Ramblin Ways: NOVEMBER 8-9, 2013 LOOKING FOR WATER!!!

I decided to take Duncan and get out of the park for a day. Had heard of Tortilla Flats at some point in my travels on the internet. While looking at the map I noticed that there was a ghost town along the road and then I saw it. A LAKE!!! Not one but three so off we went to explore. The scenery was just beautiful along the way. I passed Tortilla Flat before I got to the lake so decided to keep going and stop on the way back. A few miles up the road I spotted the lake. I later learned that it is a man made lake created when Roosevelt Dam was built in the early 20th century. I found the marina, a RV park and what looked like a state park just waiting for a visit. But was not to happen this day. I continued along the road which turned into a washboard dirt road with really long drop off that made me nervous so only drove along it for a couple of miles. When I take the trip to the dam it will be from the east end of this road. I wanted to stop at the restaurant and museum in Tortilla Flat so didn't stop long just took a few pictures and called it good.

Unfortunately when I got back to Tortilla Flat the battery in my camera decided to go dead so switched to my phone and then when I went to download them they didn't transfer as I thought they had. Lesson learned do not delete until you double check the files. So for now will have to give you the web site to take a peak and hopefully before I leave here I will take another trip back there for replacement pictures. It is really a true western town that refuses to die. It started life as a stage coach stop in 1904. Has had floods and fires, but survived to tell another story. Tortilla Flat, AZ

It was getting late in the day so looked online for a pet friendly motel and decided to spend the night and visit Goldtown and Superstition Mountain Museum the next day. Just outside of Apache Junction Apacheland Movie Ranch where many of the spaghetti westerns were made. It was open to the public for many years. Such stars as Stella Steven, Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Elvis Presley and Ronald Regan to name just a few made movies here. The Superstition Mountain Museum has a diorama of the lot and many pictures of the movie stars who made films there. The Elvis Presley Chapel and Audie Murphy Barn are the only two remaining buildings of the Ranch which have survived and are under the care of the museum today. If memory serves me right the last movie made there was in the mid 1990's. The ranch met an unforunate end when a fire leveled the town in 2004 for the 2nd or 3rd time and western movies had gone out of favor so it was decided not to rebuild the set again. More about Apacheland .

From the Museum it is just a short way up the road to Goldfield Ghost town. It was interesting to wander around the town and take pictures. It was warm enough that Duncan could not be left in the car by the time I got up to Goldfield so there was no going into buildings and getting the feel of the original buildings, but there is always another day. And it is only about an hour away so can go up another time.