car not too far in front of us.
Overhanging rocks also make things challenging!
In the photo below, notice the guard rails......a little plowed up pile of dirt!
The lake was formed by Roosevelt Dam, built in the early 1900's.
Still singing? And all that they could see was the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side etc........
But on the other side, when the road turned back to pavement, we found the Tonto National Monument. This cliff dwelling was occupied prior to the 1400's by the Hohokam or Salada peoples who came up from way southern Arizona area. By 1400 they had disappeared. Before Columbus "discovered" America, these people had been here and gone.
Had we not just taken off after we had gone to church, we would have hiked up to the dwelling, but a mile uphill walk in church shoes didn't appeal to me! Next time I'll come prepared!
This was a very pleasant afternoon. Do you see why it took five hours to go 127 miles?
1 comment:
I LOVE it. Can I come too? I'm SO envious of your travels. I've got such a terrific case of cabin fever I don't know what to do. All we're doing is sitting here waiting for the water to rise. It's awful. Have fun.
Post a Comment