Highway 88

Took a scenic drive on AZ Highway 88 last Saturday with the Worden's.  We've been talking about doing this drive for years, and finally confirmed a date and we were off.....


We headed toward Canyon Lake off Highway 60 and soon came across this sign.... so we stopped, our first of many.... The 'town' wasn't opened yet, but we walked around and checked the place out anyway!  After we strolled through this cute little town, we were 'on the road again' to Canyon Lake.

Entrance to the ghost town

an old collapsing shack

An old water tower

The view from the ghost town

The drive to the lake was short and we discovered a campground right on the water with hook-ups, we'll need to check that out soon! The weather was still cool and we drove with the windows down while we viewed the beautiful blue water against the contrasting stark desert.

The first bridge at Canyon Lake

View from the bridge

Drove along side the lake and as we exited into the next valley you could see Tortilla Flat, don't blink or you'll miss the whole town!  It was still early, so didn't try any of the Prickly Pear Ice Cream, but got some cool pics!

Tortilla Flat

An old wagon and wheel

Old electric lines

Driving along, we saw a vista where you could view the entire valley, so we stopped.  We ventured out onto the point and were able, with the help of the binoculars, view several cars that plummeted from the road!

View from the point back towards Canyon Lake

So, the drive continues on 22 miles of curvy 10 MPH dirt road!

On and on we drove, over one-lane bridges, onward through the desert, until we came upon Apache Lake.  We drove down to take a closer look and snapped this beauty of a turkey vulture hunting in the day use area.

Turkey Vulture hunting

We only passed a few boats on the way, I guess that's why this lake is so cool, not a lot of boaters on it.  Saw lots of camping areas with access to the lake, not sure if we ever will bring the pontoon here or not because of the drive.  At least we wouldn't come for the day!

Apache Lake narrowing as it nears the dam

More of the desert beauty

The lake narrowed and we knew that we were finally were reaching Roosevelt Dam.  The end of our scenic drive of Highway 88.  But the journey didn't end there, the fishing poles were in the back just hankerin' to be thrown in the water!

Roosevelt Dam

Ken fishin'

Otto fishin'

Cheryl and Bea reading, relaxing and sippin' some wine!

Once we decided no fish were biting, we were off for the drive home and on the lookout for something to eat! Our throats were parched and tummies definitely growling!

Punkin Center for dinner or.....

Blue Adobe Grille......

Well, the Blue Adobe Grille it was!  And, it was delicious, a nice refreshing margarita on the rocks and one of the best mexican dinners we've had in a long time!  Yeah, and it was all so spontaneous and on a whim!  The whole day so far had been an adventure and full of anticipation of what was around the next bend. 

Ken and Bea

Otto and me

After dinner Ken suggested a stop at Casino Arizona.  It's funny how we've lived in AZ for 12 years now, and before this last summer, we had only been to a casino once or twice.  In the last two months we've been four times.

We stopped at the bar on the way in and grabbed a beer then each took $50 bucks and agreed to meet back at the bar in one hour - win or lose!  So, off the guys went in one direction, Bea and I in the other.  As I dropped 20 pretty quickly, I decided to try my hand at black jack but was sitting with Bea at a 'Flamin' Hot' machine and what do you know, on her second spin, she wins the progressive pot of $517, and she only played .80 cents.  Yes, folks, you can win big on the penny machines!  Well, of course, we made her buy the next round and we saluted her win with a Kamikazee!  As for the rest of us, well after black jack I was even and the guys, well I never even asked!
That should've been the end of the story as I was pretty tired ..... but not yet.  I guess the guys were scheming on the drive home from the casino to pick up our truck at the Worden's house and the next thing ya know we were at the Sky Box playing darts!  What can I say?  This was an amazing day with twists and turns around every corner of dirt and paved road!  Another adventure that ended with smiles, satisfied tummies and a very restful night's sleep for all.