Lost Dutchman SP and Mesa, AZ

Barbara has flown back to Florida to be with her ailing mother. It has been several days now, but Bella is taking it in stride.

The Jeep has had some difficulties and has been in the shop twice in the hope of solving a couple of electrical issues since there is a good repair shop across the street. When I have had the Jeep I have tried to get around the area. Two friends from my time with TWA came by to chat over lunch at Whataburger.

Malcolm & Roger at Whataburger

I thought it to be a recent western chain, but it turns out Whataburger started in 1950! There was even a photo of shop number twenty-two taken in Florida in the early sixties! Who knew?

Before our delay we had planned to visit some parks on the way home so that I could set up the radio and participate in Parks On The Air (POTA). POTA is a ham radio activity promoting our state and national parks. With the new delay we are going to abandon those plans and travel more expediently to Texas. I decided to try to activate a local park.

There is a great state park near here in Apache Junction. Lost Dutchman State Park is nestled at the base of the Superstition Mountains and borders the Tonto National Forest.

The park has a number of picnic facilities and several trails for day use. Based on the crowd here on Sunday it is a popular park. Of interest to campers, this park has a very nice campground with many widely spaced camping spaces.

We had a good time and enjoyed the gorgeous day, but I was not able to make the required ten contacts on the radio to qualify as an activation. The mountain was blocking signals to most of the US. I did make contacts in the Pacific Northwest, Saskatchewan and Florida, though, so my signals were getting out.

Bella and I left the park and drove highway 88 north to Tortilla Flats. This is a very scenic road through the mountains north of the greater Phoenix area. The road to Tortilla Flats was re-paved two years ago and was in excellent condition. It is a favorite for motorcycle and sport car enthusiasts. We did run into road work that had one lane closed at one point. Traffic was light so it was an enjoyable ride. Even on a Monday there were plenty of visitors at the shops and restaurant at Tortilla Flats. The highway is closed at Tortilla Flats, but normally would continue to Theodore Roosevelt Lake.

As the day drew to a close we returned to Mesa Spirit RV Resort and found our neighbors are starting to get their Christmas lights up. The holiday season is rapidly approaching.