Apache Trail
October 30, 2006
We left the population area behind us and went on Apache Trail, the route Teddy Roosevelt took when he came to dedicate the dam named after him. This route would keep us to the inside on the narrow dirt road part. Our first stop along the way was Goldfield, a ghost town. Well, it was a simulation of a ghost town with old building constructed on the side of an old gold mine town. We paid our $5 and went into the mine and learned about gold mining back in 1893. There is also an open car train you can take for $5; The train makes a half hour loop tour of the area. The old saloon now serves drinks and meals; the mercantile store sells fudge and souvenirs. The road meanders around the hills, goes up and down, and wiggles. 
The view is of craggy rocks, rocks covered with yellow lichen, saguaro cactus, ocotillo all in green leaf, prickly pear, chollas like the teddy bear cholla, a few mesquite trees and creosote bush. It must have been a grand summer with rains as the century plants were all standing tall having given their blooms they will now die. Mostly rock and dirt. We made our way past Canyon Lake. Electric lines have followed us. over the mountains then in the valleys Past Tortilla Flats we came to the curves and mountain grades. The canyons are steep; you can’t even imagine and pictures do no justice to the vistas, landscapes, views, sites, they are just awe inspiring. Then we came to the end of the pavement and soon after a one-lane dirt road. The views, the vistas. In a sharp turn was a one-lane bridge; on the hillside a cave, in the center a canyon leading up and in, and then to the flat. The rock walls hundreds of feet up. Another vista overlooking Apache Lake with a road leading down at a steep grade down to the lake; we continued. At NF-260, Davis Wash, we dove down toward Lake Apache. The dirt road was narrow and rutted; we went slow and rocked about. Once down on the flat we were still 200 yards from the water. The water level was low waiting for the spring melts and rains. Forrest, it was like the lake you took us fishing in Colorado with steep walls of rock and dirt; bet the fishing here would be good too.
Camp was set up in the shade of the mountain. Piles of trash were piled high in the old campfire pits even though there were trash bins. Like people too lazy to put their carts away in parking lots; campers here were too lazy to carry their trash the short distance to the bins. Will started us a fire; we made hamburgers and cucumber salad for dinner. We were joined by flies and bees. Shoeing them away reminded us of the farm at LBJ. Rita, we remember the stories that they are even worse there in the summers. After dinner we walked around our area and back a closed road that lead to another camp area. On our way back we decided to work our way around the steep banks of the lake. A blue heron snatched himself dinner from the shallow waters of the lakes edge. Check the movie in the gallery to see just how fast he was! We stayed up reading and puzzling under flashlights. When the stars were too many to count we went in and watch Harry Potter Prisoner from Alkaban.
We left the population area behind us and went on Apache Trail, the route Teddy Roosevelt took when he came to dedicate the dam named after him. This route would keep us to the inside on the narrow dirt road part. Our first stop along the way was Goldfield, a ghost town. Well, it was a simulation of a ghost town with old building constructed on the side of an old gold mine town. We paid our $5 and went into the mine and learned about gold mining back in 1893. There is also an open car train you can take for $5; The train makes a half hour loop tour of the area. The old saloon now serves drinks and meals; the mercantile store sells fudge and souvenirs. The road meanders around the hills, goes up and down, and wiggles. 
The view is of craggy rocks, rocks covered with yellow lichen, saguaro cactus, ocotillo all in green leaf, prickly pear, chollas like the teddy bear cholla, a few mesquite trees and creosote bush. It must have been a grand summer with rains as the century plants were all standing tall having given their blooms they will now die. Mostly rock and dirt. We made our way past Canyon Lake. Electric lines have followed us. over the mountains then in the valleys Past Tortilla Flats we came to the curves and mountain grades. The canyons are steep; you can’t even imagine and pictures do no justice to the vistas, landscapes, views, sites, they are just awe inspiring. Then we came to the end of the pavement and soon after a one-lane dirt road. The views, the vistas. In a sharp turn was a one-lane bridge; on the hillside a cave, in the center a canyon leading up and in, and then to the flat. The rock walls hundreds of feet up. Another vista overlooking Apache Lake with a road leading down at a steep grade down to the lake; we continued. At NF-260, Davis Wash, we dove down toward Lake Apache. The dirt road was narrow and rutted; we went slow and rocked about. Once down on the flat we were still 200 yards from the water. The water level was low waiting for the spring melts and rains. Forrest, it was like the lake you took us fishing in Colorado with steep walls of rock and dirt; bet the fishing here would be good too.
Camp was set up in the shade of the mountain. Piles of trash were piled high in the old campfire pits even though there were trash bins. Like people too lazy to put their carts away in parking lots; campers here were too lazy to carry their trash the short distance to the bins. Will started us a fire; we made hamburgers and cucumber salad for dinner. We were joined by flies and bees. Shoeing them away reminded us of the farm at LBJ. Rita, we remember the stories that they are even worse there in the summers. After dinner we walked around our area and back a closed road that lead to another camp area. On our way back we decided to work our way around the steep banks of the lake. A blue heron snatched himself dinner from the shallow waters of the lakes edge. Check the movie in the gallery to see just how fast he was! We stayed up reading and puzzling under flashlights. When the stars were too many to count we went in and watch Harry Potter Prisoner from Alkaban.
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