Mileage:  69,230

Catalina State Park Tucson, Arizona

We heard the coyotes again last night…first in the distance and then they sounded so close…like maybe they were in the campground!

We had a short drive today.  We stopped for our breakfast at this Tom Mix rest area.  Tom Mix was the very first American cowboy movie star.  He and his horse, Tony, did 291 films, all but 9 were silent, from 1909-1935.  This was the beginning of the western genre of film.  Tom Mix was killed at this site in a car accident when he crashed his flashy yellow Cord into a construction barrier and rolled into a wash. 

We drove to Catalina Sate Park just north of Tucson.  We were lucky to get a spot here for the next 4 nights.  The view from our campsite.

We took our bikes out to explore the park.

We have seen lots of roadrunners and I had been trying to capture a good picture…Roadrunner, the Coyote’s after you…Roadrunner, if he catches you, you’re through!

After lunch, Tim wanted to go for a Jeep ride.  We had heard about the Charouleau Gap Trail from our friend, Lee, in Tucson.  We also read about it in our guidebook and the ranger here at the park recommended it as a wild ride.  It is a 19-mile trail into a very isolated and remote area.  The book called it a hard-core Jeep trail, difficult and challenging…but we have done other difficult and challenging trails!  It began in a dense thicket of agave, yucca, saguaro, prickly pear, creosote, mesquite, cholla, and lots of other scrubby stuff.  The trail was a gentle undulating ride in sandstone and on sand.

We made it to the Charouleau Gap where the views were very pretty. 

There was a steep climb where we decided to air down the tires even further.

After the gap, the trail got incredibly dicey.  We had come too far to turn around and go back the other way. 

NO KIDDING!!

The first time I thought we were going to roll over…I knew we were in pretty deep.  Tim and I built a ramp out of rock to get the Jeep up and over the tough part.  The tough parts just kept on coming.  

The second VERY difficult portion was extremely steep and long with large rock obstacles.  Tim had me climb out of the Jeep and stand on top of the hill.  As he tried to maneuver up the hill and it was tipping badly, I knew he had sent me up the hill, not to watch for rocks…but rather to keep me safe.  Tim was patient and methodical and determined to get us up and out of there and with perseverance, he and the Jeep climbed that hill.   It is amazing what that man and that machine can do together.  My heart was pounding as I watched as one of the front tires rose two feet off the ground.  It wasn’t fun.  It was still an adventure and between the two of us…we were going to get home safely!

The third terrible obstacle had Tim plenty worried…and he really doesn’t ruffle too easily.  Once again slowly and surely, he climbed his way up the sharp steep rocks.

When we got to the part with the 2-foot climb onto the trail, I almost cried.  By now, it was getting dark…I got out while Tim drove that Jeep right up and over the obstacle. 

It was still pretty…just hard to notice!

At twilight we caught sight of a coati running across the trail. She was followed by a baby coati. Too fast to get a picture…but here’s one I googled!

The trail was tight and narrow and the limbs of all of those scratchy trees scraped at the sides of the Jeep.  That almost didn’t matter somewhere in the middle of the trip…we just wanted OUT!  Thankfully, by the time it really got dark, we were over the worst parts.  The Elevator Shaft, steep and loose rock, seemed relatively easy!  Did I mention that the trail was difficult to navigate???  As we drove, I kept watching for any kind of marker that showed we were headed in the right direction…just when I would get worried, we would find another landmark.  At the end though, we really were not sure.  I was so grateful to find that GPS was finally showing that we were on a real road that led to a paved road that led to the campground.

I didn’t take too many pictures because we were just trying to survive!  If you want to see what craziness we really endured…look up Charouleau Gap Trail and watch the YouTube videos!!

If you are thinking of taking this ride…think carefully!  Take a buddy! 

We stopped at Lupe’s for dinner.  It was almost 7:00. 

It will be a very long time before Tim can convince me to go on a hard-core Jeep trail!  This was a very INTENSE experience and we are quite lucky that we made out as well as we did.  The Jeep has some scrapes and scratches…but it’s okay and we are okay!

Day 3

Ranch Sonora RV Resort Florence, Arizona

For the last two nights we have heard the coyotes howling in the middle of the night.  We saw this one this morning on the road to Casa Grande.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves the ancient ruins of the Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert.

We watched the video which was well done and helped to give the site context.  We were very fortunate to be able to take a tour with Dick Fox, a volunteer at the park.  He was fun and knowledgeable!  He clearly enjoys what he does!

This structure was 4 stories high.  It was fashioned out of mud or a primitive form of concrete.  It took 3,000 tons of “caliche” to form the walls.  There were no tools with the exception of stones and wooden digging bars.  The walls were layered and allowed to dry before additional layers were added.  The walls were reinforced with wooden beams of juniper, fir, and pine.   The wood was hand carried or floated down the river from 60 miles away to this site.  Casa Grande was built around AD 1350.  The walls each face the four compass points.  There is a circular hole in the upper west wall that aligns directly with the setting sun at summer solstice.  There is a hole directly in the center of the west wall that receives the prevailing western winds to cool and ventilate the building.  There is a hole on the upper right-hand corner that aligns with the great moon…the position of the moon when it is closest to the earth.  This occurs every 18.6 years…but these people were able to ascertain the correct placement of the aperture.

We often think of ancient people as being primitive.  This society established a system of canals that diverted water from the Gila River.  This enabled them to irrigate crops so that farming yields were increased and reliable.

This site is considered sacred to the Ancestors of the Sonoran Desert People.  There are festivals and celebrations here.  There is a pair of great horned owls that nest in the old structure.  The native people consider the birds sacred also.

Remnants from breakfast?!?

We rode our bikes around the town of Coolidge.  There are a lot of empty buildings here but the town is clean and well cared for.  We stopped at Tags Café for omelets.

Tim got a haircut for $10.00 while I did some shopping. 

We stopped on the way back to the campground and took our bikes off the Jeep and cycled on some country farm roads.  It was flat, easy riding and even though it was almost 90 degrees, it was a nice day to be on bikes. 

There are 400,000 acres of cotton growing in this area.  It is time for harvest. 

Tim had just said that the mice probably like the cotton for their nests…look what I found…see the cotton stuffed into the hole?

We stopped to take pictures of the life of cotton…from blossom to cotton ball!

We grilled chicken quesadillas and pineapple and Tim watched Game 1 of the World Series.  Such a pleasant evening!!!

Day 2

Rancho Sonora RV Resort Florence, Arizona

We decided to stay another night at Rancho Sonora

Our Jeep trail today was into Box Canyon. We had to drive several miles on a dirt and gravel road before we got to the good part!

Breakfast spot.

We had fun passing through the narrow canyon. There were some big boulders to negotiate but nothing serious!

Take a ride with us…

We saw cactus wrens and hawks perched on saguaro cacti. We saw ground squirrels and a huge stag. We saw a jack rabbit with its comically large ears bounding across the road and into the safety of the underbrush. We saw a roadrunner and some quails. Then we saw these ladies…thankfully we did not meet them in the canyon!

Enjoying the ride!

This ledge was on the main route…we decided to take the alternate bypass!

On our way back to civilization…we got a little befuddled. The directions we had did not match the roads we were on…but no worries…from the top of the ridge we could see clearly that we were headed in the right direction…and we could always have turned back…but Tim DOES NOT turn back!!

The sun cast long shadows.

We watched the sun set as we grilled chicken feta burgers.

Tim watched Monday Night Football.

I took my black-light and searched the campground for scorpions. There are all kinds of small holes in the ground and I thought I might see something…but no luck tonight!

Mileage: 69,182

Rancho Sonora RV Resort Florence, Arizona

I am not going to lie. It was a little creepy and unsettling to go to bed last night after seeing the tarantula on our campsite. It didn’t help that Tim decided to play “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on my arm just as I was falling asleep! Honestly though, I loved seeing the big hairy spider and being close enough to get good pictures. I never felt threatened or scared…it was just too cool. I really enjoy seeing plants and birds and insect and animals where they really live.

Another beautiful day for a ride.

The Bluebird Copper Mine

We are not really on any schedule…but we have been using Sunday as a kind of respite day. We traveled a short distance south to the town of Florence. We found a really sweet RV resort, quiet and lovely.

Tim watched NASCAR and his driver, Denny Hamlin, won the race. I went to do laundry and while I was waiting to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer, I sat by the pool.

We went for a ride this afternoon to check out the town. On a Sunday afternoon there was nothing open and no one around. We drove to the next town to the Safeway.

We took a different road back…through farmland. The cotton is almost ready to pick.

Tim found a new beer…Wet Snout Peanut Butter Stout. He and David are always trying to get me to taste beer. This beer did taste a little like peanut butter…which helped only a little…because it still tasted like BEER!!!

We ate our dinner outside and took a walk. It was a nice and relaxing day.

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!!!

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