Apache Trail, home of the Superstition Mountains

Tortilla Flat, AZ

Just a few minutes from my KOA in Apache Junction, State Highway 88 (also called Apache Trail) runs between the Goldfield and Superstition Mountains and heads north toward Roosevelt. The trail was originally built as a stage coach route for the cowboys and miners to get around and then eventually to carry materials into the site of the Roosevelt Dam. There are all sorts of wild tales of gold mines found, miners murdered and gold mines found again and gold hidden in the mountains and lost, and of a German miner named “The Dutchman” who the State Park called Lost Dutchman State Park is named after. You can read more of the mystery of the area here: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/LODU/

Now it’s a fabulous scenic route, frequented by tourists that winds through Sonoran Desert with Saguaro and other cacti past Canyon Lake, the tourist stop of Tortilla Flat, past Apache Lake and on to Globe.

I got a late start this morning, mostly just because I was being lazy and was waiting to see what the weather was going to do. It was cloudy all day but the rain held off until this evening, and the sun did poke through at times.

Superstition Mountain Museum was my first stop along the Trail, which is mostly just a place to trap tourists but which had some charm. They’re also making some upgrades to the landscaping which looks like it will be really nice when they are done.

And the next stop, at Goldfield Ghost Town didn’t pretend to be anything but a tourist trap. But again, it had some charm, and the blueberry pastry from the bakery on the Main Street was excellent. I wandered the street and was about to leave when it became apparent something was brewing. Some nasty looking gang types were milling about and we were warned to stay off the street as it was possible a gun fight might break out! And wouldn’t you know, it did. It was fun, and the kids in particular, enjoyed it. There was a train to ride, a museum, a historic church, mulitple shops to extract dollars from tourists and horse back riding opportunities. Wait a minute, time for me to leave as I’m allergic to only two things and one of them is horses. There were horses hitched a couple of places and a few walked through town on their way out onto the desert trails. They seemed like really well kept and spirited ones and it made me sorry that I couldn’t participate.

Back on the road, the highway wound its way up into the mountains past Lost Duchman State Park. I stopped as often as the road would allow to take pictures of the fabulous views along the Trail. The area around Canyon Lake was particularly beautiful. They have created a nice recreational area for boating and bathing, but it was all closed for the season and I couldn’t get close.

I arrived at Tortilla Flat just in time for lunch at the historic Superstition Saloon. It is a crazy place with $1 bills stapled to the walls throughout. It’s estimated that there are $300,000 worth. People have written notes and their names on the bills and the maintenance guys are kept busy finding new places for them. The washroom had a bright and interesting paint job as you can see by the pic of me in one of the stalls. I’m crouching down, BTW so you can tell how short the doors are. Quite bizarre. And the seats at the bar were saddles. It was a fun place and I had a great Beef Taco Salad there. The salsa had a really nice kick to it.

I had planned to keep going along the Trail (Hwy 88) to Globe and then back to Apache Junction by Old Highway 60, but when I came out a low area just east of town was flooding! I certainly wan’t when I arrived. There has been an unusual amount of rain and snow in the area, and although I could have driven through it (and I watched a truck coming through the other way), I didn’t want to chance running into similar and worse problems further along, so I returned the way I had come, with somewhat improved weather and nicer light for picture taking.

I was back into town early enough to go see Star Wars at an IMAX just 10 minutes from my camping site, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

BTW, didn’t get to the Heard Museum or anywhere downtown Phoenix today because it’s the college football championship here tomorrow and the whole downtown has been taken over as “Fan Zone” and they said not to try and park down there, and even the Light Transit was crazy busy. Next time……..