Tonto National Monument & Theodore Roosevelt Dam

Wow... another amazing Arizona experience. The drive from Casa Grande to Roosevelt was nothing short of spectacular. Plains as far as the eye could see filled with scrub brush, Saguaro cactus, tall rock formations and the open road made for a great start to the 2 and a half hour drive to Tonto National Monument, which we've shared a video of our road trip to our IG account @chasethesunformotofun

My road soup in hand, sipping, feeling content as I look out over the landscape going by. What's road soup, you ask? Bill loves to tease me about my road soup. Most people take a travel mug of tea, coffee, or water on the road with them. Me... I like to sip hot chicken broth for long road trips, which we've now coined "road soup."

We stopped for a few photo ops along the way, and Bill suggested we make a short detour to Roosevelt Dam, which I initially protested due to the added drive time, but it turned out to only be an additional 6 miles from our destination. Grateful now we went, as the dam was pretty cool and the views an added bonus. We only lost a half hour making the stop and it is well worth the visit. We recommend doing both the dam and Tonto Monument in the same day given their proximity to each other.

Theodore Roosevelt Dam

We arrived at Tonto National Monument. The drive in along the road led us to the Visitors Center. Lucky us, admission cost us nothing now that our $80 annual National Park Pass - America the Beautiful https://shop.usparkpass.com/ has paid for itself. So worth the purchase if you plan to see 4 or 5 parks or more across the USA within a year.

The Visitors center has a small shop and restrooms located onsite. Bill and I packed a lunch and had a bite in the truck before making the trek way uphill to the ruins. On the way in, a fellow on staff working outside greeted me with a hello and a compliment on my hat. Bill and I made our way inside and we were greeted with a welcome to the Monument and a second compliment within seconds about my hat. I have to agree it's a great hat... I love my Jacaru. Bill has had his since the 90s and inspired by his a few years ago, I ordered my own from https://jacaru.com/ They are great, well-made, lasting hats that hold up to all kinds of weather... we take them everywhere.

The 0.5-mile hike up to the ruins wasn't too bad, and there were plenty of places to stop, have a seat, and catch your breath as well as photo ops galore. It's such a picturesque hike. Saguaro cactus, rolling hills, craggy rock cliffs, a variety of birds, cacti, flora, and fauna filled our range of view as we made our way to the top. Grateful we had both brought our cameras to capture it all, we took so many photos, especially of the valley below.

The view from the top is stunning. I imagine the people that inhabited these ruins so many years ago must have thought so too, to have built such a structure in such an elevated place. The retired Realtor in me thinking who constructed this, a genius ancient builder who knew it was all about location, location, location!

We ventured through the 700-year-old ruins inside this cliffside cave, and admired its remaining structure that still stood the test of time all these years, and I thought to myself how modern-day construction wouldn't be standing 700 years from now. Funny how we are more advanced, yet things don't last. One doorway still has the handprint of a woman long past who placed it there as decor... I hovered my hand over the impression, trying to imagine the woman who placed it there.

We soaked in the view for a while, snapped off some photos before making the much easier trek back downhill.

Arizona has been an unexpected delight in all it offers to do and see, and we still have two more weeks here... can't wait to see more of you, Arizona!

The world is your oyster!

Bill & Cat