The Apache Trail, now AZ Highway 88, was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named after the Apache Indians who originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains and who later worked on construction of Roosevelt Dam. In the 1800's, the army also used it to fight the Apaches
The current Apache Trail links Apache Junction at the edge of the Greater Phoenix area with Theodore Roosevelt Lake, through the Superstition Mountains and the Tonto National Forest. The Trail winds steeply through 40 miles of rugged desert mountains, past deep reservoir lakes including Canyon Lake and Apache Lake. The narrow, winding road is unpaved from just east of the small town of Tortilla Flat (6 full time residents) to Roosevelt Dam; there are many steep dropoffs and little in the way of safety barriers. Roosevelt Lake is a large reservoir formed by the Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in Arizona as part of the Salt River Hydroelectric Project. It is the oldest of the six reservoirs constructed and operated by the Project. Both the reservoir and the masonry dam that created it, Roosevelt Dam, were named for U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who dedicated the dam himself in March 1911.
We started the tour at 10:00 am and traveled in a modified jeep with two bench seats, each holding four people. The other passengers were an extended family of six visiting from Kansas. Our driver and tour guide was a local dressed like a cowboy named "Dusty Bottoms". He was very knowledgeable about the area and kept up a running dialogue through a loudspeaker in the back of the jeep. We left Goldfield on the trail and traveled through beautiful desert scenery on a narrow paved road past Canyon Lake, a pretty mountain reservoir on the Salt River that is heavily used as a fishing, camping, and recreation destination. We then passed Tortilla Flat, a small town with typical tourist facilities. The paved road then ended and we continued another 10 miles on a narrow, curved, often one lane, dirt road to the Fish Creek Overlook, the turnaround point for our trip. We took the 2-hour trip which was just about enough for us. Other tour options went out to the dam and back, but this tour was long enough. The thought of another two hour drive on narrow switchback washboard dirt roads with thousand foot drop-offs without guardrails was not particularly appealing to our senior sense of adventure.
On the way back, we stopped at Tortilla Flat, the quintessential tourist attraction. We had an ice cream cone and enjoyed the scenery on the way back. We also got a good look at Superstition Mountain, the famous Arizona landmark on the edge of the Superstition Wilderness and the Tonto National Forest. It is a beautiful Mountain that was held sacred by the original Native Americans who lived in the area.
We had a good lunch at the Mammoth Steakhouse in Goldfield after the tour. We had sandwiches on the patio and were entertained by a singing cowboy, who was actually pretty good.
On the way back to the RV, we stopped at a Mexican lawn art place near the park. We couldn't resist buying some much needed lawn art - a metal Javelina with two babiies. Javelinas look like pigs but are not. They live in the wild down here and can be troubelsome if you get too close to them.
We were back in the RV Park around 3:00 pm and had dinner in. I think we are going to the Heard Museum in Phoenix tomorrow - a world class museum of Native American culture. A final decision will be made in the morning.
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