Superstition Mountains and the Apache Trail

Yeah! Today, with the help of Google, we solved my post office dilemma. We visited Apache Junction, a relatively small city in the eastern part of the Greater Phoenix area. The sub post office shared space with a gift store and bicycle shop, and was a little difficult to find, but we did it!

Not an easy sign to notice!

Apache Junction has the reputation of having kept its old west flavour. A man passed us coming out of a shopping mall, and we could hear jingling; he had spurs on his cowboy boots. Now that's western! He drove away in a vehicle though; he didn't have a horse tied up outside.

Maybe the sign below will give you a hint as to what we did today? Yep, with that slow a speed posted, you know we did a scenic drive! The road had lots of curves and switchbacks with signs like this, but Greg made it a very smooth drive and we really enjoyed it.

We drove about 20 miles on the Apache Trail, a former stage-coach route that loops around Superstition Mountains. My photos just don't do it justice! There were great views in every direction and with every bend in the road.

Along the way we drove through Goldfield Ghost Town, but it was swarming with tourists so we didn't stop. We passed the boarding area for the Dolly Steamboat, which takes tourists along one of the four lakes in amongst the mountains and is the #1 attraction in Apache Junction. We went as far as Tortilla Flat, an authentic stagecoach stop that looked like it was right out of a western movie, but it was also crowded. We turned around there, as the full loop is about 100 miles.

Some great colours across the mountain ranges

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but that isn't the case today. It's hard to capture the panoramic views. I think we visited at the best time of years too, as the spring growth gave such a wonderful range of colours. The brochure for the trail boasts that Frommer's guidebooks names it as the best scenic drive in Arizona. I think Sedona gives it some competition, but they are both worth the visit.

The museum there has an outdoor area with some comical headstones.

Tomorrow we move on to another area of Phoenix, North Scottsdale, to stay with our latest four-legged friend, Harley. Greg says he can now finally tell all his biker friends that he has a Harley!