Tonto National Monument, Apache Trail, and Tortilla Flat

Tonto National Monument is located just northeast of Phoenix near Roosevelt Lake, roughly two hours drive. It was a beautiful drive along Hwy 87, or the Beeline Hwy. It continues to wind up into the mountains, however we headed east on 188 toward the NM. 

We have seen Roosevelt Lake before when we drove the Apache Trail, however we were not able to view it in it's enormity. Hwy 188 travels around the southwest side of the lake and is dotted with many campgrounds, trailheads, and boat ramps for recreational purposes. Roosevelt Lake is actually a reservoir, a dammed up Salt River. It is the largest reservoir entirely in the state of Arizona. Apache Lake, Canyon Lake, and Saguaro Lake are also reservoirs of the dammed up Salt River that eventually reaches the Greater Phoenix Area near Tempe (ASU).

Tonto National Monument is just across the street from the lake. Driving to the visitor center, you begin to climb in elevation. At the foot of the cliff where the dwellings are, the visitor center is nestled in a nook of rocks at the bottom. There is a small gift shop, a short educational video, and some ancient artifacts collected from the people once living there. The first people to settle in this area arrived between 100 and 600, yes a large time gap. These people stayed no later than 600. They were of the hunter-gatherer type and there is also evidence of them growing their own corn, beans, and cotton. 

Look carefully, there is an oriole in the ocotillo

Hedgehog cactus bloom

Pueblo groups began living here around 750 for around 400 years. They grew crops with an irrigation system and traded these good with Natives as far as the Great Lakes. Evidence suggests that drought and the lack of plants and animals forced these people to flee the area around 1100. Between 1100 and 1450, Natives struggled with growing population centers, environmental changes, and tensions between people and the area is now protected by the National Park Service. There are two cliff dwellings protected at Tonto but hundreds remain in the Tonto Basin. 

We hiked the steep trail to the lower cliff dwellings. I was surprised to find is monument is also dog friendly, the only stipulation was that Kobi was not welcome inside the dwelling and had to wait at the garbage can. Nate and I took turns investigating some of the last Salado cliff dwellings in the Southwest. There was a friendly volunteer that greeted us at the top. He was a wealth of knowledge: the people, the geology, the Tonto Basin. We spent our time walking from room to room inside the dwellings, careful not to lean on any walls. The walls were carefully constructed with adobe, the beams are ribs from a saguaro cactus, and the largest beams are sycamore trees. It very cool in the dwelling high up on the cliff side.

We hiked the way down and visited the spring on the way! This will be the ONLY time I say this about water in Arizona, it was fantastic!!! Kobi indulged as well and we carried along back to the Apache Trail. 

We followed the Apache Trail again, this time going the other way. The cacti were in bloom, the mountains are rugged, and the water call to you. We stopped at Apache Lake to wade in the water and for Kobi to do some swimming. It was a great little bay dotted with house boats and people camping on the shores. The water was cold and clear as it lapped on shore over some pebbles of granite. After we were cooled down we hopped back in the car and continued on the Apache Trail.

This time as we passed by Tortilla Flat, we stopped. We grabbed a bite to eat at an old saloon with dollar bills decorating the walls. We had some good food and beer in good company with some older men riding their Harley's. We also tried prickly pear gelato. It was worth it!

Tortilla Flat served as a stopping point near the 1900s because there is water present and it was a small grassy area to stop in the Superstition Mountains. There is a small museum that describes how this area was impacted by the search for gold within these mountains. There are many different versions of the history, read and you be the judge.

We continued on the Apache Trail to Apache Junction, and then back to Scottsdale. It was a great day to do some hiking, dip our toes in some beautifully cold body of water, and take a ride to see the rugged mountains!