Arizona - Phoenix
April 3: Tucson, AZ to Phoenix, AZ
We drove 1½ hours to Phoenix today, stopping at Casa Grande Ruins on the way. 
The building contains numerous openings that align with summer solstice and the sun and moon at specific times that may have told the people when to plant and harvest their crops. We learned how the Indians dug extensive irrigation canals to bring water from more than 20 miles away and built large communities in the area. The return drive into Phoenix was terrible – we ran into construction and there was heavy traffic everywhere. Just another big sprawling city that encompasses miles of suburbs.
April 4: Phoenix, AZ
We are staying in a huge snowbird park in Mesa, just east of Scottsdale and Phoenix. There are lots of these mobile home parks all over the area – very neat and clean, but really jammed in tight. We stopped at the Heard Museum, but it had changed its focus since I remembered the last time I was there. Previously, it had a lot of Indian historical artifacts and displays, but now it emphasizes modern Native American art. One of the most interesting, and quite depressing, parts of the museum was a gallery devoted to the lives of the children sent to white boarding schools in the late 1800s. We didn’t have time to see everything as we had a tee time at an executive course in Scottsdale that was recommended by Randy and Jo.
We had lunch in the clubhouse and the golf course was gorgeous, but the wind was howling with gusts up to 40 mph that made for good excuses for our bad shots.
April 5: Phoenix, AZ
Today we drove the Apache Trail through the Superstition Mountains just outside Phoenix. The Superstition Mountains are famous for a character nicknamed “the Dutchman” who found a lucrative gold mine, but never revealed its location. Legend has it that no one who followed him survived and the mine’s location has never been found.
This was an incredibly beautiful drive that revealed dramatic, imposing rock formations. The road itself was mostly in good condition, but very steep in places requiring switchbacks. Many scenes from old Western TV shows were filmed along the road, such as Death Valley Days, the Rifleman, and Have Gun will Travel.
We stopped at an interesting town with six permanent residents called Tortilla Flats that only recently obtained phone service. It is now a tourist stop on the drive with an ice cream shop serving prickly pear cactus flavored ice cream, a bar and a couple of souvenir shops. After Tortilla Flats, we endured miles of a narrow, winding, washboard dirt road that passed three beautiful lakes and ended near Roosevelt Lake. 
On our return, we stopped at Tonto National Park which has ancient Indian cliff dwellings overlooking Roosevelt Lake. We climbed 350 feet in a short ½ mile hike with signs that rattlesnakes have the right of way. The self-guided walk among the ruins was very interesting and highlighted the use of T-shaped doorways – some say it was so people could enter with loads of water or food in baskets on their heads. These ruins were occupied almost 300 years – longer than many of the ruins we’ve visited. 
We drove over 200 miles and it took all day. We stopped for groceries before going home to the RV.
April 6: Phoenix, AZ
Jack played golf today – he had a beautiful day. We celebrated his birthday a little early at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Fabulous dinner.
April 7 - 9: Phoenix, AZ to New City, AZ
We left the Phoenix area today – we had enough of the city with its traffic congestion and noise. At the edge of Scottsdale, we stopped at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and school. The property is still a functioning school. When Wright was alive, there was quite a nightlife scene at the compound, including a theater and cabaret.
We stopped at a resort campground in New City where we planned to sit by the pool and relax for a couple of days. The weather on Saturday was too cool for the pool, but we had prepaid, so we spent our day at the resort doing laundry and Jack watched the Masters. They had a theme dance night in the clubhouse Saturday night. The theme was “the tacky tourist”, so we just did what came naturally and celebrated Jack’s birthday dancing the night away….
