Phoenix, Day 3, Tues 21st - Dolly Steamboat & Tortilla Flats

Tuesday, February 21st, started as a rainy day. Cooler than normal because of the rain. We had a ride on Dolly Steamboat around Canyon Lake. This was a rain or shine event. We stopped at Circle K for a bit of breakfast. Then we let Google Maps show us the way to our destination. 

This drive takes you east of Phoenix and out to Superstition Mountain. From Superstition Mountain on to Canyon Lake it was winding two lane roads with drop offs one wanted to avoid. There are also two one-lane bridges to navigate. Not much traffic but you can tell the locals as they wanted to do this drive at a high rate of speed and that was not what the roads called for. Claude would find pull-offs when he could to let them get around us. 

There was a nice lookout above Canyon Lake offering us a view of where Dolly Steamboat would roamed during our cruise. 

We huddled under a covered area outside the ticket booth with LOTS of other people trying to stay out of the rain. It really is first come/first served with regard to your place in the ticket receiving. Ours were paid for on-line. But you still must pick up your ticket before going to the boat.

We were able to get seating on the top deck, which is where we wanted to sit. With the rain, everyone was inside. Normally guests also sit outside and roam up and down the boat. My first pictures were thru the window covered in raindrops. A lady at our table, who had taken the steamboat ride before, asked one of the workers if we could open the window. We were told that was fine. Claude and I were seated by the window. It afforded me an opportunity to take better pictures. This will be mostly a pictorial entry of the steamboat cruise.  

This rock surface is covered in geodes!

Please note the pinnacle in the center of the picture. If you look at the left side of it, it appears to be a young lady looking up. If you look at the right side of it, it looks like Bach playing an organ.

This reminded me of Golgotha in Israel.

This is the Mormon Flat Dam. There are actually three lakes that flow into each other. The dam separates two of them. 

This is one of two one-lane bridges you must travel to get into or out of this area. You simply stop at the end of the bridge and be sure no one else is coming across.

Normally you might see all kinds of wildlife, including Big Horn Sheep. However, the rain really put a damper on that. Get it??

After our steamboat ride, we drove south on the little road to Tortilla Flats. Clearly this was a must stop for everyone after the boat ride. The wait for our meal was 1 1/2 hours. We got in much quicker than that. They give you a buzzer and you can roam the street that is Tortilla Flat until your buzzer goes off. We took that time to visit the Mercantile Store and contemplate a Christmas tree ornament. Then down to the General Store to see what was for sale there. We purchased nothing in either place and wandered back to the restaurant to sit on a much clearer bench till our buzzer went off. The buildings are the General Store, the Restaurant and then the Mercantile Store.

I was told by another person on the boat to be sure and look in the bathroom, even if you didn't need to go, you must look in the bathroom. The bathrooms are in the restaurant building. There is a front hall inside the building. As you look out the window, there are bars on it. Then there is a door for the men's and door for the women's. There was a line of ladies waiting to get it. I went to the back of the line. I just wanted to peek inside. I went back to the front of the line with my camera in hand. I told the ladies there that I was told to be sure to see the inside of the bathroom. I assured them I didn't need to use the facility. Just wanted to peek inside. The ladies told me that was fine and then started fishing for their cameras for when it was their turn. It was worth the look. 

The interior of the restaurant is covered in $1 bills. By our table they were at least two thick. Loved the snakeskin on the walls and the one room divider that looked like a jail cell with a prisoner standing in it. The elk horns were also very attractive (I mean that seriously). This place has so much character.

Our meals were delicious. Well worth the wait.

After eating we went back to the Mercantile store and purchased a Christmas tree ornament. Then to the General Store and got a nice serving of Huckleberry Ice Cream. Yum!!

The drive back down the mountain was gorgeous.

Claude stopped at Weaver's Needle Vista Viewpoint. I took a walk back into the countryside. There was a paved path to a bench at the lookout point. I just loved the cactus on this trip. So many varieties.

Then Claude stopped along the road so I could get a picture of Superstition Mountain. Think Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. 

We loved the saguaro cactus. I checked and learned this interesting fact about it. We sent a picture to our children with this thought: "Claude and I now identify with saguaro cactus. Look when they flower! The saguaro cactus grows as a column at a very slow rate, with all growth occurring at the tip, or top of the cactus. It can take 10 years for a saguaro cactus to reach 1 inch in height. By 70 years of age, a saguaro cactus can reach 6 and a half feet tall, and will finally start to produce their first flowers." Claude is 73 and I am 72.