Adventures on the Apache Trail

Sarah is here for a visit, and we spent Sunday out on the wild Apache Trail.

Our first stop was this scenic view. It's hard to see in the picture, but you can see old cars that have gone over the cliff.

We stopped to see a beautiful vista of Canyon Lake. The trail winds down hill and goes right by the lake. We got out and dipped our toes in the ice cold water.

We stopped at Tortilla Flat, the only "town" along the trail. The population is 6. They were out of their famous root beer, so we settled for sarsparilla instead. The entire place is wallpapered with $1 bills (it's supposed to bring you good luck to put one up there), and there are saddles for bar stools.



After Sarah took my picture on the saddle, this hot guy at the bar said, "That's going to be a great picture. You have a really pretty smile." I totally thought he was messing with me, but he meant it. We had a flirty little conversation with him and his friends, then took off for the next part of our adventure.

Not long after Tortilla Flat, the trail becomes a dirt road that's only one lane in places. It's terrifying because you can't see if anyone's coming around the turns; you just have to go slow and hope for the best. The road climbs to a gorgeous peak where we got out and explored, then plummets down Fish Creek Hill. There was actually water in the creek, and the vegetation around it was lush and green.

Finally we arrived at the end of the trail, Roosevelt Dam.

This is the view of Roosevelt Lake on the other side of the dam. It was so huge and beautiful. Two interesting facts: There is actually a town at the bottom of the lake, the town that sprang up when people were building the dam in the early 1900's. There was a bowling alley and ice cream shop and everything. Also, they had trouble designing the bridge because the original model looked like it was sagging in the middle. This was just an illusion, but still, it freaked people out.

We thought this sign was hilarious. Why not a simple "Do not enter?"

Finally, we ended up in Globe, where Sarah bought some antiques at the famous Pickle Barrel shop. On the way back, we stopped in this weird little town called Miami, where we found a pirate ship made of shopping carts.