We were packed up and ready to pull out of the casino parking lot shortly after 9:00 this morning. Saying goodbye to Payson, we continued south on highway 87....going down, down from the forest into the Arizona desert.
Just after we went through this pass...
...we suddenly saw our favourite trees...Saguaro!
About 15 miles later, we turned onto AZ-188 and continued south...
First sighting of Theodore Roosevelt Lake...
The lake is very high this year, so a number of the Rec Area camping spots were closed. We received a text from Deb saying that the spot we planned on camping at, Bachelor Cove, was closed.
So we met them at Cholla Bay Campground where we parked in the huge boat launch parking area and Ray and Steve took off in the car to check out sites. Deb and I stayed behind sitting in Buster waiting. Having found a couple of suitable sites and leaving chairs in them, the guys returned...and after a brief discussion, they took off again to continue along the lake to check out sites in the Windy Hill Rec Area. So...Deb and I continued waiting.
Final decision...the guys had found a couple of sites at Porter Spring Rec Area (which is part of Windy Hill). So when Steve got back, he and Deb went to find the chairs in Cholla...well, it took them forever to find them. Apparently some twit had folded the chairs and placed them behind the cement barrier out of view. After driving around so many loops in two different campgrounds poor Steve thought he had totally lost his mind!
So after about an hour and a half waiting in the parking lot, Deb headed off in the car and we followed in our rig...about 12 miles further along the lake...
Passing
Roosevelt Dam...built between 1905 and 1911 it is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix...
We've turned off into the Windy Hill Rec Area...
I guess the area is called Windy Hill Recreation Site...but our campground is on a different "arm" that stretches into the lake and it is called Porter Springs Rec Site.
This is a huge camping area...over 300 sites, I believe.
We had 2 side-by-side pull through sites (281 and 282). Ray had pulled in so their door faced our site...we'll share the large space between our rigs. A very nice spot...$20/night, no hook-ups but there is a shower building with free hot showers.
A pretty nice view....
While Ray and I drove up to the entrance to pay, Steve took a short walk taking some pictures...
Time to relax by the campfire...under the moon...
And a delicious spaghetti dinner...thanks for dinner, Deb...and Ray for these final 2 pictures!
We sat around the campfire until about 7:30 when we were overcome by an awful smell. Turns out our idiot neighbours on the other side of us had decided to empty their grey water tank in their site....unbelievable!!! A few choice words were exchanged...
So we met them at Cholla Bay Campground where we parked in the huge boat launch parking area and Ray and Steve took off in the car to check out sites. Deb and I stayed behind sitting in Buster waiting. Having found a couple of suitable sites and leaving chairs in them, the guys returned...and after a brief discussion, they took off again to continue along the lake to check out sites in the Windy Hill Rec Area. So...Deb and I continued waiting.
Time to relax by the campfire...under the moon...
It's nice that you are traveling with friends who have a car to do your touring and site searching. Looks like a winning spot! Good to hear the water is high.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ray and Deb are great tour guides! The lake is beautiful.
DeleteA very short drive turning into a rather long morning/afternoon! Oh well we have a beautiful view. :)
ReplyDeleteWell worth it!
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