We decided to spend the rest of the Winter in Valle del Oro Resort in Mesa, Arizona. We got a telephone installed at the motorhome (so we can surf the net, Yea) and had a daily newspaper delivered to our door. Our friends Jim and Patty Hammond were in the site behind us and we had many outings and meals together.

The Apache Trail Circle Route, a 120 miles scenic route, was Arizona's first historic and scenic highway. It goes through deserts, mountains, by cliff dwellings, along lake shores, through old mining towns and through beautifully eroded canyons. We spent a full day driving the route with the Hammonds. Starting in Apache Junction on state route 88 we drove by Goldfield Ghost Town, but did not stop as it would take a full day to tour. Next was Bluebird which like Goldfield, is located in the Superstition Mountain Mining District. Mammoth Mine produced three million dollars in gold bullion over a four year period 1892-1896. We passed Lost Dutchman State Park where we will attend a "campout" next month and report on that area. Next, we entered Tonto National Forest which did not look like a forest to us. Instead of trees the forest contains Saguaro cactus, Teddy Bear cholla, creosote and lots of dead looking shrubs. The trail took us by Canyon Lake, volcanic rock formations and the most famous mountain in Arizona, Superstition Mountain that rises 3,000 feet above desert floor.

At Tortilla Flat, an old stagecoach stop, we stopped for lunch. The town was constructed in 1904 and presently has a population of six inhabitants. We ate hamburgers in an outdoor restaurant and listened to three cowboys pick, sing and spin down-home humor. Leaving Tortilla Flat the paved road turned to sand and the beauty intensified. At Fish Creek Hill the narrow road hugs the mountain side with a 10% down hill grade. After crossing some creeks on one-lane bridges, we arrived at Apache Lake, Four Peaks and Goat Mountain. There is great bass fishing in Apache Lake but we did not wet any hooks. Several miles up water we found Roosevelt Dam. At one time it was the largest masonry constructed dam in the world and was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1911. The dam forms Roosevelt Lake, the largest lake within the boundary of Arizona.

Back on paved road we passed Tonto National Monument. We would like to have visited the center to study the ancient Salado Indians, their culture and their ruins, but we did not have enough time. We will return someday. On the drive toward Miami we saw abandoned copper mines that drastically changed the original landscape forever. On down highway US 60 is Pinal Mountains with Signal Peak, 7812 feet above sea level. Further west the road descends into Devil's Canyon and Queen Creek Canyon with beautiful and breathtaking formations reaching skyward. Near the town of Superior is found the Silver King Mine that produced fifteen million dollars of silver. Mining began there in 1875. Leaving the Tonto National Forest at Weaver Needle and Gonzales Pass we settled back into the typical Sonora Desert environment for our drive around Superstition Mountain and into the Valley of the Sun. We recommend if you are in the Phoenix area you take a relaxing day trip around the Apache Trail. Here are some of the pictures. (Click on pictures to see full size.)


Biosphere 2 (the Earth is Biosphere 1) was constructed north of Tucson in the late 1980's with $150 million in funding from Texas oil magnate Edward Bass. We had heard about the enclosure and experiments and wanted to visit and study it firsthand. We drove there with Jim and Patty Hammond, Bart and Holly Creasy, and David and Mary DeMersseman. (We all own Dutch Star motorhomes and met through e-mail.) The night before our trip it had snowed in the desert and we stopped to make pictures of snow covered cactus. Biosphere 2 is an air tight replica of Earth's environment covering 3.15 acres with 7.2 million cubic feet under cover. Inside Biosphere 2 is a rain forest, ocean, marsh, desert, savanna, an agro-forest and human habit living quarters. In 1991 eight people, four men and four women, were sealed inside the enclosure for a two year experiment. They were to live off the land, grow their food and even produce their own oxygen. But the oxygen level dropped and had to be supplemented and their food consisted mostly of vegetables and bananas because that is all they could grow. The eight participants completed their two year stay but each lost at least forty pounds of weight. In 1994 a second crew of seven people, five men and two women, were sealed inside to begin a second experiment. After a few months there were physical and social problems and the experiment was abandoned. Since 1996 Columbia University has managed Biosphere 2. Today experiments are conducted on global warming, oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide levels in plant growing environments.

The NHRA Winston Drag Races were held at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix and we attended with the Hammonds. Norm had not attended drag races since the 1960's and racing has certainly changed. We joined tens of thousand of fans for a full day of racing. It is hard to believe a car (got to be kidding, these are not real cars) can travel start to finish, 1/4 mile, under five seconds with a speed in excess of 320 mph. The noise emitted from the cars was deafening even with ear plugs placed firmly in our ears plus hands over our ears. The vibrations shook the stands and our bones and almost floored Linda a couple of times. Our visit to pit row was interesting as we watched teams of mechanics rebuild cars and engines on spot. Most of the cars have three or four spare engines at a cost of 45 to 50 thousand dollars each. We enjoyed the day and learned much as we continue to educate our way across America.

The Hammonds accompanied us to Centennial Center Park in Mesa where we ate a picnic lunch while listening to a quartet of saxophone players. Then we walked up and down Main Street looking at sculptures by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. Mr. Johnson, a world renown painter and sculpturer, creates life-like and life-sized bronze sculptures of average people. The city of Mesa had on display thirty-two of his sculptures. (They were rented through March 31, 2001.) It was interesting to walk down the streets seeking out each one and studying it.

We will stay at Valle del Oro Resort through the month of March. In the middle of the month we will take a five day vacation and fly back to Kentucky to visit family. Check back next month.

Note: In February Norm's sister Gloria and her husband Don Martin purchased their first motorhome. We are excited for them and welcome them to the RVing community. We will send them a house warming gift, Ron and Barb Hofmeister's book "Movin' On - Living and Traveling Full Time in a Recreational Vehicle." This book is a must for those living part-time or full-time in a RV. Click on the link above to see the Hofmeister's website.