3/15/14 - Driving the Apache Trail

We were pretty busy the first few weeks of Marchg with lots of house photography.  Marty has now photographed 29 properties which are in the process of being listed for rent.  The houses run the gambit from your basic 2-3 bedroom ranch with just the basics in Mesa to one in Gilbert that had 4 bedrooms and a media room complete with theater seating.  The one thing they all have in common is the BEIGE paint on the walls and a darker BEIGE carpet on the floor.  Also, most houses in the area are painted BEIGE on the outside - talk about your neutral colors!

Since Marty worked all week we didn't get to play tourist until the weekend.  We took a drive on Saturday (3/15/14)  on the Apache Trail (Rte 88) which starts in the town of Apache Junction about 20 miles southwest of where we are staying in Mesa.  It was originally a stagecoach trail and it runs through the Superstition Mountains.  It was an amazing drive!  The road twists and turns, climbs hills and drops through winding canyons.  Once you pass the tiny town of Tortilla Flat (Population of 6), the road becomes very interesting.  Vehicles over 40' are prohibited past Tortilla Flat.

For about 20 miles the road is unpaved, steep and mostly single lane.  The descent down Fish Creek Hill drops 900 feet within a mile into Fish Creek Canyon - a 10% grade!  It was scary but beautiful; we took it very slow and easy and enjoyed the drive.  As we continued on we rode along Apache Lake (17 miles long with a depth of 266 feet).

Hiking near the Apache Trail

Can you see that car way down there on the one lane road?

At the bottom of the canyon

Apache Lake

The pavement resumed just before we reached Roosevelt Dam.  When this dam was completed in 1911 it was the world's largest masonry dam, its stone blocks rising to a height of 280' - pretty impressive