Father's Day, 2018!
Harry planned this one, and it was nice. Up early, we met at Dad's with both Ellen's and Harry's trucks.
I-17 North to Table Mesa Road, which isn't that far out of town. West on Table Mesa Road, into a desert area that is crisscrossed with rough dirt roads. The terrain is so rough in this area that the desert in between is pretty unspoiled, however.
The roads were numbered, but Harry wasn't sure of the exact route, and we got off on a road that was too steep/rough for the Rav4. There was some brief terror, and the truck was temporarily stuck. Luckily we were able to push it free. Harry since bought a tow strap for future use if needed.
Some of the cacti here were valiantly blooming despite the very dry weather.
The destination was an Indian and/or Spanish Fort which consists of stone walls built atop a small mesa. It's logical that early Spanish explorers/settlers built on top of existing Indian structures. This particular spot would have been very useful to keep horses penned up overnite, while the company rested in a safe, defensible, spot. This would be a super place to bring out-of-town visitors for a taste of early Southwestern Indian/Spanish history.
There was a tour group of about a dozen people, riding ATV type vehicles led by a perky tour guide. Harry filmed them with his drone, check it out. Here's his main video of the site.
On the way back to the Highway, we stopped and set up the sun shade. Harry had planned ahead, and brought Father's Day picnic lunch. A little breeze came up, and the temp wasn't too bad under the shade. Nice little picnic, another great trip!
