I talk Gary into driving down the Apache Trail. It was a Stagecoach Trail that followed an old Trail used by the Apache Indians to traverse the mountains. It winds steeply through the rugged Superstition mountains 40 miles with cliff drops and no safety barriers. It is one way in spots so the inside person generally backs up to a place they can pull over in. It is paved to Tortilla Flat but becomes dirt and washboard after that.
Tortilla Flat started out as a stagecoach stop in 1904. It is now a restaurant/bar and gift shop. Signs say population 6 which is the family that owns and runs them.
The Horse Dam and the Roosevelt Dam form Canyon Lake, Apache Lake and Roosevelt lake which run the whole way along the trail.
Looking down on the road we are traveling on.
The road is dirt washboard and winds down the mountain, single lane in places.
We stop to check out Fish Creek.
Eventually we come even with the reservoir
Dam! We must be near the end
The Theodore Roosevelt Dam - quite a structure. It was the world's highest masonry dam at 280' completed in 1911 at a cost of $11 million. In 1989 it was resurfaced in concrete and raised 77 feet and completed in 1996 at a cost of $430 million
The other side has bridge that crosses over Roosevelt Lake. It was completed in 1990, before that people drove over the dam. It was named one of the top 12 bridges in the Nation.
The bridge cost $21.3 million and is the longest two-lane, single-span, steel-arch bridge in North America. The bridge, spans 1,080 feet across Roosevelt Lake. The bridge was built with a slight arch in the roadway because if it had been constructed level, it would have given the illusion to drivers that the road sagged in the middle, not good to instill confidence in the drivers on the bridge.
Tonto National Monument is only 5 mile away so why not??
Tucson is allowed to take the hike up with us
Things are blooming here as well
The views of the Lake are pretty too
Finally make it to the top and it's worth the trip
We only got to see the lower cliff dwellings. The size was limited by the shape of the
cave - 40' high, 85' long, and 48' deep. Rooms
were small, with a firepit in the floor and a hatchway to
access the second story and roof. Ceilings and walls still bear smoke
stains made by cooking fires.
The upper cliff dwelling consists of 40 rooms and is a 3-4 hour guided hike. Maybe next time.
Tucson could not go up to the dwelling itself so one of us had to wait with him in a shady alcove while the other visited the site. Tucson anxiously awaits Gary's return
After finishing the loop drive we stop in at Tortilla Flat for dinner. It is a really cool place, the walls are papered with $1 bills. One of the employees said there is around $350,000.00 dollar bills on the walls. Hope they have insurance
You can belly up to the bar in a saddle
The ladies room has character as well
A nice dinner and back home.
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