Family:
Here's my idea for the Sunday trip. (This is exciting; it's the first one
I've planned! :) )
Meet at dad's at 7:30 am. (Harry, I'll pick you up at 7; we'll go up to
dad's.)
We'll take Ellen's truck, 202 to Country Club/ 87 N (Beeline Hwy).
Turn East on 188, which is the road to Roosevelt Lake.
Proceed to the lake, the Horse Pasture area. We'll see the area where
Lenny and Jeff camped, and pick up the rock if it works out. (I might change my
mind if it's too heavy. :) )
Backtrack a few miles on 188, turn East on A-Cross Road.
(About 100 miles to this point, so it might be about 10 am)
A-Cross to road to Hwy 288, which comes down from Young. (This is about 25
miles, so maybe 2 hours; going slow and enjoying the scenery. I'm planning to
bring a substantial snack.)
It might be about Noon by the time we Hwy 288.
Hwy 288 South, it merges with Hwy 88 and goes on to Globe area. We
might get to Globe about 1 pm. Ellen and Harry: Could you maybe
research some lunch spots in Globe? Or we could just go to Porter's in
Superior.
Continue on US 60, home to Dad's house. We might be home about 4 pm?
How does that sound? Feel free to offer plan change suggestions.
Love, Lenny
We did actually meet at dad's house at 7:30 AM, and took Ellen's truck: Hwy 87 (Beeline) to the Roosevelt Lake Road (188).
I had decided to skip the procurement of the rock, for various reasons, so after a little confusion finding the turnoff we headed out on A-cross Road. (For future reference, it turns North at the same point that the Four Peaks Road meet Hwy 188 from the South.)
Jeff and I had driven a little ways up this road, and I knew that the scenery here was very unique and impressive. Dad and I both noted that the terrain of the mountains was similar in shape to the Painted Hills in Oregon, minus the dramatic coloring. Still very impressive!
A-Cross Road is similar to Fossil Creek road: Pretty well maintained and passable to almost any vehicle, but rocky and rough. Ellen's truck had no problem mastering this stretch of dirt.
A few further along, we came to a spectacular pointed hillside, just covered with saguaros. (These pics don't do justice; it's an awesome spot.)
Just beyond this point we stopped and took a break. Harry flew his drone to capture some photography of the cactus-covered hill, and the rest of us snacked and puttered. There is a nice view of Roosevelt Lake from here, with Four Peaks in the background. Ellen spent several minutes setting up a group shot.
Here's a link to her pics.
There are a few other interesting landmarks continuing along this road, but it's a long drive. I think this area might be just as well visited as a "there and back", from the East side.
As planned we completed A-cross road, and met with Hwy 288 which goes from Young to Globe. At this point we deviated from the plan, and headed up to Parker Canyon, a few miles to the North. I had never seen this area; very impressive!
Back down South on 288, which merges with 188 and becomes 88, then down to the Globe area. Mexican food for lunch, (not bad), and on home to Phoenix.
We all agreed this was a really cool area, deserving of further visits and exploration. Awesome trip!
