Apache Junction, Arizona

April 1 to May 1:

On April 1st we packed up The Duchess and headed north on I-10 from Benson to Apache Junction, Arizona. We had booked the entire month of April at the Lost Dutchman RV Resort which is a 55+ community. Our GPS re-routed us off of I-10 as we got close to Phoenix since the NCAA Basketball final four was going on and there were lots of traffic on the roads. Al and Barbara Smith have made this park their home for the past few winters and were going to be there for the entire time we had booked.

We arrived and checked in a the security gate. We had been assigned to Site 113 and found out where this location was. We arrived at the site and wondered if we were going to be able to get the motorhome into the place. We came up with a plan and were able to back the motorhome in on the first try. Several of our neighbors came out to watch us park (entertainment for the day) and everyone complimented us on our "backing" skills (Connie directing and Mike driving).

Site 113. We had to maneuver between palm tree & car port. 

We are the last mobile RV on this site. Once we leave they are pouring a
slab to bring a Park Model RV.

There are 731 sites in the RV Resort with park models being on all but a few lots. The park has been here since 1979 and the vast majority of sites are occupied by snowbirds for only the winter months. By the time we left the park on May 1st there were only a few people remaining.

We used the month that we were here to do some repairs on The Duchess along with completing some maintenance jobs. We had several tiles that had broken or were coming loose in the area between the kitchen and the bath. After removing the old tiles (saving as many as we could), we discovered that there was some damage to the sub-floor from a shower leak we had last year. So we ended up having to repair the subfloor before we could begin to put the tile back down. The entire process took a week and we had to make several trips to the local hardware stores for supplies.

Tools to start the process.

Removing a marking the tiles.

Working to take out the old tiles and mastic.

Tiles out and repairing the subfloor.

Our "workshop".

Sub-floor repairs. Plank across area so that we can get to bath/bedroom.

New tiles installed.

Finished floor with grout.

This was the largest project we have taken on to do ourselves on the motorhome. We took our time, had to wait at times for work to "cure or dry", and ended up pleased with the results.

We did the annual maintenance on our generator: changed out air filter along with oil/oil filter. Connie purchased some curtains from a local store and used her sewing machine to make them fit the windows in our bedrooms along with one of the windows in living area. 

Al & Barbara took us out to Tortilla Flat one day. The road to Tortilla Flat is a winding route that goes past Canyon Lake (on the Salt River). Tortilla Flat was a stop along the stagecoach route that followed the Apache Trail. It is now a tourist attraction near the end of the paved road that is the Apache Trail.

Canyon Lake on the Apache Trail.

Women's bathroom in Tortilla Flat.

Stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail.

Getting our picture taken with the "Indian".

On the way back into town we stopped at the Lakeside Restaurant & Cantina on Canyon Lake and ate lunch on the porch overlooking the lake.

View of the lake.

We took a couple of road trips while we were in Apache Junction. One day we drove the Apache Trail along the Salt River up to the Roosevelt Dam. Once the pavement ends just past Tortilla Flat it becomes a very rough, ridge-back and dusty road winding up and down various hills along the river. We did see a motorhome that someone had taken down the road before crashing it into a side wall. There were two Arizona state troopers trying to figure out how to get it out of the way (not sure what they ever figured out).  We made it all the way and were surprised at the number of cars without much clearance travelling on the road.

Canyons along the Apache Trail.

Road continues below.

Motorhome with awning ripped off. The entire passenger side was up
against the side of the canyon.

Apache Lake about the half-way point along the Apache Trail.

Roosevelt Bridge at the end of the Apache Trail.

Another day we took a trip up to Payson, Arizona. Payson is about 1.5 hours north of Apache Junction that at a much higher elevation, about 4,900 feet. The temperature is usually 10-15 degrees cooler than Phoenix and a lot of people go there to escape the heat during the summer months. Al & Barbara are planning on spending part of their summer there. There is a large rim (uplift of the earth) called the Mogollon Rim located north of Payton that is at 7,000 feet in elevation and another 10 degrees cooler than Payson. While we were there we visited the Zane Grey museum and the recreation of his cabin that he built near the rim northeast of town in the 1920's. 

Mogollon Rim above Payson.

Re-built Zane Grey cabin.

The original cabin was built in 1921 in a remote area where all of the materials had to be hauled in by mule or wagon. Zane Grey was a prolific writer of western novels along with publishing many articles on hunting and fishing. The story told is that he would visit the cabin in November and December of each year to hunt, fish and write. In 1929 he brought a film crew with him to film a bear hunt in November not realizing that Arizona had changed the start of the hunting season from November 1st to December 1st that year. Zane asked for a special permit, was denied and vowed never to return to the state. The only other time he sat foot in Arizona was for a few minutes at the opening of the Hoover Dam. The cabin fell into disrepair until a local gentlemen bought it in the 1950's and restored it. The restored cabin was destroyed in a 1990 fire and then recreated in town during 2003. Click on the link for more information about Zane Grey.

We spent a lot of our time in and around the Lost Dutchman RV Resort. The park had two pools, two hot tubs, exercise room, craft rooms, computer and library as well as several different workshops. During the winter months there are numerous activities that occur each day.

On the Saturday before Easter there was brunch held in one of the community rooms where the park provided the ham and the residents still in the park brought dishes to share. It was a great spread and we even got to take home some of the left-overs. I had a nice conversation with a lady who was 95 year old and had been wintering in the park since 1980. This was her last winter at the park as she is going into a senior living center in Wisconsin later in the month.

We were able to spend a couple of days visiting with John and Denise Miller who live in Phoenix. They moved to Phoenix from the Dallas several years ago when John went to work for a wholesale nursery here in the area. Connie had been wedding a long time ago when she lived in Dallas and had not seen either one of them in a number of years. Denise & John fixed up a great dinner one Saturday and we were able to return the favor when they visited our motorhome later in the month.

We got a lot accomplished during the month, enjoyed the pools & hot tubs several days a week and got to spend time with Al & Barbara along with meeting several other people in the park. The temperatures were rising through-out the month and by the time we left daytime highs were near 100.

 

Al, Barbara, Connie & Mike

We said our good-byes on May 1st and headed north to Flagstaff ready to get out of the heat.

Benson, Arizona

March 22 to April 1:

We made the 230 mile drive along I-10 from Las Cruces, NM to Benson, AZ to arrive at the San Pedro RV Resort. Benson is home to several 55+ RV communities including one of the SKP Escapees Parks. San Pedro RV Resort is located a couple of miles south of Benson on the highway that goes to Tombstone. The RV park is a combination of RV sites along with mobile homes (each in their own areas of the park). The park has an indoor swimming pool with a hot tub along with several buildings where they hold activities during the winter months. By the time we had arrived at the park most of the snowbirds had left and there were not many RV'ers in the park.

Our site at San Pedro RV Resort

Office/Pool at San Pedro RV Resort

One of the first days we were there we drove over to Tucson (about 50 miles) to meet Al and Barbara Smith. They were volunteers at the Escapees Escapade that was just ending at the county fairgrounds located at the edge of town. We enjoyed a nice visit with them along with meeting several couples who had also volunteered to help at the Escapade.  Al, Barbara and us met their former pastor (in Apache Junction AZ) at an Italian restaurant located near the fairgrounds and enjoyed a nice lunch.

Another day we drove south to the towns of Tombstone and Bisbee. Tombstone was made famous by the Hollywood movies about the Wyatt Earp and his brothers during their years in the town. There are several "shows" that put on a version of the Shootout at the OK Corral. The actual gunfight lasted only a few seconds at the corral with the Earps and Doc Holiday on one side the Clantons and members of The Cowboys on the other.

Gunfight at the OK Corral

OK Corral

They have also recreated the main street in Tombstone which has a large number of tourist shops and places to eat. We stopped in the Birdcage Theater which was a combination theater, saloon, gambling parlor and brothel. Tombstone was a mining town where the mines ran 24 hours a day so the local businesses stayed open all the time.

Birdcage Theater

Birdcage Theater

Main Street in Tombstone

From Tombstone we travelled south to the town of Bisbee. Bisbee was home to one of the largest copper mines in the world during it's production which lasted from the late 19th century until it was closed in 1985. The town has now become home to a number of artists along with being a tourist attraction. The town sits in the mountains north of the Copper Queen Mine so you are either walking uphill or downhill along all of the streets. We walked around the town, went inside the Copper Queen Hotel, ate lunch at The Stock Exchange (now a restaurant/bar) and sampled the beers at The Old Bisbee Brewing Company.

Inside the Copper Queen Hotel

Front of the Copper Queen Hotel

Old Bisbee Brewing Company

Inside the Old Bisbee Brewing Company

The Stock Exchange Restaurant/Bar

Bisbee puts on a race up and down the steps in town called The 1000 Great Stair Climb in October of each year which combines the race along with music and other activities.

Hillside in Bisbee

Part of the 1000 Great Stair Climb course

After finishing our tour of the town, we drove south for a couple to miles to the overlook into the Copper Queen Mine pits. The operation of the mine was massive and the pits are amazing. I don't have any idea when or if the land will be restored from the damage caused by the mining.

One of several large pits of the Copper Queen Mine

One day we drove to the Saguaro National Park near Tuscon. The Saguaro cactus are the large cacti that look like they have arms. They can live to be 50-200 years old and reach a height of 40 feet. This area of Arizona has been set aside to protect them along with several other types of cactus.

At the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center

As they mature they add "arms"

The desert in bloom

We took one day to visit the Biosphere 2 (Biosphere 1 is the earth itself) located north of Tucson. This was a project started in the 1980's to see if humans could survive for extended periods of time inside a confined space growing their food. The original "experience" involved 8 people, 4 males and 4 females. There were 2 couples and 4 others who were not involved with anyone else in the project. They were monitored by physicians and other scientists during their two years inside the Biosphere. They were able to communicate with the outside world (family/friends). There was also mental health specialists that they met with on a regular basis to deal with the issues related to their isolation and interaction among the eight. The project was deemed a success: they all made the two years, they were able to grow their own food and no one went "crazy". However their were issues between the eight that lasts until today: the two couples both married but no longer have anything to do with each other. Today the Biosphere 2 is run by the University of Arizona as a research site to study the environment, especially the deserts in the southwestern USA.

The main structure at Biosphere 2

"Ocean" that was stocked with fish during 2 year experiment

Structures at Biosphere 2

We drove up the Mount Lemmon Scenic Drive which is between Benson and Tuscon. This is a road that takes you near the top of Mount Lemmon. The top of Mount Lemon is 9,157 feet tall but the last section of road was closed due to winter snows. There is a ski area near the top of the mountain, one of the most southern ski areas in the USA. It is a beautiful drive with a number of scenic views.

Ski area at top of Mt. Lemmon

Along the Mt. Lemmon scenic drive.

HooDoo's along Mt. Lemmon scenic drive

We also drove one day through the Texas Canyons east of Benson to the Cochise Stronghold National Monument. The Texas Canyons is located along I-10 with a large number of boulders that were deposited by glaziers many, many year ago.

Here is a picture from the internet of Texas Canyons

Heading south we drove several miles on paved roads before finally arriving at an unpaved road that took us to the Cochise Stronghold National Monument. This is located in the Dragoon Mountains and is a rugged, isolated area. We were glad to be in a Jeep and were surprised when we found the campground and saw several RV's (small travel trailers) camping there. I would not have wanted to drive any RV along the rough roads into the area. 

Here is some information about Cochise and the stronghold:

 This rugged natural fortress was, for some 15 years, the home and base of operations for the famed Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise.  Cochise and about 1,000 of his followers, of whom some 250 were warriors, located here. 

Born in present-day Arizona, Cochise led the Chiricahua band of the Apache tribe during a period of violent social upheaval. In 1850, the United States took control over the territory that today comprises Arizona and New Mexico.  Not hostile to the whites at first, he kept peace with the Anglo-Americans until 1861, when he became their implacable foe because of the blunder of a young U.S. Army officer, Lt. George Bascom.   In that year, Cochise and several of his relatives had gone to an encampment of soldiers in order to deny the accusation that they had abducted a child from a ranch. The boy was later proved to have been kidnapped by another band of Apaches.

During the parley, Cochise and his followers were ordered held as hostages by Bascom, but Cochise managed to escape almost immediately by cutting a hole in a tent. Bascom later ordered the other Apache hostages hanged, and the embittered Cochise joined forces with Mangas Coloradas, his father-in-law, in a guerrilla struggle against the American army and settlers. The capture and murder of Mangas Coloradas in 1863 left Cochise as the Apache war chief.   The U.S. Army captured him in 1871 and prepared to transfer the Chiricahua to a reservation hundreds of miles away, but he escaped again and renewed the resistance campaign. The following year after negotiating a new treaty with the help of Thomas Jeffords, the band was allowed  to stay in their homeland.

Cochise is reputed to have been a master strategist and leader who was never conquered in battle.  He died peacefully on the newly formed Chiricahua  reservation in 1874.  His son, Taza succeeded him as chief.   Upon his death, he was secretly buried somewhere in or near his impregnable fortress.  The exact location has never been revealed or determined.

We took a hike up into the mountains along a creek. It was rough going and we only went about 1 mile up the trail before turning around and heading back to the campground where we had parked. 

At the entrance to Cochise Stronghold - Road got very rough from here.

Area we hiked back into for a mile.

On April 1st we packed up the Duchess and headed up I-10 to Apache Junction located east of Phoenix were we will be spending the month of April.

If you would like to see more photos of our time in Benson, click here.