COLORFUL ROCKS

The rocks at the dam are very colorful, sometimes many colors in just one.

They're even prettier to the naked eye. Here's a bunch of them.

Lots of color in the hill.


Too many saguaros to count.

Just had to show you the curvy area as you leave the dam.

ON TO ROOSEVELT DAM AND LAKE

(I'm sorry this is taking so much time to finish the entry on this trip. I've been trying to get the contents of the shed gone through and put away-or gotten ready to get rid of. People are returning and activities will be increasing, so I won't have as much time. I'm determined to get this done today-and maybe get caught up. We'll see if the fickle finger of fate intrudes on my plan!) Anyway, we headed down the road from Jake's Corner, and drove along Roosevelt Lake for many miles.
We could see this bridge in the distance, and finally went across it.

If you look the other direction, you can see the dam.

You can drive to the other side of the dam where they have a reststop.

Don was intrigued with an old tunnel that was closed-you cansee the other end in the picture.. He spent a lot of time looking at the hills to find the other end-I guess it's a guy thing.

JAKE'S CORNER, AZ

Our oldest grandson is named Jake, so when we came upon this place in the middle of nowhere, we just had to stop. It consists of a bar, store, RV campground, gas station and laundry. What more would you need?

Who wouldn't want your name on this?

Even this town has rules!

We quickly decided to move on!

FISH HATCHERY CONT.

There were some nice sized trout in the pond and all sizes in the tank.
Don fed them outside and this man was feeding them inside.
The exhibits were interesting at the visitors center. They distribute the trout to the streams in trucks like they do in Iowa, but here they also carry them in backpacks and dump them out of helicopters. After seeing everything, we headed down the hill and saw that the firemen were busy.
The fires were closer to the road, so we didn't tempt fate.

FISH HATCHERY

We decided to go to the trout hatchery in the Tonto National Forest. On the way up the road, we saw smoke.

We wondered if we'd be able to continue up the road, but a firegal stopped us and said it was okay. The fires were started by lightning five days before and 389 acres had burned. It was contained, but they were watching it. We finally arrived at the hatchery.

We couldn't help but chuckle at the name of the toilets.

It was kind of a pretty place with a small stream running down the hill.

I was pleased to see some sweet peas growing along the fence. My mother got some seeds when she was in Salt Lake City many years ago. She planted them every year, saving the seeds each year. A good memory triggered!

PAYSON AND GLOBE

A couple weeks ago, we took an overnight trip to the mountains, to celebrate our 46th anniversary. It's a curvy road up to Payson.

We spent the night at Mazatzal Casino. They have beautiful rooms, actually they're a full suite, and they also give you a coupon book that includes $15 for breakfast.

I had packed a lunch, so we ate by a lake in Payson.

In the afternoon, we took a little drive toward the Mogollon Rim. It's really pretty in winter when it's full of snow.

COTTON FIELDS

For those of you who can't be around AZ at this time of the year, the cotton fields have blossomed and are forming the bolls. It doesn't get as tall as corn, and you can't eat it, but it's fun to watch it's progress. We have several fields close by.