Superstition Mountains and Tortilla Flat

On the ninth day of our trip, we woke up to see a beautiful sunrise which rose right next to the Superstition Mountains. We watched the sunrise for a couple of minutes then we packed up our camping supplies and ate some breakfast. 

We walked the Treasure Loop Trail that led around the mountain in hope of finding lost treasure. Not finding treasure on the path, I wanted to climb up into the mountain to look, but we did not have enough time. I was hoping to strike it rich like the Old Dutchman, but I will have to wait until another day.   

On the trail, there were lots of Saguaro, Cholla, a bunch of Barrel cactus, some Prickly Pear, and Palo Verde. 

While we were walking the first part of the beautiful footpath, Justus found a tarantula under a Mesquite Bush. 

It was the first spider we had seen there! 

Superstition Mountain- Home of the Lost Dutchman Mine

We never did find any lost treasure even though legend tells us that an old Dutchman found gold in the mountain and hid it before he died. The park where we stayed at was named Lost Dutchman State Park in honor of him.

Before we left Phoenix, we drove on Route 88, a historic highway sometimes known as the Apache Trail. 

We could not travel the whole length of the route, because there was a land slide, due to flooding, which blocked the road.

After a while of driving, we got to a little town called Tortilla Flat. The remnant of this authentic old west town is the last surviving stagecoach stop along the Apache Trail. It was cool. There were lots of people there.

There was an old jail and a little museum that had old newspapers. There in the entrance to the bathrooms, the walls were covered in one-dollar bills!

After we ate our packed lunches, we then turned around and drove back the other way to head up the state toward the Grand Canyon. Our day was not quite done, though. We still wanted to see Sunset Crater, and the Indian ruins. This was turning out to be a great time!

~Isaac