Arizona

Arizona, USA – 2011. We were in Las Vegas for the first two weeks of March 2011 and decided to drive down to Mesa, Arizona to meet up with a few friends who winter in the Phoenix area. While in Mesa we took a drive on HWY 88 starting at Apache Junction through the Tonto National Forest to Roosevelt dam and then back to Mesa via Hwys 188 & 60. The best part of the drive was a 20+ mile section of gravel road between Tortilla and Roosevelt dam. We had a rented Jeep and I pushed it a little to see how it would handle on the gravel and it wasn’t to bad other than a flat tire, the first I’ve had in many years. After leaving Mesa, we also stopped off at Salome AZ for a couple of days to visit friends and I was treated to a tour of the surrounding desert and hills using off-road vehicles. That was lots of fun and a great way of seeing the back country.
Chollas cacti, Arizona, USA
Lichen and grass growing on a rock in the Tonto National Forest, Arizona
A Saguaro Cactus, Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Rock formations and a rare green period in Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Rock formations, Tonto National Forest, Arizona
Saguaro Cactus, Arizona
A view from the hills near Salome Arizona. Farmers fields in the flat area between the hills.
An old rusted out Oakland at the Westward Motel in Salome, Arizona
The Westward Motel in Salome, Arizona. Clean, nicely restored rooms and a very friendly owner. It does not look like much from the road, but is a “hidden gem”…
A very pretty flower on a tree, Salome, Arizona
Desert Trails heading toward the hills west of Salome Arizona
On an ATV heading toward the hills west of Salome Arizona
Desert plants, Salome, Arizona
A view from the hills near Salome Arizona. There are lots of trails through the desert and hills . A lot of the trails in the desert around Salome Arizona are…
An abandoned miner’s cabin near Salome, Arizona
A house that had been dug out from the side of a desert wash. It still had the remains of a homemade stove at the very back. Near Salome, Arizona
One of the many trails through the desert and hills west of Salome Arizona
A very deep shaft which is part of an abandoned gold mine near Salome, Arizona
The opening of a horizontal mine shaft near Salome, Arizona