Cruising the Dessert

[Shoeman]

As some of you know, I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving.
After the traditional meal of turkey, ham and all the sides, it was time to hit the road. I rented a car and proceeded to log almost 1000 miles in the next 3 days. My travels took us into 3 different mountain ranges from the Southern portion of the State, to Flagstaff and Globe to the East. The first leg was a trip to the Superstition Mountains. I had been there before, but it just fascinates me. Winding dirt roads with only the occasional guardrail. This was the only set of mountains that are not protected by the State or Feds that we visited.

I will do this in 3 parts do to picture restrictions and to show emphasis on the different geological and diverse make up of the landscape.
The other 2 parts are of the higher elevations around Tucson and Sedona/Flagstaff.

The Superstitions are very dessert like and are the primary water supply to Phoenix and it’s surrounding area. The Salt River and its impoundments flow through the center of the range and also serves as one of the few boating opportunities in the lower portion of the State. Several dams help regulate the flow, which was almost non-existent during this time of year. All of the creek beds were dry, which can be expected after the heat of the summer takes its toll on the landscape.
How anything survives is beyond me.

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This area requires continuous attention at the wheel. Having a few “after dinner” drinks is not an option. One slip and you’re history. 200+ yards straight down…..

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The depths of these canyons are anywhere from 500 to over 1500 feet. These pictures hardly do it justice.

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[Shoeman]

Fish Creek? Hardly!

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Bone Dry, at least most of the year.

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Some of these saguaras are 30+ feet tall

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[Shoeman]

Apache Lake, a boating Mecca for Arizona. According to the locals, the launch lines can exceed 1 mile during the height of the Summer. (and we thought Bolles Harbor is bad)

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Note the "High water mark"

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This is just below Roosevelt Dam. (pardon the shadow)

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[Steve]

I love the Fish Creek picture. Even you guys can't catch a fish there :)

[PrtyMolusk]

Howdy, Ralf-

Great shots! I really miss the dessert....:(

Can't wait to see the Sedona / Flag shots; in-laws lived there when we lived in CA, and we spent a lot of time there; beautiful country!

You didn't happen across the combination gun store/liquor store, did you? One of my favorite places in Flag.....;)

[Shoeman]

Several species of cacti thrive in this area.

Yucca (no not our poison), Prickly Pear and Saguaras along with a few shrubs survive on very little water.

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A Yukka shell.

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These plants thrive in elevations below 6000 feet. At 5000 one starts to notice a transition between desert and pine type plants.

[rookie1]

Great pictures! That has to be pretty nervewracking driving on some of those roads. Sounds like you had a nice vacation.

[knockoff64]

Great pics Ralf.

You sure didn't miss anything up here! I'm glad you guys had a nice time, and made it home safe. Now you can suffer with the rest of us! LOL

See you Saturday!

P.S. I am also looking forward to the Sedona/Flagstaff pics. As I told you my brother lived in a house on Oak Creek for years.

[trout]

Cool pics Ralf!
Did ya turn anything over to look for horny toads or scorpions?
Find the Lost Dutchmans mine?
Looks like ya had a great time.

[quest32a]

great pics man. they are awesome. someday maybe i will make it out there. ive been to colorado before and it was beatiful but never that far south. thanks for the pics man.

[stelmon]

Great pics ralf,
I have always wanted to visit around there. Been every where else around the world except there. Guess I don't have to go anymore. Weren't you surprized when you got home with all this white stuff.

Glad to see you back

[dieseldude]

beautiful pictures, it makes me want to see it in person

[YPSIFLY]

"Having a few "after dinner" drinks is not an option."

That alone sounds perilous! lol I'll bet a guy could make a fortune if he set up a bar at the other end of that stretch of road.

Nice pics Ralf.

[Shoeman]

Thanks for all the compliments. This trip was a ball. Just to see different landscapes and its plant life always fascinated me.

Trout, I did turn a few rocks over, but thankfully didn't see anything that could bite or sting me. :eek:

Here's the other legs of the trip.

Day 2 took me South toward Tucson. The town is in the middle of several National parks. I only had time to visit the one and opted for Spencer Canyon and Mt. Lemmon. It has a max elevation of 9157 feet.

The geological components are totally different form all the northern parts. It almost reminded me of the European Alps once in the higher elevations with its pine forests.

On the way there, I noticed a tree that seemed almost fuzzy in appearance.

Fuzzy?

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Nope!!!!

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Weathered Rock Formations

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[rookie1]

Nice pics Ralf, I like the one with the weathered rocks and the dark clouds. Looks like a great trip.

[Shoeman]

The views were spectacular.

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On the way off the mountain the sun started to fade and it provided some awesome silhouette shots.

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Day 3 was a trip to the Northern portion of Arizona. After searching a few Arizona Fishing websites, I found that the equivilant of their DNR stocks several rivers with trout during colder months. It starts in November and most are stocked every couple of weeks to accommodate the fishermen.

Here's the headwaters of the Verde River near Cottonwood. The Verde joins the Salt below Granite Dam which is responsible for all of Pheonix's water supply. With a growth rate of 60.000 residents annually, one would think that eventually they will run out of water.

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[Shoeman]

A few miles north of Cottonwood is the entrance to Red Rock. The entire area is part of the Mogollon Plateau.

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This is Sedona. It's basically a tourist trap, but the views are breathtaking and the colorations incredible.

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There are 2 ways to Flagstaff from Sedona. We opted for the scenic one. This road trailed along Oak Creek.

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Oak Creek is known for its trout. Do to time restrctions, I opted not to fish. I will be back.

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The end of the trail. Flagstaff......
This is Humphreys Peak. The highest elevation in Arizona at 12633 feet. They call it the Snow Bowl. Too bad it was shrouded in clouds.

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[dieseldude]

simply awesome,
im putting a trip like this on my "to do" list.
shoeman, if you went again would you pick the same month to go?

[Shoeman]

For the higher elevations, a month earlier would have provided better colors, as far as foliage, but honestly the climate in November can't be beat. 50's at night and high 60's to low 70's during the day. I found it ideal.

I'm working on a trip for the Summer. We're hoping to take the RV with the driftboat in tow and head for the Mountains. Just the thought of floating canyons and catching trout gets me all riled up.

[gsepan]

Great Pic's!!!

Makes me miss the wild west... I spent 7yrs living in Utah. Beautiful country...

[Engsetter]

Shoeman; That drive from Roosevelt Dam heading west down the canyon is one of my favorite drives I have ever taken. The first time I drove the road up to Roosevelt Lake I had to cross the dam to go north, but a few of years ago I was up there and there is a bridge now.

I have tried to fish Apache Lake once for Walleyes, did not do well at all, next time I think I'll hire a guide (local Walleye specialist), however we did catch Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.

If you do go again I would make it a point to fish from Glen Canyon dam down to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River (you need a boat) the Rainbow trout fishing was awesome (around 10 years ago) and the scenery is fantastic.

There are a lot of lakes up in the White Mountains (Apache Reservation) to fish. One of the best ice fishing trips I went on was on Sunrise Lake near the ski-lodge. Practically short sleeve weather as the sun was hot that day and lots of rainbows. There were a lot of Elk herds down in the lower elevations.

There may be places to fly fish in AZ, but I have never done it. Most of the fish in the lakes were planted at one time or another.

Man it's been a while since I was there, I guess I'm going to have to start thinking about another trip.

Fantastic place to visit, but I'm still not sure I would want to live there. But maybe I'll be the one to crack the secret of that gold stash in the Superstition Mountains some day.

Thanks for reminding me that I need to visit AZ again.

[TeamPolarisracing]

first couple of pictures look like nice place to go 4-wheeling

[fmontie]

I once went fishing at Lynx lake outside of Prescott, Arizona. The rainbow trout fishing was excellent casting Mepps spinners. While fishing we learned the DNR just released the trout 1 hour earlier.
A once in a lifetime situation.......
Also fished Apache Lake before--The scenery was better than the fishing..The Salt river has huge bass..

[Shoeman]

If you check the thread for "Day 2", it includes pictures of Mount Lemmon. This is the location of the current wildfires. Looking at the landscape and the lack of access roads, it seems impossible to stop them.

[FREEPOP]

Been to Mount Lemon. What a shame but it is natures way of renewing itself.

Ralph, you been to Arkansas yet?

[Shoeman]

Nope, leaving Saturday. :)

3 weeks of fun

[FREEPOP]

Well hell, give me a map to where your staying. I'm leaving the third to go see my land, that I told you about, that is on the White River. I can look you up and we can consume some adult beverages ;)

[Shoeman]

Looks like we'll miss each other by a day.
We're staying at the Bull Shoal Park and pulling out on the 3rd. If you get there earlier we're on site 54 and 56.

After that it's off to Kendall on the Cumberland

[FREEPOP]

In Kentucky or Tennesee?

We might be able to swing that way as we have no real plans. Scarletfever is not very well traveld she likes sight seeing and getting away from the same old grind.

[Shoeman]

Kendall, Kentucky
Wolf Creek Dam.

Kendall State Park. A friend of mine is stopping by. He's our local guide.

Bring some rainbow Rapalas ;)

[FREEPOP]

I really don't plan on fishing and especially pushing my way into your vacation :)
We have some free time to kill, some relaxing to do and I have been wanting to meet you. Both Splitshot and Spanky had nothing but the nicestest things to say about you (time to make another payment? ;) ) and from all the outings and your own posts, you seem to have a good time.

[Shoeman]

Just bring your rod.
There's always room in the boat for a M-S member.

The Cumberland has been quite high throughout this season. Too much rain in it's drainage basin. It has come down some. Should be a challenge.