Visiting in Tonto National Forest requires a pass. The passes cover camping, day use and access to the National Monument Cliff Dwellings ($6/day, or $3 with the Senior Pass) and you can purchase them almost anywhere before you get to the forest. We stayed at the Cholla Campground, a very large campground with (Yay!) solar showers, restrooms, trash, water and dump stations. With great views of the surrounding mountains and access to Roosevelt lake, it was the perfect place to spend a few days.
The weather was changeable, rainy with the occasional thunder/lightening show while we were there. I think Lord Voldemort lives over this hill.
We visited Roosevelt Dam
In the top 12 best bridges in the US, Roosevelt Dam Bridge is the longest 2-lane, single-span, something-something bridge in the US. The bridge was built after modern day traffic became too much for the road that used to run on top of the dam.
Tonto National Monument – Cliff Dwellings
For once, I remembered my National Parks passport book and got a stamp for the Cliff Dwellings! It was a long walk to the lower Cliff Dwellings (about a mile with 350 foot elevation gain) but well worth it. Despite some modern day damage, the cliff dwellings still tell a powerful story of how these early people lived.
The first Rattlesnake of the season – and what a beauty!
Julie and Scruffy encounter the first rattlesnake of the year. The young (3 foot) snake came into their campsite clearly intending on crossing it – rattling and advancing when they didn’t get out of the way fast enough! By the time I got over to see it, the snake was disappearing into the bushes between our campsites. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera; it was a beautiful snake (I don’t really like snakes – but pretty is pretty!). I’ve never seen a snake that shade of yellow/gold; the diamond pattern was clear as were the characteristic Western Diamondback dark brown/white bands near the tail and an impressively long rattle. We were fortunate to catch a glimpse – and no one got hurt so it was a win-win!The end to another perfect day
Imagine this sunset wrapping around almost the entire sky (not quite 360 but close).
Nice pictures. Another spot we would like to visit.
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