Tortilla Flat, Arizona

November 13-15, 2010
From Clear Creek, we drove to the Glendale, AZ to the Cabela's store. There were about 30 “teardrop” campers in front of the store, all with a different theme.

Someone we met along our travels suggested that we visit the Tortilla Flat, along the historic Apache Trail. We headed toward Apache Junction and up the 17 miles of winding, narrow switchbacks with lots of sharp corners. It was an interesting trip pulling the 5th wheel. Along the way, we passed Canyon Lake, a gorgeous lake for sailing, fishing, kayaking.

Tortilla Flat located in the Tonto National Forest in the Superstition Mountain Range, dates back to 1904 when it was a stage coach stop. It looks like an old west town complete with a boardwalk leading to the Superstition Saloon with dollar bills pasted on the walls and saddles for bar stools.



Across from the “town” is Tortilla Campground that sits on a ridge above Tortilla Creek with some scenic views of the mountain bluffs. We loved the spacious sites and the solitude of the campground. Our daily visitors included the rock squirrels, grackles, and cactus wrens. The campground host told us about a trail to Canyon Lake and one up the mountain called the “Boot”.

We enjoyed a nice leisurely walk to the lake and relaxed in the sun before heading back. The campground hosts told us that the campground closes in April because when it gets warm it is full of rattle snakes. Even though it is November, I kept my eyes peeled for any kind of movement. We also had to be careful not to get to close to the cactus along the trail!



Since the cell service was poor in Tortilla, we drove into Apache Junction to check in with the family and get some groceries. On the way back, we stopped at the Superstition Mountain Museum, full of artifacts, history, and folklore displays.

The Superstition Mountains is rich in legend and intrigue. You might remember the story of the Lost Dutchman Mine made famous by Jacob Waltz, who supposedly took the secret of his mine to the grave in 1891. Several of the locals believe that there is not a mine, but perhaps a cache of gold that he found. Others believe that he was a miserable old man and used the lure of the mine to entice people to take care of him in his old age. Apparently, to this day treasure hunters still search for the Lost Dutchman Mine, some never coming back. In fact, the remains of 3 men who were searching for the Mine were recently found in the Superstition Mountains in the area where we were hiking.

The museum also offers reproductions and authentic parts of many old buildings, including the Elvis Memorial Chapel, the Apaceland Movie Land Ranch, and a 20 stamp ore crusher. In the 1800s, this mill was state of the art technology for recovering gold.

Many well known TV Shows (Have Gun Will Travel) and full length movies (Charro with Elvis Presley and Arizona Raiders with Audie Murphy) were filmed at Apaceland Movie Land Ranch.

We would like to come back to Tortilla Flat again and make the 30 mile drive to Roosevelt Lake to do some fishing.
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Alamo Lake State Park/Clear Creek

November 10-12, 2010
We had heard about Alamo Lake State Park, 37 miles north of Wenden and decided to go explore. On the way to Wenden, we passed fields of melons owned by Dole. As we came though the blink-of-an-eye town, we stopped at a roadside stand and for $2, we bought 3 tomatoes, a red pepper, 2 bananas and a melon. What a deal! It is 63 degrees today and not a cloud in the sky. Arriving in the early afternoon, we found plenty of available sites in the campground. We settled into B13 that had a great view of the Lake from our big window.



 According to our neighbors Grant and Jim from Mesa, the fishing is outstanding on the lake. They caught 8 large mouth bass today, in addition to some crappie and talapia. We rode to the Alamo Dam and the Look-out, followed by a stop to the store to get some wood.



When we got back to our site, we cooked some chili outside in the afternoon sun, enjoying the lovely view. Apparently, there are wild burros that come down to the lake at night to drink, but we did not spot any. After sunset, we sat around our campfire appreciating the peace and quiet. The only sounds were the coyotes singing to the moon.

 On our way out of the park the next morning, a coyote ran in front of our truck, turning to give us a curious glance before he was on his way. It was only 10:30 am and we were on the road to Clear Creek Campground near Camp Verde. On the way, we stopped in Prescott for lunch at Bill and Kay's Tastebuds. You never know what to expect when you randomly pick a restaurant and we were pleasantly surprised how good the pizza was.

Clear Creek Campground is in the Coconino National Forest, south east of Camp Verde.





The campground is a grassy, flat area surrounded by huge cottonwoods and has a relaxed atmosphere. The sites are large and are quite a bargain at $8 a night. We went for a 2 mile hike along Clear Creek ending up at a popular swimming hole. The evening was cool but we kept warm by the campfire.



Friday morning was sunny and a good day to drive to Fossil Creek, one of only two, wild scenic rivers in Arizona. It was a 7 mile trip on a dirt road that was narrow and one lane wide with switchbacks descending 3000 feet. On many of the turns, I winced at the huge drop-offs into the canyon.



 I would not trust my life to anyone else but Bob on that road. Several times on the way down, he said, “this is really stupid”, but there were not many places to turn around. We parked at the Irving Flume Trail Head and hiked to the Fossil Creek Bridge.







 We did see one person meditating down by the river and 3 kayakers that looked like they were having fun shooting some rapids.








We had a picnic lunch and were entertained by colony of ants who found a dropped Doritos chip and managed to move it about 10'' and worked on getting it down their hole. It does not take much to keep us amused when we are out in the wild.



 Our ascent for me was not as scary since the passenger side of our truck was hugging the inside of the road.


 We were glad that we did not meet any oncoming vehicles. On our way back, we did a little shopping in Camp Verde before going back to Clear Creek.
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Pirate's Cove/Lake Havasu

November 6-9, 2010

The Pirate's Cove Resort and Marina is nestled on the California side of the beautiful Colorado River at the end of the historic Route 66.



We were disappointed to see that they were closed for the season. However, next door was the Moabi Regional Park and we found a site close to the Colorado River Inlet. After checking out the campground, we settled in and cooked dinner.



The next morning, Ernie and Cathy met us for breakfast at our site. After one of Bob's delicious pancakes and bacon breakfasts, we drove down to the campsites that are on a peninsula, right on the Colorado River with their own beach; we will keep these sites in mind for our next trip. It was time to hook up and move on to Lake Havasu, only 47 miles down the road. We parked our truck and 5th wheel in a mall parking lot and hopped in with Ernie and Cathy to go to the flea market. The guys went looking for tools and Cathy and I checked out all of the booths. We came across one booth with unique jewelry made from antique silver spoons and different gem stones. As I started looking at the jewelry, the owner of the booth asked me, “do you have a boat?”. A little surprised, I said no, that I had an airplane. He then asked, “are you married?”. I laughed and said yes, for 40 years to the same wonderful man. At that time Cathy came up and he asked her the same questions. He then proceeded to tell us that he was looking for a woman that had a boat and money. Then he gave us a big toothless smile and said, “but she would probably make me get new teeth”. We wished him good luck with his quest and moved on, never really getting a thorough look at the jewelry, saving both our husband's some money.

Since it was a hot day, the guys called us from the VFW to join them for a cold beer. From there, they showed us around Lake Havasu including the State Park where we decided to stay for a few days. On the way in, we saw a huge snake in the road that sent shivers up our spines. After saying good-bye to Ernie and Cathy, we went back and checked in at the Park. It is a favorite launching place for boats to cruise the lake and the several of the campsites are right on the lake.





We enjoyed the 1.5 mile Mohave Trail that winds through the lowland desert, along the shoreline, and ends up at an overlook with a scenic view of Lake Havasu. It passes through the Arroyo-Camino Interpretive Garden showing the diverse plant life in the park.





We were told by the ranger that there was a 650lb. wild boar, sow and two piglets roaming the park at night. On our first hike through the park, we saw many signs of their presence on the trail. At first we thought that it was horse manure but realized the droppings were from the wild pigs.



 After we watched the sunset and hiked back to our site it was getting dark and I was hoping that they only came out in the middle of the night. Running into them on a narrow trail would be quite an experience, one that I could do without.



The next morning, we hiked over to the London Bridge...the same London Bridge that was constructed over the River Thames in England in 1825-31.



This 5 arch bridge made of granite was “falling down” by 1962 and started sinking into the River Thames. In 1968, the founder of Lake Havasu, Robert McCulloch, purchased the Bridge for 2.5 million and moved it the 10,000 miles to Arizona. He spent another $7 million to re-construct, including a one mile channel that was dredged under the bridge with water diverted from the lake through the Bridgewater Channel.





The evenings were lovely and we loved sitting outside looking at the lake by the fire.

Our only complaint was a noisy ferry that ran 24 hours a day from Lake Havasu to a casino on the California side of the lake and back. We are used to ferries on Lake Champlain, but they are quiet compared to these. On our last morning, we overheard our neighbor tell the ranger that when he came out of his tent during the night, he saw the wild pigs down by the lake and trail, just a few yards from our site. Time to move on!
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Bullhead City, AZ

November 4-5, 2010

In the early afternoon on Thursday, we arrived at Ernie and Cathy Henderson's house in Bullhead City, NV, across from Laughlin. Ernie and Cathy are also snowbirds; they live in Alaska in the summer and Nevada in the winter.

 After a tour of their lovely home, we sat out on their patio by the pool and visited before enjoying a scrumptious chicken dinner. The next morning, we took a walk up into the canyon above their house. When we got back, we jumped into the pool for a refreshing swim and lounged on the air mattresses for an hour. We agreed that “this is living”. We tried to talk Ernie into adopting us for the winter but he thought we were kidding.



 They took us to lunch at Earl's at the Castle and showed us around Bullhead City and Laughlin. Later in the evening, we went to the Avi Casino and a CornFest. None of us were impressed with the food, especially the corn or the music so we called it a night. On Saturday, Bob and I  went for another long walk toward the canyon. As we were walking on one side of the road, I heard a loud buzzing sound and before it fully registered, a large swarm of bees passed us, only a few feet a way. Geez, we were already watching for snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, and now we have to add killer bees to our list! I think that I would rather worry about bears in Alaska. Of course, we had to jump in the pool again when we got back and it was only 10 am. After packing up, we stopped at Sam's Club before taking Ernie's suggestion to stop for a night at the Pirate's Cove on the Colorado River before we went to Lake Havasu. Thanks Ernie and Cathy for your wonderful hospitality and the smoked salmon. We had a great time!


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Lake Mead Recreation Area

November 1-3, 2010

On Monday morning, we were more than ready to get out of Las Vegas. We had met some people on a hike that recommended the Lake Mead RV Village in Boulder City, NV. It is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, one and a half million acres, including the Mohave Desert and Lake Mead. We drove the 21 miles and found a site with a view of the water. It was a lovely, warm morning and it was forecasted to get hot (by our standards!) We decided to go for a walk over to the Boulder Beach Campground, a National Park Service campground.
We found some great sites with a great view of the lake, one-half mile away. The next time that we come, we will definitely stay here. It is quite a deal at $5 a night with our Access Pass, but we were glad to have hook-ups for a couple days to watch the election results. We could not believe how far the lake had receded. In the picture below, you can see our RV park and where the lake used to come up to the edge of it.

When we asked about it at the RV office, we were told very emphatically that it was because Nevada was selling water to California. On our walk back, we saw our first road runner. And yes, they do move fast; too fast for me to get a picture. As we were sitting at our campsite relaxing and cooling off from our walk, we noticed a covey of  Gambel's Quail walking by and making quite a racket.

We woke to another warm morning and decided to get our hike in early. We hiked 6.5 miles on an old Railroad Trail, through 5 tunnels ending up at the maintenance yard for the Hoover Dam.





Completed in 1936 taming the wild Colorado River and transforming it into the still waters of Lake Mead. Built over a 5 year period between the steep walls of Back Canyon, the Dam held enough concrete to pave a 16 foot wide road from New York City to San Francisco. We walked for a while toward the Dam but not knowing how far away it was, we headed back. We stopped at a bench looking out at the lake and spotted 5 Big Horn Sheep making their way down to the water, a red-tailed hawk and a covey of quail.



 The afternoon was spent at what we do best...relaxing!  It was a gorgeous night so we cooked outside and watched the election results. Fortunately, our TV turns in order for us to watch it through the door.

On Wednesday, we drove across the new Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, a  project that spans the Hoover Dam. We were disappointed that a view of the Dam was obstructed by concrete barricades. We opted to drive to the Monument Plaza, walking the mile to the center of the bridge. The bridge was quite a feat and not without controversy. It is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States, it includes the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. The bridge is believed to be the second-highest in the nation, at 840 feet above the Colorado River. Built as part of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project at a cost of $240 million, the bridge portion cost $114 million alone.







After, we did a little shopping in Boulder City and had great lunch at the South West Cafe. Although, it was 92 degrees when we got back, we packed up the camp chairs, the umbrella, our books, some cold drinks and set out for the beach. Of course, when I think of the beach, I immediately think sand and water. Oh, there was plenty of water but it is surrounded by rocks and muck. If you have never been to Lake Mead, let us warn you that if you are looking for serenity, this is not the place for you. There are plenty of large power boats with inboard V-8 engines without mufflers roaring around the lake. You often can hear them but not always see them. We agreed that there are worse places that we could be freezing our butts off so we made a pact not to whine. It was another fantastic night to sit outside between doing loads of laundry. We can't play all of the time!
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