Tortilla Flats

We said “good bye” to all our new Alfa Roadrunner friends and left Tucson Wednesday morning. Seems like every time we drive any distance Roger is fighting major wind – today was no exception! We are now at Tortilla Flats National Forest Campground in Tortilla Flats, AZ. What a journey through the Superstition Mountains to get here – 17 miles of narrow, winding, switchbacks with 2 one lane bridges and steep cliffs. Needless to say it is “back in the boonies.” – no cell phone and no internet. I made a serious mistake – I entered the area 98% through my current book on my Kindle, finished it and now can not connect to the internet to order a new one! Withdrawal symptoms are beginning!
We drove the Apache Trail scenic byway Thursday – about 130 miles – through the Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest (although it is a forest of saguaro cacti not trees!) The road follows reservoirs made by a series of dams used for water control in the Phoenix area.  Canyon Lake then Apache Lake then Theodore Roosevelt Lake are beautiful recreation areas with several national forest campgrounds but the problem is – you have to get to them! Great waterways to explore with boats and wave runners! The desert is gorgeous with everything blooming in spring – even the ugly cacti are pretty. The saguaro cacti look like sentinels standing up straight guarding the mountains! Actually, they look like sentinels using obscene gestures to scare us away! They grow very slowly and can store enough water during a rainy season to last them 7 years. The tall ones with more than 5 “arms” are estimated to be 200 years old. We saw one that had split and fell over – the inside looks like bamboo shoots.
We stopped at Tonto National Monument and planned to hike to the cliff dwelling but it was closed – they had just sprayed for an infestation of “killer bees!” Didn’t want to meet any of them! We want to hike around the Tortilla Flats area but can not find any trail maps and we aren’t willing to take off without one.
We finally got cell phone, internet and Kindle service in the “city” of Globe, AZ and caught up with the world before we came home.
Friday morning was glorious so we turned on the generator, got out the gridle and fried bacon & eggs on the picnic table while watching the Today show on our outside TV! Our definition of “roughing it!” We took a boat cruise around Canyon Lake – cool but beautiful. We saw a bald eagle’s nest and some desert big horn sheep grazing on the cliffs. The high cliffs and remote area reminded us of Lake Powell in Utah. We are now in Mesa, AZ – couldn’t survive any longer without cell and internet – especially since we have guests at the townhouse.