Day 8: Roper Lake SP, AZ to Phoenix, AZ

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Another beautiful day on the road. Saw lots of saguaro cactus - - much more spectacular than in Saguaro NP !!! They were plentiful, huge and for the most part in good shape. Made a quick visit to Tonto NM where Gena & Charlie got stamped & patched. Had a nice view of the cliff dwelling from the visitors center - - didn't do the hike up because it is a 350' vertical climb and starting to get pretty warm. We left Tonto NM and headed for AZ 88 that, on the map, appeared to be a decent road - - turned out to be 22 miles of gravel - - NARROW and NO Guard rails - - so we did another 180 and drove back to Globe, AZ and took US 60 all the way to Phoenix. We got caught in a half hour wait for a one lane road work site. Saw a bunch of really huge open pit copper mines - - they were being furiously worked. They seemed to be taking the entire mountain down. Traffic in Phoenix was heavy, but moving along. We're staying in a small, old campground with some trees that try unsuccessfully to offer some shade. Temps are expected to be in the high 90's today. We'll spend day 9 with Skip & Mary, Gena's cousins (Charlie's brother).

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