September 21, 2008

September 21, 2008

From the Mogollon Rim area we drove south down out of the pine-forested mountains thru desert hills eventually coming to Roosevelt Lake. This reservoir of the Salt River is an oasis in the desert east of Phoenix. Along the shore we stop at Tonto National Monument. Hoping to see the Lone Ranger, Aimee is disappointed to find it is another ancient Indian ruin. This one is sort of a bust. The Visitor Center movie is out of order, and the ruins are closed because of a Killer Bee infestation. Nonetheless, we take the very short hike uphill to admire the ruins, from afar, set in a notch surrounded by Giant Saguaro cacti.

From Tonto we finish the long drive to Tucson, ending our 3rd summer of travel.