On Feb.27 we took friends Lindsey and Rosa Ashby on a great day trip over the Four Peaks road to the basin containing Roosevelt Lake. Then we visited the dwellings at Tonto National Monument, returning to Mesa via Apache Trail, the unpaved Arizona 88.
Our trip was shortly after a winter storm which left snow on the high country, with snowmelt causing intermittent streams to run.
From the pass in the Mazatzal mountain range we saw snow on the nearby peaks, with remnants in the foreground.
This was our first good view of the cliff dwellings preserved at Tonto National Monument at the end of a half mile walk. We walked up steep paved trail shown below.
The natives who lived here for nearly 300 years had a great view of the Tonto Creek basin, now covered by Roosevelt Lake. It is Arizona’s oldest and largest irrigation impoundment entirely within the state.
Rosa and Jo exploring the ruins. Some of the original walls have been stabilized.
The metate is original to the area. Jo is not!
Great view of stabilized walls of the dwellings. The holes on the far right wall are for the logs supporting the second story
On way back on the Apache Trail, which follows the canyon of the Salt River, we drove along Apache Lake and Canyon Lake. Apache Trail was built for freighting materials for the construction of Roosevelt Dam.
Visitors who pause at this scenic view point are rewarded with this view of canyons
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