Cave Creek, Arizona

When you hear the word Cave Creek, what words come to mind? Cowboys, shopping, food, or maybe even stagecoach? Well, all of the above and much much more. I had the pleasure of visiting the town of Cave Creek many times growing up and still enjoy it today. Just this past week my sister and I decided to have lunch at the famous Satisfied Frog restaurant and bar. To our dismay, and due to financial hardship a couple years back, it was taken over by the Silver Spur Saloon & Eatery which happend to be the very restaurant we were eating at. The food was great, and the restaurant is surrounded by local merchants selling all kind of neat items such as t-shirts, hot sauce, and jewelry. After lunch we did some shopping around the area and took some pictures. With a little research of it's history here is what I found:

The town of Cave Creek is actually named after Cave Creek which still flows today. Indian settlers like the Hohokam, and the Apaches lived among the creek and grew crops. The history of permanent settlers goes back to the mid to late 1800's. The gold rush is what brought a lot of settlers to this area. Soon saloons, restaurants,a post office, and a school were built. During the 1930's and 1940's, with the construction of Bartlett Dam and Horseshoe Dam, this brought more and more activity to the area as well as electricity and telephone. In 1952 the road was paved all the way to Phoenix. Cave Creek has nearly 30K or more residents which also make up a great majority of merchants like Rose who we met manning a small indoor shop full of goods such as jewelry, ceramics, and a stuffed Javelina named Suzy. Not sure she was for sale though. Please get out and visit the town of Cave Creek. It is so full of rich south western heritage. From antique stores, to saloons, to fine dining and even western dancing, Cave Creek has it all. Y'all come down and visit ya hear!

For more information on Cave Creek visit www.cavecreek.org

Washington Park Payson, AZ Labor Day 2010

If you've ever heard of Houston Mesa Rd. it is located just off of Hwy 87 just as you pass through Payson, AZ to the right. If you have ever traveled through the beautiful mogollon rim up near Payson, you will be in for a treat when you travel this somewhat unknown but well traveled road. Just as you turn east on HMR,soon you will see the HM campground. This delightful campground has many camp sites,showers,flush toilets, picnic tables, and drinking water. The good news is, that it accepts reservations, the bad news is, there are no hookups. The next site you will encounter is the Shoofly Ruins. This is an ancient Indian dwelling that existed around 1000 to 1250 a.d. All that is left are a few broken down walls which has the appearance of a cluster of rocks. This is a self guided area, and is quite beautiful. Stop in, read the interpretive signs and make an experience of it. The next encounter you will find along HMR, is Water Wheel Campsite. Unfortunately due to a man made fire, this site is currently closed. Traveling forward along HMR FR199,venture on to FR64 until you meet up with a quaint little town called whispering Pines. If you continue on and drive onto FR32, you will enter Washington Park. When traveling along WP you will see many areas where you can disperse camp. At the end of the road, you will meet up with a couple of hiking spots like the Highline Trail, and Colonel Devin Trail. Not far from these trail heads, is where we set up camp. The spaces are large enough for RVs. Just behind us is what I believe is the Bonita Creek. We spent a lot of time down there and hiking through it. The dogs just loved it. Much to our delight, we found blackberry bushes all along the river. They were so delicious.The surrounding pine trees are enormous and some are believed to be over 200 years old. Don't just take my word for it, please get out and explore what nature has provided. Arizona is full of some spectacular places. Remember to always pack out what you pack in. Leave as little impact as possible, and never destroy wildlife. We are here as a guest. Happy traveling and camping everyone.