Up at 5AM, I guess I am still on Eastern time. But it was a good time to pack my bags and get ready to vacate the hostel
I made breakfast and arranged with Kristine and Marques to drive the Apache Trail in the car that she had rented.
I UBERed over to Best Western Sure Stay which is a bit of an old time motel in a very sketchy neighborhood near the Airport. Surprisingly, the recent renovated room was very upscale.
They would not check me in until after 3pm so I dropped my bags behind the counter and called for an UBER back to the hostel.
Another UBER ride to pick up Kristine’s car and find a SIM card for her phone and we were finally off to the Apache Trail
The Apache Trail travels through traditional Apache lands. Following the remains of an original Apache trail, the road was built for the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt dam.
The dam resulted in the creation of three lakes downstream in the valley. The lakes are beautiful and warm and are heavily used by the locals for swimming and boating.
About 45 miles from Phoenix the trail starts in Apache Junction and continues all the way to the dam. (We didn’t made it that far as the roads deteriorated and it was getting late).
Tortilla Flats is a former way station on the highway and has a store, restaurant and a small museum. The restaurant is wallpapered with dollar bills on the walls from top to bottom.
The desert scenery was outstanding with huge cactuses and sagebrush set against a backdrop of mesas, buttes and towering masses of clouds.
Passing through Tortilla Flats on our way back we stopped for swimming in Canyon Lake. It was just a quick dip and we were off back to to the hostel arriving at dinner time
We went out for a quick dinner of tacos and beer (not exactly on my diet but…) and then I said goodnight and UBERed back to the motel for a good nights sleep.
