Apache Trail

This morning we got up and headed out for the Apache Trail. Tim, Papa (Howard), Garrett and myself were the ones going and Garrett was very excited about it!!

The Apache Trail in Arizona was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named the Apache Trail after the Apache Indians. They originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains. Most of the Apache Trail is unpaved, turning into a dirt road a few miles up from Tortilla Flat, and continuing for nearly the full remainder of its length. The Trail winds steeply through 40 miles of rugged desert mountains, past deep reservoir lakes like Canyon Lake and Apache Lake. There are steep cliff drops and few safety barriers. Tim and I actually went on this back in December of 2012 when I was pregnant with Garrett. If you want to read about our first time on the trail you can go here: 
http://www.theadventuresofsuttonstravel.com/blog/apache-trail
 
So there you go, it’s going to be a nail biter for sure!!

We made it to the start of the trail at about 10 am. I'll let the pictures do the talking!!

At an elevation of 1,660 feet lies the unspoiled beauty of Canyon Lake.  With more than 28 miles of shoreline, you will find animals such as Big Horn sheep, deer, and javelina as well as many different species of birds roaming freely through the landscape. Here are Garrett and Papa standing in front of the sign. He sure loves his Papa!! 

Everyone enjoyed looking out at the scenery!!

Garrett was really enjoying it, and at one point saw something below and was trying to point it out to us. 

Because of the recent rains the cacti here are blooming. So we made Garrett sit in front of it to take pictures :) Always such a good sport!!

Time to get back on the road to continue on.......

We finally made it to Tortilla Flats where we stopped for lunch.

The Saloon where we ate lunch. The unique wallpaper is made from real dollar bills contributed by people from all over the world. We actually donated a dollar this time with our names and date.....it is after all Friday the 13th.......

Garrett made a beeline for the cool saddles you sit on at the bar....he loved this area!!

Then he sat on stools that were of a horses behind.....lol!!

We sure enjoyed looking around while drinking our drinks and taking pictures of all the walls! 

Nothing like getting some Mommy love!!

My Iphone actually took some pretty decent pictures!!  Love these of Tim, Howard and then the 3 generations together!!

In the bathroom the stalls were only 1/2 doors and painted so when you stood up it looked like you were wearing attire from the old days. Of course I had to take a picture, lol!!

The food was really good and it is a fun place to eat!!  On our way out we took some picture with the local Indians........

The boards creak when you walk on them. This little town is so cool!

Love the Saguaro Cactus!!  This one was huge!!  

Next stop the gift shop!! 

We don't let Garrett get things because living in a RV there isn't a lot of room, we do however, love to collect the pressed pennies. This one had some neat ones to choose from. Garrett picked the stagecoach with the horses. ​He struggled a little bit with turning the handle but did a great job!!

He loves to climb the railing.....

Time to go get some ice cream!!

Do you see the hanging man above??

OK, to give a little background about Garrett and ice cream. He doesn't eat it. Tim and I would get it, try to get him to eat it and he never would want it. So normally because of that we didn't get him one. Well that was a mistake......he took mine :( At least I got to lick off the drippings!!

​While I was licking off the dripping he was stealing licks from Papa's cone. Such a funny kid!

While eating our ice cream this car pulled in. Garrett saw it pull in and said "COOL". It was too cute because he was watching the car so intently.

Time to get back on the road!! Next 30 some miles are going to be on gravel roads, fun!!

Another lookout that we stopped at. Garrett loves getting out and looking for animals!!

I love this picture of him. He was sitting on a rock and posed so nice for me!!

Getting back on the road and Tim pulled the truck over to go out on this rock and take a picture. He makes me so nervous, because there is nothing but a drop off under him!!

We finally made it to the end where the dam is. This drive is so scenic and beautiful!!

Hmmmmm.......which way should we go??? Is our day really done already???

Nope.....next stop Tonto National Monument. Here we found out that during the Summer you can only go up the trails from 8am to noon. Since it was 3:30 we missed it. That's ok because they gave us a Junior Ranger packet to fill out for the next time we come back and we also found out that if you do 4 Junior Ranger packets in Arizona you get a special Arizona Ranger badge. Cool!!  Definitely going to be back!! Here are some pictures we took from the parking area.

Always something to learn!!

Yep, it's been a long day!! Time to head back home, someone is tired :) 

The drive home was gorgeous!!  We ended up getting back about 6:30, stopped at the house and picked up Grandma Barb for dinner. We ended up eating at Times Square Neighborhood Italian Restaurant and it was so good. Was a really great day!!