January 6, 2014: Apache Junction, Arizona.
Time flies when you’re having fun at Sunrise RV Resort (a.k.a. The Wrinkle Ranch).
We arrived at Sunrise RV
Resort back on December 15th and that day marked our “first ever”
stay in an RV resort. We’ve been so busy
since we got here I have completely neglected my blog! I have found that a mental block sets in
every time I sit down to work on the blog, so I’m going to try to give you the
really short version of December 15, 2013 to the present so I can get back on
track.
NOTICE: It’s a resort – not a campground!
Thinking we were staying at
an “RV campground” we were surprised to find more park models than RVs. It’s like a whole new world opened up before
us. Who woulda thunk all these folks
would buy park models and come down here from the far northern reaches of the
US and Canada year after year to the same tiny little houses to bask in the
warm Arizona sun? Well they do … and
they love it! And we’re starting to love
it too!
You’ll find us at the corner of SURPRISE and MIDWEST.
The finagling it took to
get the Moose into this spot was nothing to sneeze at. SURPRISE and MIDWEST on one side, and a STOP
sign across the narrow street – and we had to wiggle our way between them. We did it on our first try thereby not embarrassing
ourselves in front of our new neighbors.
Moon over Apache Junction!
On our first evening we took a walk around the resort with a nearly full moon
glowing beyond the palm trees. It was
warm and beautiful and a nice welcome to the neighborhood.
The itsy-bitsy Christmas decorating competition.
Christmas decorations
abound on many of the tiny little houses.
What a fun evening to walk through the neighborhood and check out all
the Christmas decorating ideas.
Don’t have room for a
Christmas tree in your tiny house? Just
tape a picture of a decorated tree on your storm door, turn on an interior
light, and ta-da – you have your Christmas tree. Now there’s a creative space-saving idea for
you. And, when it’s time to take down
the tree and all the decorations, the job’s done in about 2 minutes. I like it.
A day trip on the Apache Trail Historic Road and Tortilla Flat … and another day trip to Tortilla Flat.
We take a drive up the
Apache Trail (State Highway 88) with my sister and her husband with our final
destination being a lookout point before the road turns into a narrow one-lane gravel
road. The Canyon Lake area is very
pretty with the Saguaro cacti. Not much
activity during December.
Farther up the Apache Trail
we come to Tortilla Flat – a little enclave of buildings along one side of the
road. The Superstition Saloon has great
eats so we stop in for lunch. This was
also one of our older brother’s favorite haunts when he spent time in the area.
Nice wallpaper! The saloon is covered with George Washington’s
face. I wonder if the establishment is insured
for the face value of these dollar bills?
Before leaving Superstition
Saloon we stop at the Ladies Room. Now
this is an unusual site. Dance hall
girls decorate the doors to each stall with the Madam overseeing the ladies. Very cute!
Back on the road after a
great lunch we wind our way up the toward the lookout point. This is where the road turns into one-lane
and we end our journey, but not before we walk out to the lookout points and
take some pictures. The views are beautiful
in every direction.
Mountain ranges beyond
fading nearly into the color of the sky.
What absolutely beautiful,
rugged landscape.
This is the one-lane road
that winds down into the canyon and disappears behind the shear golden wall of
rock. This scenic road passes Apache
Lake, Theodore Roosevelt Lake, and winds through mountains and canyons before circling
back to Apache Junction (via SH88 and SH60).
I’d like to take this trip in the Jeep if we can fit it in before
leaving the area.
We loved this day trip so
much the first time we decide to do it all over again a few days later. Jack’s sister and her husband from Colorado
are visiting over Christmas and wanted to take the drive up the Apache
Trail. We make it as far as Tortilla
Flat for another fantastic burger at Superstition Saloon. Awesome!
A family Christmas.
We missed spending Christmas with our sons and their families in Colorado, but were still able to enjoy the holidays with numerous
visits and many wonderful shared meals with other members of both Jack’s and my families. My sister and her husband. Her son from the Phoenix area. Her daughter and family from Flagstaff. Jack’s sister from Carefree (just north of
Phoenix). His sister and her husband
visiting from Colorado. What a blessing
to have spent time with all of them over the holidays.
2014 starts off with a BANG!
We are looking forward to exciting
new adventures in the New Year, but …...
what we weren’t expecting
was the excitement of the Fire Department showing up at SURPRISE and MIDWEST –
yes, at the Moose – only a few short days after the New Year was upon us. I'll tell that story in my next post. Until then, stay safe. We're sure trying to!
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