Mesa, Arizona

We arrived in Mesa, Arizona, which is a suburb of Phoenix. Mike has relatives that live in and around this area. Some he hadn't seen in over 20 years.

Our home base was Apache Wells RV Resort; and it was a nice place to call home for a few months.

We took a beautiful drive through the Superstition Mountains. And what a drive that was! The first time we got as far as Tortilla Flats; when we were met with water rushing over the road. Not sure if we wanted to go on or not; we decided to ponder this over lunch.

The only restaurant was old and delapitated. There were signed $1 bills stapled all over the walls, window sills, bars, etc. And the bar stools were saddles. The food was great, but I'm pretty sure the place wouldn't pass a health inspection.

We decided not to go on; as we weren't sure if there would be more running washes or not. A few days later, we decided to take this drive again. This time we approached it from US 60; and started the drive at the Roosevelt Dam.

Now, we have been on some beautiful drives; but this one takes the cake - so far. The road was dirt and very narrow. Now keep in mind, we drive a Ford F-350. The posted speed limit for this road was 15 mph and for the most part I averaged around 5 to 8. The mountains were on our left; and there were 3 lakes on our right. First the Roosevelt; then the Apache; and then Canyon Lake.

Of course there were sagauro's and other variety of cactus all over the place. It was a little surreal though; as it was just before Christmas and we were singing along to "let is snow" "white christmas" etc.; as the sun was shining; and no sign of snow anywhere.

The drive ended at Tortilla Flats; and the water was still rushing; but not as deep or as fast as before; so we went through. The drive was from start to finish was roughly 40 miles; and took around 5 hours.

There were a few times we had to pull over for another vehicle; and hoped that our mirrors wouldn't hit each other. That's how tight it was. This is also where we earned our first "desert pinstriping". Desert pinstripping is like a badge of honor. Shows you're not afraid to take your vehicle off road. Well, we met up with a nasty looking ocotillo. The scratch starts at the headlight; and goes right to the tail light on the passenger side. It was while passing another vehicle when this happened. And trust me when I say this, it wasn't the only scratch that we got.

A few days later, December 21st, we took this drive again; and took part in a special tribute to our sister-in-law Rosie's, mom. It was a very special day.

Take a look at the pictures we've posted.