And we lived to tell about it.....(part two)

For our trip home we decided to take the scenic route. After all, Kat (our guide at the ruins) said it was worth the trip. We had a brochure that explained some of what we would see. First was the Roosevelt Lake Bridge immediately followed by the Roosevelt Lake Dam which was then followed by high and winding roads with steep drop offs! Remember my fear of heights? And I let Carrie drive which put me on the really scary side!!!! Did I mention that 22 miles was unpaved? Kat said there were "some" washboard areas but it was more like "all"!! A good portion of the road was also for only one car! Thus the traffic jam. And all the bridges except one at the end was for one lane only! I was beginning to hate seeing new signs at this point. This scenic tour took us 2 1/2 hours to go the 22 miles! That's an average of 5 mph! Most of this scenic byway had no guard rails. Then when it did they looked awfully puny to me. Not sure they would have held a motorcycle in let alone a car! The scenery was beautiful but when we got to Fish Creek we understood why stagecoach passengers often opted to walk!!!! With a 1500 foot drop to the bottom, dirt roads, one-lane traffic, and crazy drivers coming toward you, etc. I was thinking walking might be a good option. The ONLY problem was it would put me out in the open with my fear of heights AND it would take 10 times as long! I opted to take pictures by hanging my hand and camera out the window and not looking at what I was shooting. It seemed a little safer that way....hmmmm. Well, I must say that Carrie was a VERY, VERY good driver and we came out of this "once in a lifetime experience" unscathed. At least physically. Okay, it did take Carrie awhile to unwrap her fingers from the steering wheel and actually get the blood circulating in them again. I, on the other hand, was quite calm!!! Well, I must admit, I did want to stop and kiss the pavement when it came into view but Carrie said we had to push on. Did I mention it was starting to get dark before we were off the dirt road? We discussed the fact that it might have been a better trip in the dark, but then we would have missed the scenery!!!! We promptly found a favorite diner (we found it the night before) to celebrate with hamburgers, fries, and malts!!! Whew....never again. That's why it was a "once in a lifetime experience!"

And we lived to tell about it.....(part one)

I have been wanting to hike up to these ruins for a while now but didn't have anyone to go with me. You can see the upper ruins on the left ---- way, way up there -- 1 1/2 miles up many, many switchbacks. See the little, tiny parking lot and visitor's center on the bottom right? We also hiked to the lower ruins on the upper right which was only 1/2 a mile of switchbacks - piece of cake.


Our journey began at 6 a.m. as Carrie and I got up to get ready to leave on our excursion. We tossed around the idea of avoiding traffic and driving a roundabout way to get to the Tonto National Monument but decided to be brave and go the direct route. We left the house at 7 am (just in time to see how many cars commute from Maricopa to various points east) for our 10 am reserved tour of the "Prehistoric Indian ruins." We figured about 2 1/2 hours and we'd be there and even with traffic we made our goal. We had a quick snack, grabbed our bottles of water, camera in hand, and our jackets. The day started out overcast and as we began our hike the clouds were very low. Kat (short for Katriana I believe) was our tour guide. There were only five of us on the tour - a couple from Colorado, a friend of Kat's from the East Coast, Carrie from Wisconsin, and me from Arizona. We started on a paved trail which quickly turned to a creek bed (probably where the Salado people got their water) with water and lots and lots of various colored rocks. Some of the rocks ended up in the roots of trees high up on the banks which proved that the creek would flood occasionally. We didn't count how many switchbacks we had but there were tons! Good thing because there is no way we could have gone straight up. The Salados probably had a more direct route but no one knows for sure. Kat would stop us (and we appreciated the chance to catch our breath) and point out various things along the trail. She told us about the plants, including cacti, that the Salados would use to eat, medicate with, weave with, and even sew with. She pointed out some of the animals known to frequent the area as a camera set to photo the various animals revealed there were skunk, deer, bobcat, gray fox, black bear, javalina to name a few.


















As we continued to climb we noticed that we were in the clouds and then above them. It was quite spectacular. Only after we had been in the ruins for a while did the cloud cover dissipate and we would see Lake Roosevelt below. In the time of the Salados (which means Salt) there was no lake. Instead the Salt River ran its course down into the Valley of the Sun. In 1911 the dam was created to prevent the river from drying up in the summer and flooding during the monsoon season as well as at other times. The earlier Indians - the Hohokams - had created canals to irrigate their farmland but the river's flooding would wipe out their hard work.















Once inside the ruins we were able to enter most of the rooms. It was interesting to see that they had built at least two stories and may have had a third but most of the ruins have not been excavated so the only clue is a hollow sound when you stomp on the floor. One park ranger did fall through a roof in the 1990's but wasn't seriously hurt. We weren't invited into that room!


Interestingly enough there are still artifacts in the ruins even though vandals had destroyed a lot of it prior to the National Park Service taking it over in the 1940's. We saw an original corn cob that was only about three inches long!














The cave dwelling consisted originally of about 40 rooms built over the years. They were made of rock and mud for chinking. It is estimated that approximately 120 people lived in this community at one time. For more information you might want to check out the website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/views/sites/tont/HTML/00_Index.htm click on the picture of the upper ruins and you will be able to see pictures and read about each room and the life of the Salados.


Our journey down was a lot different that our journey up - for one thing I could see how high we were because the clouds had lifted! Ouch. For someone that doesn't like heights I think I was being watched over on the way up - not sure if I would have done it if I could have seen where we were! After we returned from the hike to the upper ruins we ate our picnic lunch and decided to hike up to the lower ruins. I think that hike was shorter but still hard because it was a lot steeper - only two switchbacks! But we made it! You can click on the website to see more about the lower ruins.

Here is a short clip of the front of the upper ruins and a view of the vista looking out from the ruins. It was fun to imagine what the Salados life was like and how they must have enjoyed the view ---- not that they had time to sit around and look at it, I'm sure.

We are almost to the lower ruins.....

From the lower ruins looking out at Lake Roosevelt ---- another stunning view.

This photo shows the lake, hills, parking lot, and visitor's center. Sure looks tiny from way up there! (Notice you can see the barrier - proof I wasn't brave enough to hang over the edge to get a photo!)

Stay tuned for part two......

Student of the Month....

Puppy school has been quite interesting....Duchess is being homeschooled and as any homeschooling parent knows, there is plenty of responsibility involved. Teaching moments come all day long but some you just have to make a special effort. Today was one of those days and we took the opportunity of taking Duchess with us to the post office so she could learn some "car manners". She is a very good student but I need to remember that she is still in kindergarten (she is four months old now). Here are a couple photos of her. The first one is as we are driving to the post office. She needed constant reminding to sit and stay because there were so many distractions. So much to see and hear!!! She really did quite well for her first session. The second picture is at the post office while we were waiting for Larry. She could hear the flag snapping in the wind, cars pulling into the parking lot, people getting in and out of cars, birds singing, and who knows what else. What joyful stimulations!!! The third picture is a closeup of the second picture but really illustrates her intense concentration. Oh what fun things are out there in the world! (Side note: I am truly grateful that we chose to only go to the post office today with Duchess. She wore out her teacher!)

Reflections on 2008....

Reflections of 2008 remind me of what I am thankful for. Here are some of those things:


First I must say that I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He has paid the price I could not pay to return to my Father in Heaven and live with my loved ones for eternity. He has shown his love for me in ways I am not yet able to comprehend. What an example!

Old friends

New friends in Maricopa.

Larry's mom still being with us. She's the last of our parents.

Spending time with family. It's always the best!

Thankful for our girls.... Snickers, Lady, & Duchess

For a temple marriage that makes us....

an eternal family.

Grandkids are the best:

Tierra

Taunie

Tenajha

Taleah

Matthew, Kirsten, Amy

Marty

DavidMelissa

Aleana









and Callen (of whom I don't have a current photo).

Getting together with extended family...