Roosevelt Lake View and more

Well, It's been awhile since I posted. So many things to do! Anyway, this last Tuesday we headed south on Highway 87 and after some complicated manuvering to get on the northbound lane, we stopped at mile marker 231. High up on a hillside, we parked the cars and organized ourselves for the hike.

It was probably the best day of the week, sunshine and fairly warm temps. We hiked about a mile in, passing a lot of rocks and even a white quartz vein at the surface. There were a couple of steep spots with lots of loose rock but eventually we got to a hilltop with a great view of Roosevelt Lake in the distance.

This is where we stopped to have a snack. With the recent rains, there was quite a bit of grass (this is range land) and overall, a very pleasant spot with views all 360 degrees around us.

The hike back was a little more strenuous as we had to hike up the steep hills we had come down but it didn't take too much longer to go out than it had to hike in. A really nice day out!

On the 21st, we hiked to the Gisela Bridge. We drove out to Jake's Corners, on Rt 188, and opposite the general store, turned onto a dirt road. We went about 1/4 mile and parked in a pretty good sized parking area. From here we hiked along the forest road about 2 or 2.5 miles. All along the way were lots of nice rocks, and long views across the area to the surrounding mountains.

The hike in was uphill, but not steep, about 1/2 way to the bridge. Then downhill to the Tonto Creek and the bridge. Along the way were steep spots where people decided to dump thier trash. A shame really as this is a pretty area.

We took a break at the bridge, an iron structure, not too long.

Sand had blown into the supports over the years and under the bridge, there were several spots where cactus had sprouted and was growing in the supports.

This was a special hike because it was Randy's birthday.
He packed in some small cups and a bottle of champagne which he shared with the other 24 hikers on the trip. He also brought along a piece of cake and a candle. We sang happy birthday of course.

The hike out was uneventful, we of course collected a few rocks to add to our collection.

On the 14th, we again headed out to the Jake's Corner area. Just a mile or so past the store, we pulled off onto a forest road and parked. We hiked out along the road toward the Tonto Creek.
This was not a difficult hike and again, expansive views were available all along the way.

We reached a spot high up the cliff over looking the Tonto Creek. We could see the remains of an old gold mine on the opposite cliff face. On our side, there was a memorial plaque to a kayaker who died in this area during
high water in the creek.
Again, great views up and down the creek.


On the way back, we took a little detour at the cars and hiked a little way in a different direction. We stopped on a hilltop to take in the views and hiked back to the car. Again, all along the way many of us stopped to examine, and maybe collect, interesting rocks. Our friend Diane found a really great rock, a natural conglomerate of different rocks in a gray rock base. Cool!

This was the holiday hike so after the hike we all met at the casino in a separate room to have lunch together. What a nice treat!