Set off Tuesday through Sun City, Glendale ,
Phoenix , Tempe
and Mesa to
Apache Junction. There, we drove up the
Apache Trail to the Superstition
Mountain Museum .
Long considered an eerie spot by the Pima Indians, their
fears were dismissed by early white settlers as mere superstitions; thus the
name. Volcanic in origin, the
odd-looking mountain is a National Preserve and no vehicles are allowed on
it. The museum contained many Indian
artefacts and quite a bit of info/relics from the gold-mining days, including
The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine.
Located in the Sonoran
Desert , the museum
grounds are decorated with plants such as the Cholla ( cho-ya) or “jumping”
cactus whose barb-equipped thorns are triggered by hair-fine sensors and bury
themselves in the skin of the unwary. This
drags the seed pods off the plant, making it seem as though they jumped onto
the passerby. Another good reason for
the cowboys to wear chaps. Also in
evidence are signs warning about snakes and the need for tourists to stay on
the paths.
The Sonoran
Desert is considered one
of the only “living” deserts. Although
it receives less than 7 inches of rain a year, it is green with living plants. When it does rain, it apparently comes down in
monsoon-like fashion though, and signs everywhere warn of the possibility of
flash-floods on the next bit of road.
This was followed by lunch at the Dutchman’s Hideout and a
visit to the nearby gold-mining Ghost Town.
Thronging with tourists, the ghost town once boasted 6 saloons and three
bordellos for the 1500 or so gold miners camped around the area.
On up the road into increasingly mountainous terrain to the
Canyon Lake Vista in the Tonto National Forrest. We had thought to press on to Tortilla Flats
but the desolation and a falling gas gauge persuaded us to retreat.
After gassing up, we enjoyed yet another 10-lane highway (complete
with signs like “Right Three Lanes Must Exit”) back to Surprise where we treated
ourselves to an expensive but quite good Sushi dinner.
Ghost Town
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