WHITE MOUNTAINS ARIZONA - where are the cactus?

September 18, 2013

Alright friends,  how many of you thought all of Arizona is desert and hot?  I know, I did too for a long time, but we found a little piece of heaven this week.  Almost feels like home.   Get out your maps, we are in Northeast Arizona in the White Mountains.  The area is mostly White Mountain Apache or US Forest Service land.  There are a few towns mixed through the area that burst at the seams with people in the summer.

We are in the Slow Low/Pinetop/Lakeside area which is a long ribbon of small towns that have grown over the years and their boundaries now touch.  Mixed in with the lodges, restaurants, and antique shops are the box stores ready to assist summer home owners with all their needs.   It reminds me of Bend/Redmond.


ROAD TRIP TO GREER

Everyone says go to Greer! So off we go on a road trip.  The scenery is beautiful.  The landscape is full of pine trees with yellow wild flowers blooming and the sky!

We get distracted easily and have to explore every road.  I did get Ray to agree to no roads with pot holes (Monsoon season is just ending and nonpaved roads can be rather bumpy and washboard.)

 Our first stop was Hawley Lake.  It is on White Mountain Apache Reservation.  This lake has trout and there were a couple of brave fishermen in small boats and float tubes on the lake.  Looks interesting.   There are six other trout fishing lakes in the area!

Pine trees are everywhere and mixed in are patches of aspen.  In a couple of weeks these trees will be golden and beautiful.

ANIMALS - there are signs all over warning about bears, elk, deer... but the only animals we saw were cows and horses grazing on open range near Hawley Lake.  I had never seen horses on open range before but it seemed to work.

APACHE RAILWAY

The railway ran in the 1920's the White Mountains to Holbrook AZ (on Route 66).  It transported cattle and lumber.  In later years it had a scenic railway tour operated until rails deteriorated beyond repair.  The final leg of the railway closed when the paper mill closed in SnowFlake AZ in 2012.   Along our road trip we saw the start of a hiking trails along the abandon railway and this old cattle corral.

GREER AZ Greer is a summer destination for many folks seeking cooler temperatures.  The town is small and has at least three restaurants,  lodges/cabins, and shops.  We enjoyed driving through without all the influx of families enjoying a summer vacation.

 We stopped at Greer Cafe for lunch and Quacker Barrel Antique/Gift Shop.  Greer Cafe was a wise choice.  Another customer was having a Magic Mushroom Pizza that was getting rave reviews from the customer and everyone passed by their table.  We loved chatting with the owner of the Quacker Barrel Shop.

 After five hours of poking around, we headed back to our campsite.  Look at the sky, it was as much fun to watch as it was to look at the trees, animals, villages, and, of course, eat.

The White Mountains are definitely a place we will return to next year.  Maybe I will catch a fish - ha

RED ROCK RV and CAMPING PARK

July 7, 2013

Last day at Red Rock RV.  This park has served us well for our week in Island Park.  There are many campers staying the season for fly fishing or ATV riding.  Most of these campers have been coming for years.

The park is off the highway about five miles and only one mile from Henry's Lake.  This was appealing to us.










The office is stocked with emergency supplies (ice, candy, fishing files) and DVD rentals.  Staff will assist in recommending must see attractions and have maps printed that are easy to use.

The restrooms and showers are great.  Brand new laundry machines that are double capacity.  Wifi works great.

Downside - no AT&T service - see the picture above?  That's where you go for service.  They call it the "Phone Booth"









Site 25 was assign to us.  As you can see, it was very narrow.  I have to duck under the tree to get to our front door.  Folks that return annually or make reservations early had large grassy areas by their RVs (whine - so I drank wine inside because there was no room outside)

The other worry is the narrow roads between the rows of RV's.  Some sites do not have enough space for extra cars, ATV's, etc so folks park on the road.  We are going to have to ask a couple of people to move their trucks so we can pull out.  Hope they are home when we are ready to go.  Adds a little stress to exit process.



Upside - There is a field with a walk around the parameter for dog lovers.  It was fabulous.  Every morning, my little alarm clock (Louie) wakes me up at 6:30 for the morning walk.










 There were bird houses on the fence and cheery birds greeted us along our walk.

The field is currently full of wild flowers and little critters that pop up their heads and tease Sydney and Louie.


The views make walking the dogs pleasurable - even at 6:30 a.m.






Next stop - West Yellowstone Montana - Evidently we hit a mile marker when the rock hit our windshield.  Truck is going to be repaired in West Yellowstone.  We have a spot at a beautiful RV park - but we made it late so just Electric and Cable - guess we're roughing it!

THERE ARE NO FISH IN IDAHO...at least I can't catch them

July 6, 2013

Today was going to be different.  We are going to the river that is the mecca of fly fishing.  I am going to catch a trout today.  I'm ready.

First,  make sure I have the correct flies -

Yesterday we made a quick stop at Henry's Fork Anglers to see what flies were "hot" and/or "everyone was catching fish with."  Grabbed my fly boxes out of the truck  (Yes, I have several fly boxes.)  and discovered that two of my boxes melted.  I had them stored in the truck door pocket for handy access - who would of guessed the car would get so hot to melt the foam thing in the box.

The guys in the fly shop thought it was interesting. Otherwise they ignored us - we must not look like big spenders or experienced fishers.  We bought more files and were optimistic that tomorrow was our day.

Early morning prep work -

There is a process to getting ready to fly fish.  You have to look like you know what your doing as you climb into your waders and then put on your clunky wading boots.  There was a small glitch to my process today, my lucky socks were left in the back of the truck last night and were soaking wet - darn.

Next is setting up your rod (not pole) with correct line and of course the perfect fly.  Then you need to put on your fly vest or lanyard, attach fishing net, hat, sunglasses, wading staff, license, camera, etc., etc.  Sooner or later your ready to fish.

I always feel like I'm in a snowsuit when I'm wearing my waders and boots.

Reading the river - 

Next comes reading the river - also know as deciding where to fish.  What we usually see what other people are doing and follow suit.  In this case it meant crossing the river because that "looked" like where the fish are hanging out.

We first tested the water closest to us and inched ourselves out to the center of the river.  I factored in that I was taller than most of the men I had seen cross and felt somewhat confident that I too can wade across this river.  After all I want to catch a fish -  I took out my wading staff that I got for Christmas and headed out.  It was swift but nothing like the Deschutes River (which I would never wade across).

The wade was so worth it.  The wildflower were beautiful along the trail to the hot fishing spot.  Along with flowers, we saw an Albatross that caught a fish and an otter.

Then its all about getting the fly where the fish is and hooking one.  I could see the fish jump all around me but none thought my fly was appealing.  I tried different flies and worked the river until my arm fell off.

The upside - it was a beautiful day and I loved the river.  

Tonight our strategy is to watch "A River Runs Through It."  After all, tomorrow is another day.

LAST DAY IN SAWTOOTHS - STANLEY LAKE, STANLEY, TORREY'S RV

July 1, 2013 - 95 degrees

Stanley Idaho is at 6200 feet elevation.  We were expecting 60 to 75 degrees, not 95.  It is hot and our RV site has full sun all afternoon.  We decided to go sightseeing on our last day here and find somewhere to cool off.  Stanley Lake is just five miles west of Stanley and that's where we headed for the day.

STANLEY LAKE

Stanley Lake is as picturesque as advertised.  There are several camping sites and a boat launch.  We stopped at the overview site for lunch.  Everyone went in the water to cool off.

Yep, that's us trying for a photo opt with a wet dog.

STANLEY CREEK

Stanley Lake was getting busy as campers arrived for Fourth of July.  We decided to try to find another spot to cool off.  We spent the remainder of the afternoon in a day use area by Stanley Creek.  First fishing and then just sitting in the creek cooling off.  Another prefect day.










ONE LAST GLIMPSE OF STANLEY

 Favorite store in Stanley - McCoy's Tackle and Gift Store.  Jane and her staff are very knowledgeable about fishing.  Store is well stocked - a must stop even if you do not fish.

Downtown Stanley - don't blink!












For all the conveniences Stanley doesn't have, it scenery is priceless.










TORREY's BURNT CREEK INN AND RV - Milepost 210

Torrey's RV has been our home for the past 10 days.  We recommend it as RV park for folks who prefer full service.  (There are plenty of Forest Service Campgrounds without electricity, water, sewer.)


We liked Torrey's because we felt like we were roughing it without giving up modern conveniences.  There is no cable TV nor cell service.  However, our Dish TV worked great and we didn't miss an episode of Storage Wars...

The there are only 12 sites and there is plenty of space between sites.  All spaces have grass.  We were in site 8.  Sites 6 and 7 have views of the river.   We felt this was the best RV park in the Sawtooth Wilderness area.










The downside of site 8 is the full sun in the afternoon.  The upside, I had views like this from almost every window.












Torrey's has cabins for rent as well as the RV sites so it is perfect for all types of travelers.  It is on the Salmon River and you can watch rafters float down the river. We also had access to the river by the horse pasture which sits below the cabins and RV park.








TOMORROW IS A TRAVEL DAY
                           - ISLAND PARK, IDAHO AND YELLOWSTONE HERE WE COME!

SUNDAY, A DAY WITH FRIENDS ON THE SALMON RIVER

June 30, 2013 - 95 degrees

The reason we came to Stanley Idaho and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area was a recommendation from a friend on mine, Mary Ann Dozer.  Mary Ann is a Fly Fishing Guide for this area as well as the McKenzie River in Oregon.  She is also  FFF Master Casting Instructor.  I met her last year at a beginning fly casting class and she awakened my love of fishing that I had suppressed for years.  If Mary Ann says Stanley is the place to go, that's good enough for us.


Mary Ann's guide schedule opened up on Sunday and we were excited she and her husband, Dave, were available for a visit.  It was a great afternoon of hamburgers, chips, and swapping stories about experiences on the river and life.  Ironically, Mary Ann is from the same state as Ray -

Had to check out the river in front of our camping site.  It was fun to fish again with Mary Ann.  Her enthusiasm is catching.

Went on a road trip and checked out the scenery in the area.  Mary Ann showed where she drops in the river with her drift boat and pulls out.  Ray got a few pointers on how to read the river from Dave.  Even though I love Ray's company, it was so much fun to meet up with friends.  It was a great afternoon.

It was still hot hot hot at 7 p.m. so Ray and I headed down the road to cool down by the river.   We grabbed the dogs and went to two of our favorite fishing holes.  The first one already had 3 people working the hole so we moved on and found a spot of our own.  Enjoyed being cooler but no fish.

We arrived back at Torrey's RV to view the beautiful sunset.  The temperature had cooled down enough we could enjoy sitting outside.  We looked at each other and realized this is the dream we had talked about for so many Sundays sitting on our deck in Portland.  We're living the dream.









Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the 19 firefighters battling the Arizona blaze that lost their lives.  Their dreams ended too early.

We will always appreciate the work fire crews perform to save the beauty of the national parks, forests and wilderness areas that we will be visiting along your journey this year.