Apache Trail




The cold moon was waning when Diane and I drove east from Mesa for a beautiful midwinter tour of the road that circles the Superstition Mountains. Passing through towns such as Tortilla Flat and Roosevelt, we saw the desert on a beautiful day with only shirtsleeves and an occasional wearing of a fleece overshirt. We passed Canyon Lake on our way East.


About five miles past Tortilla Flat, and a cone of their world famous prickly pear ice cream, the pavement ended as we began a 22 mile section of the road which is unpaved.




The road seemed incredibly remote, though we did pass a couple dozen cars headed the opposite direction.  It was not an easy road to negotiate, though our rental two-wheeled car did the trip just fine.




These were real mountains we had the opportunity to be immersed in. The slopes are amazing as are the depths of the canyons.



Our goal for the first part of the journey was a little waterway known as Fish Creek.  I had read in National Forest literature that it was a pretty place to explore.  Finally, at the bottom of a dramatic road along the side of a sheer cliff, we came to the creek crossing bridge.




Having packed our lunch, we were looking around for a nice place to eat in pretty surroundings.  The only problem was choosing one of the places around us.  However, seeing a cave-like rock house, Diane would think of no other place until we sat down to eat there.

I wondered for how many centuries men had been eating their lunches here.  Unprotected, it had sheltered many campfires and the top of the rock face was covered with the soot of campfires. 

We paid our respects to those who had been sheltered here by picking up a half dozen beer cans left by a more recent set of visitors.




After eating, we climbed down to the creek bed, exploring up the stream as far as our dry shoes would allow.  The views up out of the canyon were spectacular, and space does not allow sharing more of the photos taken there.




There had been rain the week before we arrived, and the stream was flowing a more than at most times of the year.  It was interesting to find the first trees that I could have hung a hammock between that I had seen since arriving in the Phoenix area several days before.





We looked for some massage rocks and for flint.  However, I was not able to find flint to flake.



This little creek would be a wonderful place to play in the water when the summer temperatures rose and cooling off became attractive. I imagine it is popular for swimming in the summer, and has been popular for thousands of years.





Back on the road after our lunch exploration, we passed Apache Lake and the painted cliffs on the far side of the dammed lake.



Our goal for early afternoon was a cliff dwelling preserved at Tonto National Monument. This was the 14th century dwelling of a group of prehistoric Native Americans known as the Salado.





As we walked among the ruins, stooping through the low doorways, and looking out on the valley, it was an effective way to think my way into the life these men and women would have had. My time camping has taught me the primacy of water, food, and shelter. Here they had a food source down in the valley, a fortress of protection, and a partial water source.  There is a second dwelling above the one we visited, but it is only open to personal tours by rangers. None were available when we arrived.




I found myself wishing for my NA Flute, and a little privacy. The other people walking through the ruins made it a little harder to get into a full feeling of the busy village life back 700 years ago.




However, on the trail down to the car, we were able to adjust to the long span of time since the cliff dwelling had been used. The long drive back to Mesa along highway 60 was a time of reflection for each of us.  We concluded at the end of the long drive that this desert is beautiful and full of surprises around every turn.
 

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