Tag: travel

Down Into the Desert Valley

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

It was time to say goodbye to the cool mountain weather and head to Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, just outside of Arizona. The landscape on the drive down into the desert valley was dramatic and stunning.

Less than a mile from Lost Dutchman State Park when we had to stop. A wild fire had just started and it was going from the park, across the road, and growing. The highway was closed, fire trucks were racing to the fire, and all we could do was watch. After about 20 minutes, we had to turn around. Unsure where we were going, or if we needed to find another place to park our home for the night, we headed down to a tourist mining camp type place to see if the fire was going to spread, and if the highway was going to open back up.

We were sitting in the camper looking for options to camp for the night when a fireman knocked on the door and told us they were evacuating the area. So, we closed it up, jumped in the truck and found a safer area to regroup and figure out our next steps. Last year we had stayed at a campground about an hour south, we looked and there were plenty of spots available, so we booked a site and headed south. Aaron had plans to stay there in about a week’s time anyway, so we figured one more night there would not hurt. On the way, we stopped and grabbed a pizza and had a dinner pizza picnic in the truck before we settled in for the night. It way to hot to eat in the closed camper, or outside.

On our way to Pinal Park, we got a call from Lost Dutchman. The park was not badly damaged and would reopen to campers the next day. That was great news! We got ourselves parked, cooled off the camper, and prepared ourselves for moving day two.

We finally made it to Lost Dutchman! This park sits at the base of the Superstition Mountains where it is said that a very rich gold mine, The Lost Dutchman, is supposed to be. According to legend, Jakob Waltz, a German immigrant found the mine in the 19th century and kept the location a secret. No one has found the gold mine, and according to legend, it has been searched for since at least 1892. Aaron and I had no plans to search for the mine in the desert, in the summer. We were just happy to have water and electric hookups, and a place to park our camper. It is a beautiful park with tons of hiking available, and we would love to go back and explore when the temps are below 100+ degrees.

We celebrated Aaron’s birthday while we were there with dinner out with our oldest son, Gage. He lives about 30 minutes from the park, and drove over to Apache Junction to meet us to celebrate another year of Aaron. They both hate having their picture taken, so this was the best I could get.

After five days at the park, it was time to pack it up again. Aaron was going back to Pinal Park for a week, and I was headed to Gage’s place to take care of Lola and house-sit so he could spend the 4th of July week in Florida with our other two kids, Mason and Jenna.

We both hope that we will return to Lost Dutchman again.

White Mountains, Father’s Day, and a Visit From Gage

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It was time for us to find a cool location for a while. The Carnero Lake area in the White Mountains of Arizona seemed to be just the place. It sits in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and had some really promising boondocking areas. The weather was forecast to be in the 70’s and 80’s during the day and the 40’s at night. Sounded perfect to us!

Coming into the national forest was quite dusty. It may be a forest, but the sand was real. I don’t think we have ever gotten our camper so dirty! But, it was totally worth it.

After some driving and exploring on foot, we settled for a great spot surrounded by trees and a meadow. There was a natural spring just a short hike away, and there was solitude.

We were at about 8,000 feet in altitude, and for the first few days, we really felt it. We took it easy, drank lots of water, and let our bodies acclimate to the altitude. I’m not sure why it effected us both so much this time, but it really did. After a few days, it was time to explore our surroundings. Aaron, Murphy, and myself took a hike to the natural spring. It was a short, pretty hike with some surprise findings along the way. Murphy came across what we named “the bone yard.” He even brough back a souvenir.

It was a beautiful walk, a bit of an incline, but worth it. The water at the spring was crystal clear until Murphy started running through it. He muddied it up quite a bit before I could even get one picture.

Father’s Day was coming up, and we were about 4 hours north of our oldest son. He decided to drive up and spend that Saturday and Sunday with us to celebrate the day. It was great seeing him and Lola! Murphy was super excited to have Lola to harass and play with. Lola enjoyed Murphy, but not quite as much as he enjoyed having her there. We cooked steaks, had great conversation, a few brews, and just a really nice time together.

Aaron also pulled out his drone and got some fantastic arial pictures of the area.

It was great to find a cool spot in the mountains to recharge, relax, and just enjoy the nature. Murphy chased squirrels, they would taunt him from the trees, and he stayed super dirty the whole time. He loved it.

WE soaked up the good temperatures as much as we could, because we were heading south of Phoenix in a few days, Aaron to camp, and me to house and Lola sit for Gage so he could go to Florida to celebrate the 4th of July with our other two kids and his friends. We really liked the White Mountains and enjoyed our time there.

We hit the road, next stop-Lost Dutchman State Park at the base of Superstition Mountain.

Junkyard Brewery and Petrified Forest National Park

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We said goodbye to New Mexico and made our way into Arizona. We found a brewery on Route 66 that we could stay the night, have a beer or 3 and enjoy a simple dinner. It happened to be the same day as a memorial for an old friend of ours who was himself a brewer, and we were able to raise a glass of delicious beer and toast to his good memory with a beer he would approve. We could not be back in Louisiana for the service, but Tom was on our minds and in our hearts.

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The brewery sat in a junkyard, and we parked in the cleared out middle for a restful night, ready to go sightsee the next day.

We got moving early the next morning and headed to Petrified Forest National Park. Route 66 originally ran through the middle of the park, and this old Studebaker marks where it used to cross.

We entered the park from the north entrance, and drove through the entire park to the south entrance (exit for us). The park runs through part of the Painted Desert, ancient dwellings, petroglyphs, and the remains of an ancient forest. It is also one the the most dog friendly, if not the most dog friendly national parks. The entrance ranger made sure we knew that Murphy was welcome on every trail.

The Painted Desert

The colors and textures mesmerized us

Pueblo Village and Archeological Site

As we drove towards the Pueblos, a train passed under us. These ruins contain a pueblo that had over 100 rooms and also gave us our first glimpse of petroglyphs.

Newspaper Rock

This national park has over 650 petroglyphs, most of them on “Newspaper Rock.” There is also a more famous Newspaper Rock in Utah that has been featured on the TV show Ancient Aliens. I’m not sure if this one was featured as well, but I would not be surprised.

Petrified Wood

Petrified wood is wood that has turned to stone. In fact, it is Washington’s state gemstone. I took a picture of the process that was posted in the museum.

The Petrified Forest National Park left me very contemplative about life. To look at a desert and actually realize that at one time, it was a lush forest with rivers and trees, really brought home that our existence as a species is just a blip to the planet. Entire cultures of people have come and gone from this place for over 100,000 years. One day we too will just be remembered by what was left behind, like the petroglyphs and the Pueblo ruins we ponder and study today.

One Hot Stay in New Mexico

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Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico has a lovely campground. We spent one night there last year on our drive to the West Coast and wanted to spend more time exploring the area. We settled in for a week, and as we did so, reality of desert living in June started to sink in.

Our campsite had no electric or water, which is what we had chosen to put our camper to the test. It also did not have any shade to speak of, and it got hot! We were cautious when running our AC, as we did not want to deplete our batteries, but when it was over 100 outside, and the camper got over 90 inside, it was time to crank the air. We learned that it is easier to try to maintain a temperature instead of letting it get super hot and then trying to cool things down. With the AC working so hard, we had to supplement our batteries with the generator. We did find of good balance of generator and battery power to keep everything running smoothly. One thing we have learned over the past year is that the AC will cool the camper 15 or so degrees cooler than the temperature outside, especially if there is no shade. Honestly, when it is 100 and higher outside 80-85 inside feels pretty good. We also have multiple fans to keep air flowing and keep us more comfortable. Murphy does not like it hot, and he always found the coolest spots in the camper to nap and relax. He usually planted himself directly in front of a fan.

Because of the heat, we did not do much hiking or exploring. The lake was super low and not really accessible. Even staying close to the site and camper, there were beautiful cacti, flowers, and juniper trees to photograph and enjoy.

Dramatic skies would tease us with clouds that looked like rain, but the rain never fell. The skies also gave us beautiful sunsets.

After a week of sweating, it was time for us to say goodbye to Santa Rosa. We were heading west again, with Arizona on our radar.

Spending the Night in a Ghost Town

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We said goodbye to Oklahoma and drove into the Texas Panhandle. We were on our way to New Mexico, but needed an overnight stop in between. We found a Harvest Host in Clarendon, Texas. It is a farm with a historic ghost town on the property.

Jericho began as a railroad stop to load cattle. At its highest, the town grew to a population of 100. It had a post office, and when Route 66 was constructed, it got a hotel. There are two remaining structures left of this small town, the hotel, and another building. We are not sure what the other building was. There is also this old water tower. Aaron, Murphy, and I enjoyed walking around the ruins of a time gone by.

The Abandoned Hotel

It was fun to play with my camera and catch the different light, shadows, and textures of the place.

The Other Standing Building

Out in the fields there are foundations from other building buried in the ground. There is also an old rusted out car that we could not identify. There was another couple staying the night as well. The gentleman had a metal detector and was looking for old Civil War items. He had been told that some had been found in the fields. I am not sure if he found anything or not.

Overall, it was a great stay. We did not have any encounters with ghosts in the ghost town, but we did have a lot of windmills, and a beautiful sunset.

After a really good night’s sleep, we continued our wander west. Our next stop will be a week at Santa Rosa State Park in New Mexico.