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.

Day 2

Payson Campground Payson, Arizona

We had stopped at the Payson Ranger Station and the rangers there really discouraged us from traveling off-road and gave us no information (like Tim was going to accept that!)

We had our breakfast at a small picnic area at Christopher Creek. 

The Mogollon Rim Ranger Station was closed for the winter!

We just decided to use the basic map we had and give it a try.  I am so glad we did!

We spent the day traveling 40 miles on the Mogollon Rim.  This rocky rim forms the edge of the Colorado Plateau.  It extends for about 200 miles and across most of Arizona.  The most impressive section is here.  The steep limestone and sandstone cliffs rise 2,000 feet above the valley.  We were at 8,000 feet of elevation and it was 10 degrees cooler than down in the bottom…and really windy! The Rim Road or State Forest Road 300 mostly hugs the ledge, making for dramatic views.

We wandered down dirt roads and stopped at the first two lakes.

Woods Canyon Lake.

A steep hike down to Bear Canyon Lake.

Tim spotted these turkeys running into the cover of the trees.

We had lunch at a small campsite where someone had erected this teepee shelter.

By lunchtime we had only advanced about 12 miles and we had a long way to go.  So, although we wanted to stop at every pullout, we did not.  This forest is full of ponderosa pine trees.  It doesn’t look anything like the rest of Arizona.  It was nice to get another perspective.  All of the area north and south of the rim is national forest.  There are also regions of completely protected wilderness.  We saw signs everywhere warning of active bear in the area…but we saw none.  There were also lots of signs warning us about elk…we saw no elk either!

Did I mention the trail was ON THE EDGE?!?

More wonderful views.

Tomorrow we will move further south…continuing to chase that warmer weather!

Mileage:  69,039

Payson Campground Payson, Arizona

We had a little mouse friend for a day or 2 but we terminated his lease!

We drove today to Payson.   

Breakfast along the Verde River.

The ride was so pretty.  It was really hazy and it took us some time to realize that we were seeing smoke.

In Payson, Tim rested and I went to get a few groceries.  We spent the afternoon trying to get the flat on Tim’s bike repaired. 

This evening, we got dressed up and went to dinner at Fargo’s Steakhouse where we had a very fine Malbec from Washington and a great meal.

Day 2

Dead Horse Ranch State Park Cottonwood, Arizona

Our neighbors.

We rode our bicycles first thing this morning.  We went to the Riverside Park.  The Verde River is 180 miles long and is the longest uninterrupted river in Arizona. 

The cottonwood trees living along the river’s edge are old.  This is the oldest and largest stand of cottonwood trees left here.  The trees stabilize the banks of the river and provide habitat for lots of birds and other wildlife. 

We took the Jeep on the Mingus Mountain Trail.  This is about 19 miles of winding dirt and gravel road that too us up from about 3,000 feet to the mountaintops at about 7,000 feet.  The views of the Verde Valley were spectacular. 

Among the peaks…

Our lunch spot…in the shade…among trees.

A lunch companion.

We descended Mingus Mountain.

Tim taking a picture of me taking a picture!

We drove to the barbed wire gate at our second trail…the Woodchute Trail.  Don’t go there…it was a scratchy, brushy, scraggly trail.  The branches on the bushes and trees were scraping the sides of the Jeep when we decided to turn around. 

We did get to see this view from our turnaround point.

And back to the barbed wire gate.

The scenery from the highway.

We spent the evening reading and caching up with family and friends.  The Gambel’s quails were scurrying around the campsite and this was the one decent picture.

Mileage:  68,957

Dead Horse Ranch State Park Cottonwood, Arizona

We really had no plan this morning when we got up.  We thought we might like to stay in the area and wondered if we could get one more night at Rio Verde.  The office didn’t open until 9 and we didn’t want to hang around.  I called Dead Horse State Park just 4 miles away and they had a water and electric site available for two nights.  We left for the park.  It was too early to check in so we parked the RV and took the bikes to explore.  What a glorious autumn morning! 

There are 3 lagoons in the park.  It was awfully surprising to see water!  Of course, the lagoons are manmade but there are nice paths around the water and people were fishing!

Our campsite was ready and so we were moved in by 10:30. The remainder of the NASCAR race began at 11 so I got it streaming and went outside to enjoy a book in the beautiful sunshine.

Gambel ‘s quails near our site.

This afternoon, we drove into downtown Cottonwood. 

It’s a cute little town.  We walked the main street and did some shopping for the kids and grandkids.  It was too early for dinner. 

We returned to Cottonwood later in the evening and enjoyed a very good meal at Poquito Loco

Mileage: 68,951

Rio Verde RV Park Cottonwood, Arizona

Today was an ordinary day. No pictures. No fun trips. Just catching up on ordinary life. We came to this campground because they had cable…but they don’t! We were able to buy internet to stream the NASCAR race…but there was a rain delay and the race will go tomorrow. The football games were not able to be watched unless we were on our WiFi at home. We cleaned and did laundry and relaxed.

Day 3

State Forest Road 761B Sedona, Arizona

We realized that there were several opportunities for Jeep travel in the area where we were camped.  We took SF 525 to the Outlaw Trail.  The day was warm and sunny and the scenery was lovely…red rock. 

Breakfast spot.

The Outlaw Trail had several steep and rocky sections. 

It took us directly to the Honanki Heritage Site. 

The Pink Jeep Tour Company helps to sponsor this site.

People lived here in Red Rock Canyon from about AD 600 to AD 1300.  But, there is actually evidence of human activity in this area for the past 14,000 years!

The trail to the cliff dwellings.

The cliff dwellings.

We were not with a Pink Jeep Tour.  Because of this, we got personal attention from the ranger.  She led us through the site…pointing out the pictographs and petroglyphs and telling us the potential meanings for the various drawings. 

The large circles are thought to be clan symbols.

The longevity of the stonework and the ancient art is astounding.   And as with every other site we have toured…the wall of shame…

Tim talked with the ranger about the possibility of removing the graffiti.  Scientists are reluctant to do so.  The graffiti is usually in an area where the petroglyphs and pictographs also exist.  The fear is that in removing the offensive graffiti, ancient art might also be lost.

We drove next to the Palataki Heritage Site.  We were unable to tour here because we didn’t make an advance reservation.

We drove on the Diamondback Gulch Trail.  This was a bumpy ride. As dry and rocky as it was here, I thought I might see some interesting spiders and snakes…I looked and looked…but nothing!

Lunch spot.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon getting groceries and doing chores. 

Tomorrow we will need to move to a full-service campground to fill our tanks and get the laundry done.  I think that Tim might also be hoping to enjoy some Sunday NASCAR and football!

Day 2

State Forest Road 525 Sedona, Arizona

We began our day at the Sedona Visitor Center. 

The woman that we spoke with there had firsthand knowledge about the 4WD trails in the area.  She suggested a few and gave us some good maps. 

The first trail we chose was the Schnebly Hill Road Trail.  It was listed as one of the more scenic trails.  Pink Jeep Tours are well known in Sedona.  We saw several Pink Jeeps.  This was a rough and rocky road and we went bumping along for 5 miles to the vista. 

This is a 4WD day gone very bad.  We couldn’t even figure out how the car got down there…and it was going to be very hard and probably expensive to get it out!

The view from Schnebly Trail.

This trail dumped us onto Highway 17.  It was 37 miles back to town. 

Bell Rock.

Our second trail of the day was the Broken Arrow Trail.  This trail is rated a double diamond trail…extremely difficult – for experts. 

The features of the trail were slickrock, rock ledges, and “Devil’s Staircase.” This was a great ride.  It was exciting and not too scary and just plain fun! 

The views at “Chicken Point” were fabulous.  We were up on top with the pink parade. 

Lunch spot.

Can you see the two young boys on mountain bikes…yikes!!!

The really fun part was after lunch, driving down steep slickrock hills and then down the steps. 

We wanted to go out for dinner while we were here. I saw a place called Vino Di Sedona. It advertised tapas, craft beer, and fine wine. It sounded perfect…and it was!

Delicious malbec!

Enjoy the Ryde!

Mileage:  68,938

State Forest Road 525 Sedona, Arizona

At an elevation of about 8,000 feet, it was 23 degrees when we got up this morning.  The cold was biting.  Thankfully the sunshine was warm and bright. 

We drove through Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.  In the valley below herds of buffalo used to roam, which you can well imagine as you pass by.  Tim said:  I don’t know what the rest of the road looks like, but it’s a pretty ride this morning.”

We had to take 89A east in order to get around that big hole in the ground (the Grand Canyon).  We crossed the Colorado River.  This is the same Colorado River that we have seen in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in Canyonlands at the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado, at the Hoover Dam, in Moab on our bikes at the pedestrian bridge, and then in Yuma, reduced to a trickle.

Along the road…I truthfully didn’t take too many pictures today. I was completely content to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

We entered the Coconino National Forest.  The San Francisco Peaks were swathed in a bright yellow band of aspen trees.

We saw smoke in the distance near Flagstaff and we became concerned as we approached.  We learned that it was a prescribed burn and we were relieved…I’m sure lots of people were relieved.

The road, 89A, to Sedona is a twisted winding road.  Initially it was generous and wide with guardrails.  We passed through Oak Creek Canyon, and the road became narrower and more difficult as we got closer to Sedona.

Sedona does not look the same as it did 17 years ago…it is a booming little place!  We were not able to park to go to the Visitor Center and so we went right on through.  We found dispersed camping on State Forest Road 525. 

We took a walk this afternoon and spent time catching up with family and friends.

The moon is nearly full.

Mileage: 68,734

Jacob Lake Campground Kaibab National Forest Marble Canyon, Arizona

Good morning!

We are headed further south. We are trying to outrun the cold. Norht Rim and most of the campgrounds all close here on October 15th.

The temperature is supposed to be 20 degrees here tonight. But first, we wanted to take one more look at the Grand Canyon North Rim.

We stopped at this overlook to view the Vermillion Cliffs and the Staircase.

This is the best explanation I have see for the staircase…so I am posting it.

We camped in the Jacob Lake Campground in the Kaibab National Forest. We had wanted to stay in a full hookup campground tonight because of the cold…but the lady wouldn’t let us check in for another 3 hours…and we had places to go! So, we will just bundle up and run the generator!

Our ride to the Grand Canyon was through forest. The crayola color of the aspen trees was so pretty. Yellow-orange, yellow-green, orange-red…

There is evidence almost everywhere of fire at one time or another. Here you can just see the small aspens showing their colors.

Some trees had already lost all of their leaves.

We started at the North Rim Visitor Center. From here we hiked the Bright Angel Trail.

The hike was amazing and the views were spectacular.

The ranger at the Visitor Center recommended a 4WD Trail – Sublime Point Trail. 18 miles of unimproved dirt and gravel road the leads to the North Rim.

Dust and aspen leaves blowing in the wind!

We passed lots of rolling meadow where bison supposedly and evidently roam…but not today!

Aspen gold coins.

Our first view of the canyon from the trail. This was a campsite…what a gorgeous place to pitch a tent…when it is warmer of course!

Earlier this morning we thought we had smelled smoke. The ranger at the Visitor Center told us that there was a contained wildfire in the park. Some of the forest roads were closed as a result.

On our way to the point.

Sublime Point was…sublime!!! What a unique gift to be able to see this beautiful place.

Tim climbed on top of the Jeep to get a better vantage point. He said that he felt even with the rim and could see so much more.

We could see the billowing smoke from the fire.

We were driving so close to the rim.

The long 18 miles back to the paved road.

We saw a group of 4 people take the Sublime Trail on mountain bikes. The sand was so thick in spots and the trail so rough, that they sent one guy back to get the car. The other three kept riding and made it all the way to the point. They were looking forward to a ride back though!

We met two young men who did the trail on their motorcycles…it was really rough and dangerous for them but they were able to travel much more quickly than we could.

We did not do the 23 mile scenic loop that everyone else does but we really feel like we got to see the North Rim area. We also will not visit the South Rim on this trip. Although it is only about 8 miles as the crow flies to get across the Grand canyon, it is 203 miles from the North Rim entrance to the South Rim entrance!

I liked this quote today: