YELLOW at Alamo Lake, Arizona

Alamo, Arizona

Alamo Lake State Park

 

There was a week before Steve's final eye check to see if we could finally head back home to prepare for our Alaska Trip.  We joined my brother and sister-in-law back at Alamo Lake.

The Alamo Dam is 283 feet deep and the dam is 970 feet long.

We were here before and really enjoyed this time of year.  It's warm and the Brittlebush was in full bloom, carpeting the entire area in yellow!

Our site in the E Loop.  No utilities but closer to the lake and much more private.

My brother's site across from us.

Since poor Steve can't fish, hike or even ride in the kayak, my brother and I went fishing while he took walks around the camp loops.

There's lots of brush in the water which makes great fishing.

We caught several Large Mouth Bass.

The Cranes and wild donkeys were everywhere.

Loud Fellow!

Love those yellow feet!

Beautiful sunsets to enjoy after Diane got finished working and dinner was over.

The area around here is full of off-road trails.  We had a blast riding around and trying to get to the other side of the river.

    

We could get through the smaller areas, but not across the river itself.  We didn't want to get stuck like these guys.

Stuck in the mud with a broken axle.

We stopped in at a little cafe/bar in the middle of nowhere out here for a drink.

A nice drive up to the top of a hill with a great view.

Love the view!

Some mines are scattered around.

We came across a memorial for someone.

There are tons of boondocking areas around this part of the lake.  Many you can park right next to it.  It can be tricky getting a bigger rig out here but some do.  It's a very long way down some sketchy dirt roads that can get narrow in parts.

Sea of yellow!

   

The donkeys were all around and we saw many of them.

Plenty of cattle free-ranging.

A large bull too!

We had a lot of time to explore and visit with Steve and Diane.  Many great meals too.  

It's time to say good-bye to them until next year when we hope to meet up on the East Coast.  For now, they head to Utah and we will visit with Curt and Glenda, Ron & Rene and once more with Bunny.

Friends Joining Us in Apache Junction with Rented RV's

Apache Junction, AZ

Lost Dutchman State Park 

It's the beginning of April and our friends had rented RV's to join us here at Lost Dutchman for a few days.  Rick & Angie have their own 5th wheel, Mike & Rose rented a pull behind trailer and Ron & Kathleen flew in from Hawaii and rented another motorhome.  My brother and his wife joined us also.  We've been friends for 40+ years! 

Me, Rick, Angie, Kathleen, Ron, Steve, Rose & Mike.

This park never gets old for us.  The views from any site are fantastic!

Site 103

Flatiron in the upper right.

We enjoyed some pretty sunsets and a moonrise.

We all hiked up towards Flatiron.  Some made it just past The Thumb, and Ron & Kathleen hung in with me up to The Bowl.

Friends since the Airforce.

 

With the extra rain, there was a decent amount running down the waterfall and into a clear pool.

We shared the trail with this beautiful Palomino and his companion.

Another day we spent some time walking around the museum and church.

The Stamp Mill.

I think Rose got a little overheated out here in the desert  ;-)

We also walked through the old ghost town of Goldfield and bought some fudge.

We popped in the saloon for some lunch.

You can't beat the view!  You can actually see most of the trail up to Flatiron.  No switchbacks, it's straight up.  The last mile alone you climb 2000 feet.  You can see Thumb in the almost-middle.  In the upper half, if you notice the dark line straight up, that is the draw.  That is the "trail"!  Straight up!  Then you walk the only straight part once you climb the Wall and walk to the right to the top of Flatiron.

I don't know what happened to my videos, but I had some of this guy playing the fiddle and singing songs about us that rhymed with our names.  They were hilarious!!  And a little "R" rated!!

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I had fun making some signature cocktails for the gals.  The one above was made with Roasted Marshmallow Vodka, Cream and a Gram cracker rim.

This one is an Italian Spritz.  I also made one with Limoncello and cream that was yummy and pretty too!

The weather continued to be warm, cold, sunny, stormy.  It sure made for some pretty cloud cover over the Superstitions and some incredible rainbows!

We took more hikes around camp and enjoyed each others company.

I had never seen this small plant with tiny round yellow balls on it here before.  Turns out it is very invasive and they are trying their best to get rid of it.  Not sure how.

Until my brother moved to a spot next to the rest of us, we made the best of it and had some fires at his place as he really had an extra incredible view and more space.

Ahhhhh...

How could you not enjoy the Supes to one side and the Four Peaks off in the distance?  I got lucky with the sun setting and turning them soft pink.

They may be invasive, but they sure are pretty!  Oh, and they start to stink when they get to the end of their bloom cycle.

 

Rick had a birthday so we all celebrated with some cake.  We all got him some bear spray for our trip to Alaska next month.

Happy Birthday Rick!

More incredible rainbows!

One last stormy hike in the rain...

And one last rainbow came out to say farewell.  

Some drove back to California, some flew back to Hawaii, and we were headed over to Alamo Lake State Park with my brother for a week.  The weather is supposed to get warmer which will be nice.  We still have so spend a couple more weeks here in Arizona before Steve can travel after

 his latest eye surgery.