Day 2

Cholla Campground Tonto National Forest Roosevelt Lake, Arizona

We began our day on State Forest Road 647 or Game Loop Road. 

We saw several hawks as we made our way.  This guy didn’t fly away as we got closer.  He must have had his eye on some breakfast.

The trail was easy and we made our way up along the ridge.  The view of Roosevelt Lake was impressive.  We were 1500 feet above the water.  I love the mountains that look like rumpled fabric.

There were miles of 8-foot-high, chain-link fence.  It appeared to be a humongous enclosure of some sort.  There were breaks in the fence with open gates.  It was very curious.  We made all kinds of guesses for the fence.  Maybe it was a research/study area.  Maybe it was a protected habitat area.  We aren’t sure…but someone paid a lot of money to erect all of that fence.

Our second trail was State Forest Road 445 or 3 Bar Road.  This trail started in the belly of the gulch and then began a slow ascent.

The third trail we took was the Four Peaks Trail State Forest Road 143 to 422.  This was the lunch spot Tim found for us.

As we climbed to 6,000 feet, we could see more of the lake.  It was like looking out of an airplane at everything far below.

The mountains that looked like folded fabric, look like this when you get close.

We began our happy hour at 4:30. We enjoyed cowboy caviar and brie and blueberry jam and cucumber sandwiches for our dinner.

As we were eating, Tim caught movement in the bushes on our campsite. We initially thought it was a roadrunner but it was a group of quails. We watched them scuttle about. I glanced over and saw a tarantula in the gravel next to the RV. Tarantulas are the giants of the spider world. They will try to run away from you and rarely bite. The males creep around. The females mostly stay in their burrows and can live for two years without eating food as long as they have water. If they bite, it is similar to a wasp sting. Most bites cause more of an irritation. Some people can have an anaphylactic response. Sometimes puncture wounds become infected. Medical attention after a bite is recommended. It was both thrilling and creepy to see this guy!

We have also had the hood up in the Jeep since we arrived here. The camp host told me there has been some trouble with some packrats in the campground. We are pretty sure this is a packrat mound.

We love being out here!!!