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Published: September 2nd 2012
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We needed to GET AWAY! I never used to mind the Tucson summer heat. We would always enjoy things once the sun was set and the temps had cooled. But now that we have Lilly, I am starting to feel trapped during this hot part of the year. Even at 9am the playgrounds are scorching hot. And in the middle of the day--forget about it!! It's just too umbearable to enjoy the outdoors. I don't want to be in the house with her all. day. long but unless we go to a place that costs money (ie the children's museum, etc) or wander the mall there really are no options.
We decided to head north to Pinetop where the temperatures were a good 20 degrees cooler😊 Aaaaaaah. And the air was filled with the wonderful scent of pine trees. Filled with the scent of bark. Filled with the scent of coolness.
We took AZ State Route 77 north through Globe where it connected with US60 and continued on our way out of the hotness. Up we climbed in elevation, around the curves of the Salt River Canyon, past small towns, away from cactus and into coniferous world. When we
outside our back door
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest reached Pinetop, we were able to drive with the windows down and exit the car without breaking a sweat. Our resort butted up with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest; an unexpected bonus! We literally could walk five steps and be in the forest. The woman at our check-in said sometimes they see bears on the property. Eeks! I'm glad we didn't see one whilst out and about, but it would've been neat to see one from our window, in the safety of our living room, as it roamed in the nearby woods. It's best though one never got that close. We were able to take a quick dip in the pool, play at the playground and walk in GRASS! Lilly had a field day with that! Then, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner on the patio in the cool, crisp night air.
The next morning before checking out, we went on a "hike" which was more of a stroll to most, but we weren't looking for anything strenuous or far. We chose nearby Woodland Reservoir that has a path circumnavigating it, which was teaming with morning walkers, flowers and birds. We also took a couple actual hiking trails away from the
lake where we seemed to have the forest to ourselves. After our morning wandering, we checked out of the resort and decided instead of going back the way we came, to go home a different route. It took a few hours longer but was well worth it!
AZ State Route 260 brought us east through breathtaking countryside filled with trees, mountains, horses and views stretching for miles. We turned south on US191, the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, which used to be called US666. Spooky? Nah--this road is what tacked on the extra hours to our trip with its sharp curves and little or no shoulders along steep cliffs but the natural beauty that surrounded us as well as the fact that most of the time we were the only car for miles made this route a significant & well appreciated part of our journey. We saw a doe and her two fawn, speed limits of 15, a storm chased us, breathtaking dropoffs, remnants of last years Wallow fire. Unfortunately all the curves got to Lilly and she puked all over. Poor girl. If I hadn't been driving I probably would've done the same.
The beauty part of the
drive ended as we neared the towns of Morenci and Clifton where the largest mine in North America is. Holy moly this thing was huge! It seems as though the highway intersects through the middle of it and it felt as though nothing but mine surrounded us for what seemed an eternity. It was all together awe inspiring and nauseating. Even the towns seemed as though they were in the mine. Like if you worked at the mine, you went home and were still at work. It was a stark contrast from the natural beauty we had seen for hundreds of miles and minutes. We were still glad to have seen this section of the state that we had never been to before. Beauty indeed!
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