The Apache Trail drive is only 46 miles, but plan on spending the entire day exploring this scenic road.

The first thing you should know about this road is that 25 miles of it is dirt. What is it with us and dirt roads? We always seem to find ourselves driving down one. And it’s usually worth it. This drive was no exception. It was worth every dusty, washboard, bumpy mile.

Our first oooo-ahhh view was the Canyon Lake. The sky was overcast so it was hard to see, but the water is a deep blue.

This drive shadows an ancient Apache Indian footpath and has quite a few narrow switchbacks. The dirt road should really have been a one way, but it wasn’t. We would have to find a wide-ish spot and pull over to let a car pass and if heights bother you, this might not be the road for you. There are also several one lane bridges.

But, the views…were…stunning! In the photo above you can see the Painted Cliffs of the Mazatzal Mountains next to the Apache Lake. Guys, I really wish y’all could see this in person. Pictures don’t do it justice. Someone needs to come out with a way to easily and cheaply add 3D photos to blog posts.

Seriously, that should be a thing.

We also got to see the Theodore Roosevelt Dam which was the world’s largest masonry dam back when it was built in 1911. 280 feet high and 723 feet long, the Theodore Roosevelt Dam is impressive. On the other side of the dam is the 23 mile long Theodore Roosevelt Lake where the original town of Roosevelt is now laying underwater.

This is actually where the Apache Trail Drive ends and where the paved road picks back up, but we went on to the Tonto National Monument which was only five more miles down the road.

Tonto National Monument gives you a peek into the lives of the Salado people.

You can walk up the 350 feet to the Lower Cliff Dwelling where a Ranger is posted to not only answer any questions but to protect the artifacts. We got to walk around and through a few of the rooms while the Ranger told us what life was like for the Salado people. There are still a few artifacts left up in the dwelling. In the photo above, you can see a grindstone.

The view of Roosevelt Lake is spectacular from the Lower Cliff Dwelling.

The boys took the opportunity to get another Junior Ranger Badge.

In the visitor center, you can see some of the more impressive artifacts they found in the dwellings. Apparently, until the 1930s people would steal, smash and deface the dwellings, which is why there’s now a Ranger posted there. I’ll never understand some people’s need to destroy. In the right photo you can see a model of the Lower Cliff Dwelling. There used to be 19 rooms and they think there were probably somewhere around 60 people living there. There’s also an Upper Cliff Dwelling that has 40 rooms, but it’s only open from November to April. I imagine we’ll come back someday to do the three mile Ranger hike to see it.

Down the road from Tonto NM there’s a scenic pull-off that gives you a faraway look at the Upper Dwellings. It looks really cool! We’d all like to do the hike there sometime.

While we were exploring, we came across this gem of a place. You’re looking at the best burrito I’ve ever had. It’s called a Green Mix Burro, Enchilada Style. We liked this place so stinkin’ much we ate here twice in the seven days we were in the area. Charlie got the Burger Olé which is a double burger covered in the yummiest green chili. He had to eat it with a fork and knife, but he ate it all.

One of our favorite things to do is take the road less traveled. You never know what amazing vista or interesting foodie place you’ll find.

See y’all down the road!

Welcome to Tucson, where there’s 350 days of sun a year!

Wait, what?

Yup, we picked the week it rained three out of the seven days we were there to visit Tucson, AZ. Who goes to a desert to get rained on?

We do.

Kind of like when we were hiking through a rain forest in Alaska and it didn’t rain single a drop. Oh well, what are ya going to do? We still had four glorious days of sun to explore the area. And we utilized every moment we got!

Saguaro National Park was at the top of our list of places to see. Saguaro (suh-WAHR-oh) NP is made up of two districts with Tucson in the middle of them.

I wasn’t expecting so much green and life and…mountains. We cautiously did a few hikes here. Between the six different kinds of rattle snakes, the Africanized “killer” honey bees, and the fact that all of the plants are trying to kill you…we didn’t really stray off the beaten path. Seriously, we stuck to the path like our lives depended on it.

Saguaro National Park is a desert with tons of different cacti…and they really do reach out and grab you. Literaly. There’s a type of cactus called cholla that has barbed spines that detach from the plant easily and embed in your skin. Sounds fun, right? No?

There was also an unexpected beauty in Saguaro NP.

The bright colors really stood out next to all of the green and brown. In the desert, even the pretties have teeth.

We never saw any snakes, but we did see some petroglyphs!

We found some shelters built by the CCC! Can you spot them in the photo above? They really blend into the landscape!

The only wildlife we saw was this mule deer. Actually, there were two of them, but we only saw a flash of the other one.

The saguaro cactus is an icon of the American southwest. In a single rainfall, a saguaro may soak up as much as 200 gallons of water, they can live more than 150 years, grow over 60 feet tall, and weigh up to 8 tons. They were impressive in their almost human-like shapes, towering above the rest of the desert.

Mission San Xavier del Bac is called the “White Dove of the Desert”. This is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. The church is open to the public unless there’s mass taking place. We roamed around the open rooms and the grounds. If you’re ever in the Tucson area, make sure you stop by.

I’ll be honest with y’all…I wasn’t really looking forward to the Titan Missile Museum. I like the outdoor stuff….the hikes and the scenery. Museums aren’t really on the top of any of my lists, but this is one of those times I’m glad we went. The docent did a great job of keeping it interesting and informative. They had some memorabilia out on display. See the canned drinking water in the bottom right photo? They had those for sale. The cans reminded us of when the tornado hit our house and someone came by handing out canned drinking water. The guided tour took us into the control room and explained what life was like for those working at this facility and we got to see the Titan Missile. The boys did the Junior Missileer book while we were there and earned a patch for their effort. We got a surprise when the woman in the gift shop signed their certificate, identifying herself as one of the soldiers that used to work there at the facility!

We found this place as we drove by it. It’s hard to miss with all of the huge planes sitting out front. We got there in the late afternoon and had to rush through it before they closed at 5pm, but we got to see pretty much everything.

The boys learned a little about airplane controls.

Hmmm…I think I’ll take a different flight if these two are at the controls.

The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the world’s largest non-government funded aerospace museums. There are over 300 aircrafts spread over 80 acres of land. We would have liked to have been able to slow down and get a better look at some of the different kinds of aircraft. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Of course we had to try some of the Mexican food in town. How could we not? We ended up eating at four different places. Two were fantastic (Taqueria el Pueblito, and St. Mary’s) and one was, well…it was food…I think. At St. Mary’s I found out there are rolled enchiladas and flat enchiladas…so, of course, I had to try them both. The rolled enchilada is what most of you are familiar with and the flat enchilada is kind of like a fried disk of the masa that’s on the outside of tamales and then it’s covered with the toppings you want. They were both very good!

The other place we ate is called El Guero Canelo. We ate there because we heard that it’s the place to go to try a Sonoran Style Hotdog. What is a Sonoran Hotdog? It’s a bacon wrapped hotdog with beans, grilled onion, fresh onion, tomato, mayo, mustard, and jalapeno sauce. It’s a big mess. The bun is made in house and is the sweetest hotdog bun I’ve ever had. It was good, but I can’t see myself ever really wanting one again. Jerl didn’t even finish his…it’s not his type of thing. Maybe we got one at the wrong place?

Tucson is an interesting town. There’s enough to do in the area to keep a family busy for two to three weeks. We’ll probably be back in the Spring sometime so we can see the saguaro cactus’ bloom…and for more food.

See y’all down the road!