THURSDAY - I'm sure many of you have heard the tales about the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine here in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona.
I won't bore you with all the details of the legend, but if you are at all interested there is a very good entry in Wikipedia on the subject. If you want, you can read all about it HERE.
Rest assured, we are not here to go in search of the lost gold as thousands of others have since 1892. We're just here to checkout the Superstition Mountain/Lost Dutchman Museum and maybe take a scenic drive up to Theodore Roosevelt Lake along the Apache Trail.
LOST DUTCHMAN STATE PARK
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From miles away you can see the Superstition Mountains rise up from the desert floor.
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We reserved our site here a year ago at $35 a night, now in 2025 it's $50 a night.
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You can't get any closer to the Superstition Mountains pulling a trailer than here.
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Our site has a front and center view of the Superstition Mountains.
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All those trailers closer than us, they don't have water or electric hookups like we do.
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Moments before sunset we heard a buzzing sound up in the sky.
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I sure hope he's not up there every night photobombing everyones shots.
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I could get used to this view every night at sunset.
FRIDAY - Today we are going just a few miles down the road to the Superstition Mountain/Lost Dutchman Museum.
I'm not expecting much since the admission fee is only $7 ($6 for us seniors). There are also a couple of outdoor exhibits to explore too.
LOST DUTCHMAN MUSEUM
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This chapel's claim to fame is that it appeared in the Elvis Presley movie titled "Charro". Never heard of it? That's because it's the only Elvis movie where he didn't sing.
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The 1969 Charro movie was one of Elvis's least profitable movies, but showcased what many believed to be his finest acting skills. He even wore a short beard in the movie!
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Today it's free to visit or rent out as a small wedding venue. For the wedding rental you have a choice, Elvis or no Elvis with the wedding party on stage.
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The chapel was disassembled board by board, then reassembled in it's current location. Upon the rebuilding of it, it was determined the building would be safer if the heavy bronze bell was not placed back upon the steeple.
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They have a very crude, but effective way of dealing with troublemakers here.
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This barn was made famous by the 1948 Audie Murphy film titled "The Arizona Ranger". It was also featured in a dozen other western themed movies.
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This is what a "moving picture camera" looked like in the 1940s.
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They've already decorated the barn for the Christmas Holiday.
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This reminds me of the T. A. Moulton Barn (without the Tetons) in Grand Teton National Park.
SUNDAY - Today we're commited to do the 100+ mile round trip known as the Apache Trail (AZ-88).
We did the top third of this trail went we camped on the Theodore Roosevelt Lake back at the end of January in 2024, so nearly 2-years ago.
In January of 2024 there was a 5-mile section of the Trail closed due to a massive avalanche of snow, rock and mud. This time around the road has been cleared and is open all the way through.
The Trail is officially only 23.6-miles long, but we're starting well below the beginning of the trail here at the Lost Dutchman State Park, plus we are going to be checking out a couple other U.S. Forest Service campgrounds up on Theodore Roosevelt Lake, so our round trip will be just about 100-miles.
THE APACHE TRAIL
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At 7:25AM we were entering the newly-paved western-end of the Apache Trail.
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This poor saguaro was having a very difficult time growing "UP".
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The morning sun was just beginning to illuminate the upper peaks...
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...while the Salt River was still in the shadows.
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This is the first of several bridges that cross over some of the smaller canyons.
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We made it down to the shoreline of the Salt River.
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Soon we were climbing back up to the top of the mesa.
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The sun is creating some of those "glowing" saguaros that Tricia is so fond of.
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It is quite the long view from up here on the top.
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The canyons are getting larger, so I supposed we are headed back down to the bottom.
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Today 9-miles of the Apache Trail is still unpaved, 2-miles of that is 1-lane wide in most spots.
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Here we are getting ready to descend on a wider-section of the 1-lane wide portion.
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That bridge down there straddles the currently dry Fish Creek.
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Looking up the path of Fish Creek you can see the sunlit canyon in the background.
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I'm glad we've now completed the 1-lane section of the Trail.
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Soon the sunlight will be reaching the bottom of these smaller canyons.
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The cottonwood trees are still bright yellow here in mid-December.
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For some reason that flat-top mountain looks familiar.
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That marina down on the shoreline is where we had to turn around 2-years ago.
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The Apache Lake Marina also means we are coming to the end of the gravel roadway.
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The upper Salt River water levels are controlled by the Roosevelt Dam (which we'll see later).
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This saguaro's arms are nearly as long as the central trunk is.
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One of several spur roads off of the Trail. We "won't" be checking that out.
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A 150+ year old saguaro with "arms" on it's "arms".
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We heard a loud noise approachng us from the rear, but I couldn't see anything in the mirrors.
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The copter was there to grab a bucket full of water, usually done during firefighting activities. We didn't see any smoke, so maybe it was just a training exercise?
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The copter was definitely a bonus to the already scenic drive we were on.
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The eastern 12-miles of the Trail has also been recently repaved.
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There it is, the Theodore Roosevelt Dam at the eastern end of the Apache Trail.
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It holds back the water of the Theodore Roosevelt Lake, which is looking kind of low.
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There's the Roosevelt Lake Bridge at the beginning of the Salt River.
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Proof the lake levels are low, here is the ramp at the "closed" Schoolhouse Boat Launch.
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Since neither of us wants to travel down the bumpy Apache Trail back to camp, we'll take the long way around via US-60, which adds 30-miles to our already long route.
MONDAY - Since we decided to not backtrack down the Apache Trail yesterday, we missed some of the earlier stops that we skipped so we would have something left to view on the way down.
Well today we are once again going to get out and explore the Apache Trail, but only the western 12-miles between our campsite and the historic stagecoach town of Tortilla Flats. There's a saloon in town that's supposed to have really good food. We'll let you know how that turns out!
TORTILLA FLATS
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The town of Tortilla Flats (pop. 6 in the 2020 census) is the only town on the Apache Trail.
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We ate lunch at the only place in town, Tortilla Flat's Superstition Saloon, where every inch, of every wall, is covered 3-8 layers deep with an estimated 750,000 $1 bills.
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When I say every inch of every wall I mean it!
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This is the little overflow side-dining hallway where we were seated.
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Tricia had the Pistolero Burro with shredded chicken, roasted red peppers, onions, pepperjack cheese, spanish rice, black beans, in a flour tortilla and topped with 3-cheese queso, diced tomatoes, cilantro and cotija.
I tried the Killer Chili over Sweet Cornbread, topped with cheese, sour cream, plus red and green onions. It was so spicy hot that I only made it halfway through the bowl.
Tricia took one sip of "my" Prickly Pear Lemonade and then I ordered another one for myself.
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All the bar stools were covered with horse saddles. They don't look comfortable to me!
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The rest of these photos are of the various Recreation Areas along the Trail. Most had bathrooms, picnic tables, shade shelters and a few had boat ramps.
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The cholla cactus and the ocotillo in the late afternoon sun.
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That 1000' tall mountain back there is called Weaver's Needle. It has played a significant role in the stories of how to locate the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine.
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Looking back over your shoulder from the Weaver's Needle trailhead is this formation.
TUESDAY - Today we've got a lot of errands to take care of if we plan on leaving tomorrow and arriving in Florida before the New Year. That's only 16-days from now and we're currently over 2000-miles from our Florida destination.
We've got a plan which includes a 2-day stop to visit Tricia's brother in Texas. It also includes a 3-night stop from the day before Christmas to the day after Christmas, because who wants to be on the road for Christmas? There is also an overnight stop in Alabama to get some minor repairs and modifications performed on THE POD.
Before we make this 16-day push to Florida we're going to check all 8 of our tires to make sure they are properly inflated. Then we are going to the gas station to top off ROVER's 36-gallon tank. The first leg of our cross country repositioning is just short of 300-miles from here.
ROVER pretty reliably gets at least 10MPG when we keep it under 65MPH, so we shouldn't need a gasoline stop until the following morning.
Next up is getting ROVER a good wash. The 9-miles of gravel road along the Apache Trail left it's mark all over ROVER's sides and back end. I figure if we treat him right, he'll take good care of us and transport us all the way to Florida without any issues.
Now that ROVER is ready to go, it's time to turn our attention to THE POD. Before we leave our campsite we will fill THE POD's fresh water tank with 39-gallons of water. Then on the way out of the campground we will stop at the dump station and make sure both the black and grey tanks (waste tanks) are completely bone dry.
That's about it for THE POD, the batteries should take care of themselves, as long as the sun comes up each day.
That should be just about it. Oh wait! What about food? We'll need to make another trip to Walmart for some food and beverages.
As a reward for getting all of our chores done we treated ourselves to a BBQ lunch.
This place just opened early last year after a complete remodel and repurpose of the building.
We both ordered the DCB Loaded Potato. Tricia chose the Brisket and I the Pulled Pork. Both potatoes came with avocado + cilantro crema, butter, quesadilla cheese, chipolte aioli, bacon, scallions and cilantro. We also sampled their pickles and pickled onions. We both declined the fried jalapenos, but chose Jarritos Mandarin Orange sodas.
Tomorrow morning we hit the road! (and are aiming for Florida before the New Year)
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
From miles away you can see the Superstition Mountains rise up from the desert floor.
We reserved our site here a year ago at $35 a night, now in 2025 it's $50 a night.
You can't get any closer to the Superstition Mountains pulling a trailer than here.
Our site has a front and center view of the Superstition Mountains.
All those trailers closer than us, they don't have water or electric hookups like we do.
Moments before sunset we heard a buzzing sound up in the sky.
I sure hope he's not up there every night photobombing everyones shots.
I could get used to this view every night at sunset.
This chapel's claim to fame is that it appeared in the Elvis Presley movie titled "Charro".
The 1969 Charro movie was one of Elvis's least profitable movies, but showcased
Today it's free to visit or rent out as a small wedding venue.
The chapel was disassembled board by board, then reassembled in it's current location.
They have a very crude, but effective way of dealing with troublemakers here.
This barn was made famous by the 1948 Audie Murphy film titled "The Arizona Ranger".
This is what a "moving picture camera" looked like in the 1940s.
They've already decorated the barn for the Christmas Holiday.
This reminds me of the T. A. Moulton Barn (without the Tetons) in Grand Teton National Park.
At 7:25AM we were entering the newly-paved western-end of the Apache Trail.
This poor saguaro was having a very difficult time growing "UP".
The morning sun was just beginning to illuminate the upper peaks...
...while the Salt River was still in the shadows.
This is the first of several bridges that cross over some of the smaller canyons.
We made it down to the shoreline of the Salt River.
Soon we were climbing back up to the top of the mesa.
The sun is creating some of those "glowing" saguaros that Tricia is so fond of.
It is quite the long view from up here on the top.
The canyons are getting larger, so I supposed we are headed back down to the bottom.
Today 9-miles of the Apache Trail is still unpaved, 2-miles of that is 1-lane wide in most spots.
Here we are getting ready to descend on a wider-section of the 1-lane wide portion.
That bridge down there straddles the currently dry Fish Creek.
Looking up the path of Fish Creek you can see the sunlit canyon in the background.
I'm glad we've now completed the 1-lane section of the Trail.
Soon the sunlight will be reaching the bottom of these smaller canyons.
The cottonwood trees are still bright yellow here in mid-December.
For some reason that flat-top mountain looks familiar.
That marina down on the shoreline is where we had to turn around 2-years ago.
The Apache Lake Marina also means we are coming to the end of the gravel roadway.
The upper Salt River water levels are controlled by the Roosevelt Dam (which we'll see later).
This saguaro's arms are nearly as long as the central trunk is.
One of several spur roads off of the Trail. We "won't" be checking that out.
A 150+ year old saguaro with "arms" on it's "arms".
We heard a loud noise approachng us from the rear, but I couldn't see anything in the mirrors.
The copter was definitely a bonus to the already scenic drive we were on.
The eastern 12-miles of the Trail has also been recently repaved.
There it is, the Theodore Roosevelt Dam at the eastern end of the Apache Trail.
It holds back the water of the Theodore Roosevelt Lake, which is looking kind of low.
There's the Roosevelt Lake Bridge at the beginning of the Salt River.
Proof the lake levels are low, here is the ramp at the "closed" Schoolhouse Boat Launch.
Since neither of us wants to travel down the bumpy Apache Trail back to camp,
The town of Tortilla Flats (pop. 6 in the 2020 census) is the only town on the Apache Trail.
We ate lunch at the only place in town, Tortilla Flat's Superstition Saloon,
When I say every inch of every wall I mean it!
This is the little overflow side-dining hallway where we were seated.
Tricia had the Pistolero Burro with shredded chicken, roasted red peppers, onions,
All the bar stools were covered with horse saddles. They don't look comfortable to me!
The rest of these photos are of the various Recreation Areas along the Trail.
The cholla cactus and the ocotillo in the late afternoon sun.
That 1000' tall mountain back there is called Weaver's Needle.
Looking back over your shoulder from the Weaver's Needle trailhead is this formation.
