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.

 And so ended another adventure in the southwest.

REMEMBER!!!!!!

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.

HOW GOOD LIFE IS AND THAT IT CAN END ALL TO QUICKLY!!!

 

Until next time.....

NOVEMBER 5, 2013 CASA GRANDE RUINS

The Casa Grand or Great House, so named by the Spanish Missionaries in 1694. The ruin dates from 1350 and was built by the Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert.

 In the late 1800s scientists pressed for legal protection as people has been doing damage for the two previous centuries.  In 1892 the Casa Grande became the nation's first national archeological reserve.  It is covered by a massive roof which helps to preserve it from the weather and sun.

 Listed as one of our National Monuments it is an amazing structure.  As you drive by on the highways from either corner of the property you can see the roof which only whet the appetite of this history bug to take a closer look.

 Any of the signs can be read just by clicking on them to enlarge.  They are so full of information it is hard to include everything so I let them tell the story of this amazing structure.

As I moved around the area there were many small enclosed areas where the walled areas had been excavated.

The ancients were farmers and constructed one of the most complex irrigation systems to bring water into the desert so they could sustain themselves.  One thought as to why they disappeared  soon after the Casa Grande was built was that they increased water consumptions to such a degree that the amount of water could not keep up with them when they chose to come together in a larger community instead of scattered over the land in a farming environment. 

 As the sun sank lower in the sky I ended my tour of the ruin with the thought that I need to return to this place and soak in the whole thing again before I leave this area.  Luckily I am only about 25 miles from this amazing structure so it will be easy to return again this winter.

REMEMBER!!!!!!

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.

HOW GOOD LIFE IS AND THAT IT CAN END ALL TO QUICKLY!!!

 

Until next time.....