From Mormon Lake, you continue through the Coconino National Forest and the wonderful little towns of Strawberry, Pine, and Payson. The scenery is beautiful with its tall Ponderosa Pine forests. I came across a small herd of female Elk, with a couple of calves. Once through Payson you start down off the Colorado Plateau and into Tonto National Forest and Roosevelt Lake. Roosevelt Lake I am guessing is the largest lake in Arizona, not counting Lake Meade which is shared with Nevada and Lake Powell which is shared with Utah. Roosevelt Lake is a recreational area, lots of boaters, fisher persons, campers, hikers, etc. There were birds there including an Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and some Western Gulls. Another attraction of the area is Tonto National Monument. TNM are well-preseerved cliff dwellings which were occupied by the Salado culture during the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries (long before Columbus came to America). From Roosevelt Lake I headed up Apache Trail. This is a 40+ mile (mostly dirt) road that winds through the Superstition Mountains. It was originally built as a stagecoach trail. As you leave Roosevelt Lake on Apache Trail you first pass Roosevelt Dam, then up the mountain to Apache Lake. Here there were Common Mergansers and a family of Turkey Vultures. Although I couldn't get down to the Mergansers for a good photo, the Turkey Vultures gave me some wonderful photo ops. Here are a couple of them:
 |
| Apache Lake |
 |
| Turkey Vulture Close-up |
 |
| Adult with Juvenile Turkey Vulture |
 |
| Adult with Juvenile Turkey Vulture |
No comments:
Post a Comment