Day Trip #2: Apache Trail

First, I must say I hate how Blogger uploads pictures onto the top of the blog post rather than at the bottom, and then makes it difficult to move the pictures within the post!  Thus, this is a backward account rather than a forward one.

Just 20 miles east of Phoenix begins what is called the Apache Trail.  It is 44 miles long, 22 miles of which is dirt road and essentially one lane.  It passes three lakes, Canyon lake, Apache lake, and ends at Roosevelt lake.  It was BEAUTIFUL!! Above is a section between Canyon lake and Apache lake, the rocks and light and recent rainfall made the view stunning.

Sunset over Canyon lake.  Growing up in Osgood, I always loved sitting on the brick planters on our front porch and watching the sun set.  They were beautiful and I missed that living in Utah, where beautiful sunsets seemed always few and far between.  Arizona as graced me once again with beautiful sunsets!  Nearly every night the sunset is such that it makes you pause and think for a moment, "wow, that's pretty!"

I have heard the rumors of scorpions and taranchulas, but this is the first of either that I have seen!  He was right in the middle of the road and I was afraid we had hit him.  Luckily we had not so I could get a picture.  I was amazed at how he seemed completely passive to us and paid us no attention at all, neither changing direction nor speed. 

Sun breaking through the thunderstorm over Apache lake.

Shore line of Apache lake.  To the boaters out there- YES, the water is VERY warm.

Just thought this was pretty

Again, just liked the picture.  This is Roosevelt lake, the largest lake actually fully contained in Arizona's borders, but not as pretty as Canyon or Apache lakes.

The marine at Roosevelt Lake

The large open waters of Roosevelt lake

The dam for Roosevelt lake.  Apache lake begins literally about a quarter mile below this dam.

By Roosevelt lake there are old indian cliff dwellings in what is called the Tonto National Monument.  It is one of the few cliff dwellings they let you actually walk around in the dwellings so I was excited about it.  Unfortunately, they closed at 4 and we didn't get up there in time and were greeted by a closed gate instead.

Beach at Apache lake.  This is on our initial drive up, the previous pictures were on our return trip.  I would love to just tent out on the beach with a boat!

Apache lake.  This was the most beautiful of the three lakes I thought.  It runs through the canyon for 17 miles.

The picture above doesn't look like much, but the road went straight down the cliff into this cove and looped out again.  Once in the cove, it was a place that demanded reverence.  I wasn't quite sure why but I felt it was a special place.

Many of the rocks had a green hue to them and it took me a while to figure out why.  Lichen!  With resent rains the lichen was very green and covered most rocks.  It was amazing to me that in the scorching heat and intense sun, so much life was everywhere!

Made me feel small looking out and seeing rows of canyons!

I loved the yucca in bloom!

On the shore of Canyon lake.  The closest to Phoenix and definitely the busiest.

They had a ferry ride offering lunch and dinner that looked like fun.  They also had a nice marine with slots with room for a barbeque!

Our first stop on the trail was at Goldfield ghost town.  Pretty touristy but you can go down in the mine and pan for gold for $7 bucks.  I didn't do it, figured it would be more fun with a niece or nephew... hint hint :)  The shaved ice was excellent however.

I liked how the old time truck had an Idaho license plate.

Monsoon season

Tonight there was a pretty awesome thunderstorm!  Tons of lightning, tons of rain, and very high winds.  We got caught driving in the storm and we came across streets that had turned into rivers and entire palm trees that had snapped in half in the wind laying across the road.  I felt like I was in a hurricane!  Weather events like this excite me so once the worst of it passed we drove up camelback to try and get some pictures.  I was really wishing I had LaRell's camera, but this is the best I could do with my lousy camera phone.

Just the city lights without a lightning flash

It was dark and hard to take pictures but this was water rushing down the street about three to eight inches deep carrying all sorts of rock and dirt.  You can see the water splashing up over the hood of the BMW X5 we were in.  We lost traction and could feel the car shift several times and I was glad it didn't get worse.  I guess they weren't kidding about the urban flash flood warning!  Never would have thought flood insurance would be needed in Phoenix, but I sure hope the homes we drove by did!

Camelback

The picture below I pulled from the internet to show the outline of camelback mountain, a "mountain" that I live just a 5 minute drive from.  As a kid I remember driving to Yellowstone national park and being told how Sawtelle mountain shaped the outline of an indian.  I remember how elated I was when I could finally see it.  I think because of that experience I have an affinity toward mountains that suggest an image with their outline and hence I love camelback mountain!   Above is a picture I took of the Camel's head on a drive up the hill.

Looking toward downtown on what I would call the "neck" of the "camel."

Same spot looking toward Tempe/Mesa/Gilbert

Looking back toward the "hump."  I think the house on the top left is awesome!  The stone color matches that of the hillside and looks like a castle.  It was for sale.  I called on it and they are asking 3.9 million.  I was expecting to hear 20 million so that made it seem not so bad ha.

On camelback road close to my house.  Camelback mountain is straight ahead, my bank on the left, and I love all the date palms!  I fell in love with date palms in Israel.

I'm gaining appreciation for the saguaro cactus sense they are everywhere.  They are sometimes HUGE and are very dramatic looking.  Their branching habits are never the same.

Day Trip to Sedona!

Last saturday we drove an hour and a half north to visit Sedona.  It is a beautiful town reminiscent of  St. George, but in my opinion, more beautiful.  Here are some pictures from the trip!

This was a pretty cool church that caught our eye from the highway so we found our way to it.  There was a christian tour bus there and the ladies that took this picture were a hoot!!

This house was right next to the church... I couldn't believe the observatory on top!  Just awesome!

I was in love with the yard and pond!  Something to aspire too when I create my next pond :)

Shopping center in Sedona.  The setting was just gorgeous!

Eating a carmel apple, yum yum :)

Driving up the Oak Creek canyon north of Sedona

I thought this picture of Gretta was adorable so had to share

A little higher up... it was super green!  Contrasted beautifuly with the red rock.

We drove up the canyon to get to Slide Rock park where you can slide down the stream on smooth rock.  Unfortunately the park was super crowded and they didn't let us in :(  Instead, we found a little spot to park the car and climbed down to the stream and found this swimming hole.  I was very pleased with the discovery :) and the solitude was better than the crowds anyway.

The stream feeding into the hole.

Climbing down to the hole was a little tricky :)

The dogs, Guss and Gretta

Getting in and swimming.  The water was cool and refreshing!  There were alot of crayfish and they were fun to try and catch.

The sun was setting so the light was low and this picture does not do it justice, but it was truly gorgeous!  I was happy to find such a place so close to Phoenix for camping and cooler temperatures. Alot of fun!