Saturday, March 31, 2012

AN AWESOME SCENIC DRIVE…APACHE TRAIL

Thursday, March 12 – We are heading up the Apache Trail in the Superstition Mountains. Recognized as the most scenic route in Arizona, this is a must see for anyone visiting this area. This well-traveled road affords visitors an incredible view of canyons, geologic formations, desert plants and trees, desert and lake views, and wildflowers in season.

landscape

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Paul remembers driving this trail back in 1966, the year he graduated from high school. His memory is of a scary, hilly, dirt road. The Apache Trail today is in much better condition than it was 25 years ago. Treacherous is the adjective that comes to mind when I recall those days of driving the Apache Trail. Now, wider lanes, more pavement, and significant grading help make the trip a bit less harrowing. Still, this drive is not for nervous drivers, and definitely not for nervous passengers.

Single –lane bridge.
single-bridge 

We started our drive in Apache Junction with our first stop at the Ghost Town in Goldfield.  A very rich, high grade gold ore was found in the area and soon after the town sprang up 1892. The town boasted three saloons, a boarding house, a general store, brewery, blacksmith shop, butcher shop, and a school.

mercantile

church

For five years the town boomed until some 1,500 souls were residing in the burgeoning city. Just five years after it began, the vein of gold ore started to play out and the grade of the ore dropped, and the town found itself quickly dying.

We were early and most of the shops in the old buildings weren't open yet. We did visit to Pottery and stopped at the Bakery for coffee and a morning pastry.

street

View out back of the Bakery.
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After the Ghost town it was on to Canyon Lake.

canyon-lake

This lake was created by the Roosevelt Dam. A nice fishing lake according to friend, Jim Dixon who we partied with last night at Superstition Skies. He's quite the fisherman.

canyon-lake-2

We drove to the end of the pavement, near Fish Creek. Once the pavement ended the road became very bumpy.

1-black-top-ends

black-top-ends

Much like a wash board effect. Rather than beat up our car, we chose to turn around and head back to Tortilla Flat.

We found Tortilla Flat to be pretty much a tourist trap. Tortilla Flat started out as a stage stop in 1904.

You can see the smoke of the tiny town.tortilla-flats

Outside the salon.
TF-salon

The saloon was cool with thousands of $1 bills stapled all over the ceiling, walls, and most vertical spaces. The story goes, that a man wanted to leave a business card at the saloon, so the bartender said, “Sure, for a dollar!” So he took a dollar and the calling card and stapled it to the wall. Thousands of dollars later, the place is plastered with dollar bills with names, messages, and whatever written on them.

TF-sallon

Marsha loved the restroom. Don't ask how we got this picture…just know Paul got a dirty look from a lady waiting to get in.
TF-batroom

The Mercantile.
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Our final stop was Weaver's Needle…pretty cool name. Weaver's Needle, located in the superstition Mt., is a 1,000-foot-high column of rock that forms a distinctive peak visible for many miles around. Weaver's Needle was created when a thick layer of tuff (fused volcanic ash) was heavily eroded, creating the spire as an erosional remnant with a summit elevation of 4553 ft. Weaver's Needle has a large split in the side that makes it look like it has two tops, not one. We were so far away that we didn't really get a great shot. But since it carries our last name, we had to get at least a peak of it.

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The desert comes alive with color.
apache trail

After hundreds of pictures and some gorgeous sightseeing, we headed back to the motor home. Our last stop was at the Santa Fe RV Park in Apache Junction. Our friends, Sandie & Jim, are staying there. We wanted to check it out for future stops. Well, we liked it so well, we've decided to move over there next week. We only got to use our Passport America discount one week here at Val Vista Village. The price doubles for our second week, so we'll save a bunch of bucks by moving to Santa Fe RV. Thanks for the tip – Sandie!

We FINALLY did it. We have heard about it, read about it and were told to go. So we did.

We ate our first In-N-Out burger. Not bad…not bad at all.in-and-out

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

GOOD TIMES WITH OLD FRIENDS

Wednesday, March 28 – We started our day traveling to Scottsdale to see Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin West. He began building this desert masterpiece in 1937 as his personal winter home, studio, and architectural campus.

wright-house

After checking the price – normally $32 each but on sale today for $27,  we decided to pass on the group tour and walked down the street to get a couple pictures of the outside. We'll use the $54 on fuel.....ha ha!  I'm  sure it would have been a wonderful tour, but we a careful about spending that much on one sightseeing stop.

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We then drove into Scottsdale. Hey...there's money in Scottsdale, AZ!  Most of these homes were amazing. Expensive southwest design and beautiful. Southwest Adobe is Paul's favorite home style.

house

house-1

Old Downtown Scottsdale is divide into districts.  Arts, Entertainment, Fashion, Business, Civic, and Old Town Districts.

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We chose to walk among the small shops in the Old Town District.

Old-fashion walkway.
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Marsha high-fives a local.3-marsha-high-five

Neat little town.
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Everyone needs one of these…right?6-strange-seat

Paul contemplating if he should purchase this chair for the MH.
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Awesome totem poles.
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Paul did buy a t-shirt but that was it for our spending. After a couple hours, we called it a day and returned to the MH.

When we got back to the MH, this is how we found Bella sleeping.

Must be nice to be so flexible.
bella-with-head

The weather has been so great here. We don't know if we have ever seen 1% humidity. Yes, this weather device works. Paul just bought it yesterday.

temp

This evening we headed to Superstition Skies, a honky tonk in Apache Junction.We were there to meet up with friends we met over two years ago at Quartzsite, during our first months on the road. Sandie & Jim Dixon are staying at a park in Apache Junction and enjoy this tavern frequently on Wednesday nights.  They brought a friendly couple with them.

Jim and Sandie on the left side.grouop

Kerry & Brant were the country singers.We really enjoyed them and the evening with Sandie & Jim.

group

I wonder why Jim has such a huge smile on his face. Do you know Sandie?jim-and-sandh

The last song was Pretty Woman. So, all the gals got up and danced.dancing

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAUL

Monday, March 26 – We pulled into Mesa, AZ, this morning after a short 60 minute drive from Goodyear, AZ. Saw plenty of RVs on I-10 that pulled out of the Good Sam Rally down at the Speedway.

Our first campground stop was Silver Spur which proved to be very disappointing. Someone recommended this place via the internet, and it wasn't up to our liking. So we pulled over to a shopping plaza and got on the internet to find an alternative.

BINGO!!! We found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow....Val Vista Village. They call this an age qualified community....haha.  This is one of those “got everything imaginable” resort type Arizona Snowbird parks. Definitely, not what we're use to! We see 982 sites on the map. It offers 50% off a week's stay with our Passport America discount. Works out to about $20/day. For you people who are considering PPA, we just saved more at this one place than we paid for the entire membership. GREAT!!

Site 622. Plenty of room on the concert pad for parking and sunning.
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Yes, that is a grapefruit tree. There is fruit, and it is ready to be eaten…by us!1a-site

Looking right of our site.
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Other way.
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One of the two halls. They are huge.4-hall

The pool room is super.3-pool-room

We have never been to a park with a library with a fireplace and sitting area.6a-library

6-library

Most places we stay don't have a "card room." This place has two rooms.

This one is for poker only.7-poker-room

This sign is on the poker room door.  Cracked Marsha up.
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This one for all other card games. Notice the difference in the chairs from the poker room. Interesting.
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What would an "age qualified" park be without a sports room.

There are three big screen TVs in the room.9-sports-room

Yes, stadium seating for are "age qualified" behinds.10-sports-room-seating

Even though the door was locked, Paul wanted to see what the woodworking room looked like. We could only get a picture through the window, but it looks really nice.

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They have a very nice outdoor patio with entrainment every day from 3-5. We thought we would take in some of the fun. Cocktails are priced just right….$2 for a margarita and $5 for a pitcher of beer. All frozen drinks are only $3. Our kind of place.

5a-outdoor-patio

Bar…pretty popular place.
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Restaurant inside and out.
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We have a full list of things to do and see on this East side of Phoenix. Stop back and check it out!


Tuesday, March 27  - HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL. Not sure what is in store for him today. He gets to pick everything we do…WOW what a treat.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment or email concerned about Marsha's back. Actually, yesterday she said it felt the best it has in a loooooong time. She actually had a good night's sleep free from the pain medication and muscle relaxer. She is looking forward to getting into one of the hot tubs this week.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!