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!

Lost Dutchman State Park, Goldfield, and Apace Trail

One of the most wonderful things about this whole travel nursing gig, is that on any given day we can just go explore. Sometimes we have a rough sketch of what we would like to do and other days we just drive in a direction to see what we find. Generally, we haven't had too many plans and absolutely no time constraints which has made it all that more enjoyable. 

Wednesday proved to be another one of those days. I had been reading that the wildflowers are really starting to pop and hoped to catch some. When deciding where to go several things were thrown out on the table: Torilla Flat, Apache Trail, Lost Dutchman, Superstition Mountains, and Globe to recant a few. Coincidentally, we hit all of these in some capacity. 

Our first stop, Lost Dutchman. We were met at the state park gate by a friendly man with map in hand. He directed us to the Treasure Loop trail at 2.4 miles round trip. We decided that was the way to go and headed toward the Cholla Parking Lot. We have learned the important lesson to bring as much water as you can carry! 

The trail was crushed rock and was wide enough we could all walk together. There were a lot of people hiking too! We saw a lot of wildflowers starting to come out in shades of yellows, oranges, purples, and pinks. I'm not quite as familiar with these wildflowers, however I did recognize Mexican poppy and lupine. I learned a few more on the news this morning; brittlebush.

The trail was great and we decided to do an extra 1.5 because the weather was warm with a nice cool breeze. We headed down Prospectors Trail and headed back to the parking lot on the Crosscut Trail. Kobi was completely immersed in his new surroundings, paying close attention to anything that moved. Right paw up, tail erect, frozen! Just as we took note of his behavior a group of quails quickly scampered across the trail into a nearby shrub. What neat looking birds with the little curly on their heads!

After our descent from the trail, we doubled back a short distance to the Goldfield ghost town. Everything is just as they left it. We were greeted by the horn of train and an older couple singing. We walked about to see the bank, church, jail, saloon, and mine entrance. Even though we didn't stay long, it was well worth the stop. 

Right outside of Lost Dutchman State Park, the Apache Trail begins. Most of this scenic drive is paved however there are segments that are not. The road winds up and down through the Superstition Mountains, past three large lakes that were dammed up; Canyon Lake, Apache Lake, and Roosevelt Lake. These lakes are on the other side of Saguaro Lake that we recently visited. All lakes are welcome to recreation of all sorts and look like a hot spot when the temperature in the area soar above 100F. I'm glad we will not be around to experience these high temperatures.

Each lake was beautiful and expansive in it's own way. There were many places to stop and take a short hike, read some educational signage, and take a break at a restroom if needed. The wildflowers were starting to pop on this route too!

I really enjoying this route and if the temperature do get toasty while we are here, we will know where we can take a quick dip.