Theodore Roosevelt Dam, Apache Trail and the Tonto Basin Monument

 Sheila wakes up at 6:45 and sees this view out our bedroom window. Nice way to start the day. 

Sunrise on Theodore Roosevelt Lake, AZ

We made prior plans with Gille and Mary Strasbourg, friends from Alberta, to spend the day together. First up is a stop at the Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River, built between 1905 and 1911

Theodore Roosevelt Dam - east end creating the lake.

The Theodore Roosevelt Lake Bridge is the longest two-lane, single-span, steel-arch bridge in North America. It spans 1080 feet across Roosevelt Lake. 

Impressive bridge. 

The addition of the bridge was part of the dam renovation and expansion in the 1990's. The dam height was raised plus prior to the completion of the bridge, traffic travelled directly on top of the dam. 

Sheila and Mary - school buddies from kindergarten to graduation. 

We head off the main highway 188 onto state route 88 known as the Apache Trail. It is a rugged winding road following the Salt River, constructed back in 1904 to provide access to the building of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. It is super scenic but not for the faint of heart driver. 

Apache Trail along the Salt River. 

We continue down the Apache Trail to the Burnt Corral campground, which is quite literally the first chance we have to get Gille and Mary's truck turned around and head back out to the dam and highway 188. . 

Sheila, Gille, Mary and Chris at Burnt Corral campground.

We continue down highway 188 to the Tonto National Monument, where two cliff dwellings that were occupied from 1300 - 1450 are located. 

Mary at the Monument :)

We hike up to the lower cliff dwelling. It  is easy to see why it was a very strategic location for the cliff dwellers. Great views of the valley to watch for enemies plus total shade for the extreme heat summer would bring. 

Lower cliff dwelling. 

View from the lower cliff dwelling. 

The upper cliff dwelling is only available to see on a booked, guided tour. We are told if we head down the highway another mile to the viewpoint, we'd be able to see the upper dwelling with binoculars. Thankfully Gille and Mary have a couple sets of binoculars and yes...we can see it way up in the mountain in the distance. 

Back to our trailer after a fantastic day of adventure for lasagna. Later than night we head outside to try to see some of the 6 planets that are supposed to be in total alignment today. We think we see 4 of them.