The Superstitions, Goldfield, Tortilla Flats

The Superstitions

Superstition is a big word in Apache Junction. The cause is the mountains pictured here, named by the local Indians as the Superstition Mountains. They are visible from our campsite in Superstition Buttes 55+ park, which is just down the road from Superstition Boulevard.

Watching the mountains is a little like watching the lake, or watching the ocean. If you look at them over time, you can envision different moods and feelings that the mountain range will offer, from glowing in the late afternoon sun, hiding behind low clouds, or standing strong in midday. Forgive me, but growing up in nothing more than hills in Massachusetts, and living in the flatlands of Minnesota for 20 years, I am amused and inspired by seeing these geologic wonders.

One day last week, Bill and Pat said, "C'mon, we're going to ride out to Tortilla Flats." This was fine with us, since Consuelo had heard about the place, without really knowing what it was, but wanted to go check it out. So we planned to have lunch out there, and packed into Bill's SUV.

Our first stop was Goldfield, the first town outside Apache Junction. Goldfield had been a goldmine town, now was a tourist attraction with western flair. They have their collection of buildings dating from the 1880's, including a hotel, a bordello, and a collection of merchant shops.

Goldfield cowboys in town

To keep the tourists amused, they stage a gunfight in the streets every couple of hours. They also offer horse rides, train rides, and you can pan for gold.

We spent an hour of so looking in the shops, watching the gunfight and Pat checked out the Bordello She is an honorary deputy sheriff back in Massachusetts, and when the Madam in the bordello told her that they waived the $2.00 entrance fee for law enforcement, she whipped out her badge and got her $2.00 back. Seems unfair to me.

The 4 of us with the wooden Indian

After leaving Goldfield, we continued up a tortuous winding road, route 88, which eventually winds its way up to Roosevelt dam. The next attraction along the way, normally, is Canyon Lake. But the lake was virtually empty, as it had been drained to perform routine maintenance on the dam. Roosevelt, Canyon and Saguaro are 3 of the man-made lakes on the Salt River, providing fresh water and electric power to the Phoenix area.

Downtown Tortilla Flats

Our next and final stop was Tortilla Flats, a former stagecoach stop along the Apache Trail, that became a town of 125 when folks were travelling back and forth to build Roosevelt Dam, back in early part of the 20th century. The current resident population is 6, and there is a restaurant, a general store, and a small museum.

The restaurant has a small but inviting menu of burgers and Mexican fare, reasonably priced. They were doing a good business, as apparently lots of folks make the winding trip out to see a little town at the end of the hard road.

Paintings in the ladies room

Pat and Consuelo went to the ladies room and saw these great paintings on the walls and stall doors. Consuelo came back and got my camera and took a few pictures. Thy were quite hilarious.

After lunch we checked out the museum, then made our way back to AJ to catch a nap.