Mileage:  69,080

Cholla Campground Tonto National Forest Roosevelt Lake, Arizona

Several people had told us that Roosevelt Lake was a great place to visit.  That was our destination as we set out this morning.

Our ride.

The view from our campsite.

We are now in the Lower Sonoran Desert.  How different it is here just 50 miles south…from our ride on the rim yesterday. 

Theodore Roosevelt Lake is the largest lake in Arizona and the Roosevelt Lake Bridge is the “longest two-lane single span steel-arch bridge in America.”  It is among the top twelve bridges in the country.  It is painted blue to blend with the lake and sky…in order that it not detract from the surroundings and to allow people to appreciate it’s form.

The Salt River is in the bottom of the Tonto Basin.  It enters the Theodore Roosevelt Dam from the East.  The dam was built in the early 1900’s to control the flow of water, preventing floods and mitigating drought conditions.  The original dam was made of stone carved directly from the canyon walls.  41 men lost their lives building the dam.  In 1995, the dam was rebuilt and raised 77 feet to conserve even more water. 

The Apache Trail is 40 miles long.  It is a dirt and gravel road not suitable for the RV.  It was a ride well worth taking.  This is a National Forest Scenic Byway. 

The road connects Roosevelt Lake to Apache Junction…well usually…

We believe the road was washed out.  We were disappointed that we only got to travel 12 miles before the road was closed.

We stood at the overlook at Apache Lake and enjoyed our picnic.  There was a music festival going on down at the lake and it was crazy busy!

The return ride…stunning!

We drove to Tonto National Monument but we didn’t get out of the Jeep.  We have seen a bunch of cliff dwellings and we would have had to take a ranger led tour. 

A stone from the original Roosevelt Dam.

The lake is just so pretty.

The sun reflected on the mountains granted us a beautiful view this evening.

We grilled chicken fajitas for our dinner.  The weather is so mild and pleasant.  We spent the entire day outside!  We have plans for a Jeep adventure tomorrow.