So, Christmas afternoon we made Roosevelt Lake on the eastern side of the Superstition Mountains and the western side of the White Mountains, just south of the Mogollon Rim. This is called the Tonto Basin. The Salt River and Tonto Creek converge here to create the Roosevelt Lake, built in 1910. This is a bowl-like valley that is framed by all the ranges I mentioned above. The vistas are astonishing and the sunsets and sunrises are without equal. Having spent most of the winter last year in AZ we thought we had seen the greatest parts of AZ...wrong! We had no idea this area existed. Sure, we’d seen it on maps, but, maps are just paper and ink.
This area is desperado country, a land of cattle rustlers and long-burning feuds. It’s jagged rock, mesquite and creosote tough. No place for old men. How it became settled to the point that it is settled is a story for the ages. A seasonal vacation hub for some of the residents of Phoenix and Mesa, at this time of year it is relatively empty of people. There ARE full time residents here. Some hardscrabble families have maintained stakes here for over a hundred years. Others, drifters and outlanders, hole up in cabins and mobile homes scattered like tumbleweeds among the arroyos and canyons and the outskirts of the local villages...like Globe, Roosevelt, Young.
Indigenous peoples have claimed this area for centuries as well. Having a permanent source of water, the valley and mountains surrounding here supported humans as long as 11,000 years ago. Closer somewhat to the present, the Salado people occupied the area in cliff dwellings and along benches over the river from around 1000 AD to around 1450 AD when they left the area. Their cliff dwellings are still with us and form the Tonto National Monument, just across the valley from where we are campground hosting. Though nothing as impressive as Mesa Verde or Bandolier, they are inspirational to visit. They formed a network of villages along the valley where they could easily signal each other if visitors to the valley were seen from either end. Their pottery is among the highest art you’ll find in the southwest, no matter what century you stand in.
Apaches of various tribes were and are here as well. San Carlos, White Mountain and other tribes still cling to the mountains and valleys of their ancestors. Some are buoyed now by casinos while others scratch out what they can from wherever they can. To live here in this area, then as now, you have to be tough, resilient, and in tune with the land, the animals, and the spirits. To that point, there are areas around here I am told that tribals will not go into due to bad medicine, evil spirits, and unsavory histories.
Diane and I, early during the new year, made a point of climbing up the long walkway to the ruins of the Salado at Tonto National Monument. The views from the cliff-side perches are almost unrivaled. The interpretive guider there told us about other sites around the valley where villages are located. Looters have had their way in the past, unfortunately, so there is not much more to see than foundations. Dusty, our friend who hosts the horse camp down the valley, tells me that pottery sherds are littered around here if you know where to look. Points, arrowheads, and various tools can apparently be found lying about certain areas as well. For us, just knowing we are standing on the same ground as ancient peoples is enough.
Minerals are an important historical asset here, too. Copper mining has dominated the region for a long time. Gold can be found in the washes and arroyos. Miners and prospectors are here, still. You don’t see them often. They’re scratching away up in the mountains while the larger conglomerate mining companies dig ever deeper into the mountains.
On one of our off days here as camp hosts we took a long drive across the Salt River, up and over the mountains and on to the Mogollon Rim at 7500 ‘ altitude. Snow still carpeted the Ponderosa forest up there from the Christmas day snow storm. Traveling up the two-lane that turns into a dirt road to reach the summit of the Rim, we must have gone through 4 or 5 biomes...climates per se. The desert floor of Suguaro gives way to cedar forests and finally Ponderosa Pines with little rippling streams that eventually water the desert floor below. The views are sublime, astonishing, satisfying, inspirational...grab an adjective, you’ll find it lacking when trying to describe the views.
We reached Young, AZ around noon, just in time for a quick lunch at a local restaurant. Well, there is one restaurant there, but that’s it. The food was good, not great. But then, this town is not a tourist mecca. In fact, it’s the kind of place you might go to disappear. There’s no cell coverage here that we could find. There’s no gas station, no Chamber of Commerce, nothing but this little restaurant and a scattering of houses and cottages, dogs running loose, cars in yards, and a beautiful little creek running on the outskirts of town. Our waitress told us that three separate people hiding here over the years had later been identified by America’s Most Wanted and captured after they left town. That’s a pretty high percentage versus the rest of the US for a little town of maybe 100 souls. As I said, it’s a great place to disappear to.