The Apache Trail Loop and other stuff....

Today is December 16. I can hardly believe that we are in the middle of December because it's just like late summer or early fall here in Mesa, AZ.
I have decided to go home to Alberta over Christmas and am fully aware of the wintery conditions that I will fly into in a couple of days. I just hope everyone back there hasn't had any trouble on the roads!
Ok, now to get caught up with our travels here.
We did an over nighter trip on the Apache Trail Loop. Here is how it is described in the brochure:

Apache Trail one of the most scenic drives in the country. Winding on the edges of Superstition Mountain Wilderness, this was the original path of Apache Indians that became a stage coach route during the wild west. It is now a scenic drive with an aura of days past. Take this beautiful drive and you will not only discover unique beauty, but experiencing history.
The Apache Trail is particularly gorgeous during springtime when the cacti is in full bloom and wildflowers paint the desert landscape. But it is not a drive for those afraid of heights. It can be scary. There are parts of the trail where dirt road hugs cliff side walls or guard rails along sharp drop-offs.
Apache Trail is not for nervous drivers. Definitely not for passengers who are likely to curl-up on the floor board and scream for you to turnaround and go back. There are few places to do that along the Apache Trail. But if you can handle a few harrowing spots, nature's visuals will reward.

A view of the Superstition Mountains

Well I guess we aren't any of the above kinds of people, altho there were a couple of spots that were pretty sketchy. The trip was well worth it!
We first stopped at an old ghost town. It was pretty touristy but I met a fellow in a pottery studio there. He was working on some pieces so I went in to visit with him for a bit. Turned out he assisted the potter who ran the studio but sadly he had died recently. The potter's wife had a lease for the studio and the assistant was trying to make a go of it even though he admitted he really didn't know that much about potting but had learned a few of the potter's handbuilding projects and was going with them. Made me think if I lived in the area I could possibly help him get more comfortable with clay and help with the firing etc. Oh well, I'm sure he'll do ok.

At the ghost town

Pottery wind chimes

 We wanted to go on the boat, the Dolly, on Canyon Lake and checked the sailing times on the internet. According to the schedule we saw, there was only one sailing that day, at 12pm so we wanted to skeedaddle up the road to be there on time.
When we arrived at the dock we went to the ticket window only to find a sign that stated that there would be no sailing today.
We went over to the restaurant just next to the Dolly and the manager was surprised to hear the news. She said it usually went rain or shine so she didn't know what was going on.
We decided to stay for lunch and it was very good. The server was a hoot too!

The Dolly

 After lunch we traveled a bit further up the road to Tortilla Flat, another little Ghost Town turned tourist attraction.
Not much there but I did have some tasty prickly pear ice cream. Tastes sort of like a mixture of strawberry and raspberry and something else that is, well, I guess prickly pear flavour.

At Tortilla Flat

Found a friend

 Right after Tortilla Flat the road is unpaved for 22 miles and this is where the fun begins. Winding along the side of the mountains the narrow dirt/gravel road makes it's way to the dam.
The dam was built in the early 1900's entirely of rock from the surrounding mountains. Cut and fit together. In the 1950's the dam was fortified with a coating of concrete. There was no dam tour here.

The dirt road to the dam

 

Red dirt

The dam

 
 After the dam, we drove to the Tonto National Monument, which by then the road was paved again. As usual it was a very interesting stop and admission utilised our National Parks Pass. The information centre was very informative. Only the lower cliff dwelling was open which was just fine as it was a long steep climb up. I can't imagine how those people lived up there but I suppose it was much safer and securer that living down below.

Looking up to the lower cliff dwelling

The path up

 

 

 

Looking down from the cliff dwelling

 We left Tonto Nat'l Monument and headed to the city of Globe where we had made arrangements to stay at a bed and breakfast.
It was called Dream Manor Inn. It was a very nice surprise driving up to what looked like a villa in Tuscany, Italy. Our room was very comfortable with lovely views. The owners recommended a Mexican restaurant in town which we tried. It too was very, very good. They didn't have a license to sell anything except beer and wine but had invented a margarita made with wine that was very tasty indeed. John had the shrimp fajitas and I had the chicken rellenos. Delightful!
(I have not lost any weight on this trip....)
The next morning we had breakfast in the dining room at the Inn and chatted with the owner about golf courses in the area. We were also told that a trip just 40 minutes up the road to Salt River Canyon was well worth it, so we changed our plans a bit and headed that way.

Dream Manor Inn

A little man made waterfall

A little pitching practice

  It was a lovely drive up and an amazing surprise to see what is dubbed by the locals as "the Little Grand Canyon". Very cool, and the coloured rocks!! Oh the colours!! I just don't think my photos do them justice.
After driving from one side, down into the near bottom of the canyon and up the other side, we turned around to do it in reverse and head to the Pueblo in Globe.

Salt River Canyon

 

 


 

At Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park was a visitor centre with a really great video about the ancient natives. There was also an area in the visitor centre that had many artifacts found in amongst the ruins. Much of it pottery with lovely decoration.
We walked through the ruins, a lot of which had been destroyed by vandals in the early days and rebuilt and maintained by volunteers.

Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Site

Ancient pottery

More lovely old pottery

  We stopped for fuel and lunch and then down the road again to our last stop on this trip. The Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park.
The arboretum was established by a wealthy mining magnate who after seeing the mess the mining industry was making of the desert decided to try and preserve an area of the desert and also added plants from deserts around the world. It was very beautiful and interesting.

A lovely display of ice plants

A sculpture fountain in the form of a cactus, love it!!

Along the path through the arboretum

An olive tree

Olives

A eucalyptus tree

A few more photos....

At the lower cliff dwelling at Tonto National Monument

A random tree with Christmas decorations at the side of the hiway!

Another dam picture