The drive to Bartlett Lake, all by itself, for many is reason enough to make the venture.  But trust me, once you see this beautiful lake, you too will want to captain a water going vessel so that you can explore this beautiful place.

I must admit, I felt a little intimidated as I considered driving a pontoon boat around the lake.  I didn’t have any experience doing such things, and a little voice in my head wondered how wise this decision might be.

Thankfully, the very friendly Bartlett Lake Marina staff gave us a thorough review of the boat, its operation, its safety gear, and equally important, an understanding of basic boating laws.

Armed with this information, and now feeling much more comfortable, we put the pontoon boat into reverse, and with our good friends Dave and Donna Otto (pictured above) proceeded out of the marina.

After leaving the marina, leaving no wake behind of course, we turned right and made the Bartlett Dam our first destination.

The Bartlett Dam was built in the late 1930′s, has created a lake which is 12 miles long, and at it deepest point is 174 feet deep.  This reservoir is one of the water sources for the Greater Phoenix area, and contrary to the drought of the last decade, is now completely full from massive snow run-off from higher elevations.

As we began to motor our way around the lake, in the prescribed counter-clockwise fashion, the first thing that comes to your mind is the disconnect with being on a beautiful lake, and a mountainous, saguaro fulled shoreline.

After 90 minutes of awestruck wonder, we found ourselves a quiet little cove, and pulled in to enjoy the lunch that Carol had prepared.  We enjoyed chicken salad on croissant, fresh California strawberries, crackers and cheese, fresh vegetables, but wouldn’t you know it, we forgot the cork screw, so we drank water from plastic bottles.

While we were enjoying our lunch, enjoying the quiet of the scene around us, which was only pierced by the songs of nearby birds, and the rhythmic lapping of gentle waves on the shore, we also found ourselves curiously looking through the binoculars for the lake’s resident eagles.

Just as we were about to take the last bites of our wonderful lunch, we heard this mysterious rumbling coming from behind the mountain that we were anchored near.  We all looked at each other wondering what on earth that sound might be.  But before any of us could get the question out of our mouths, a fighter jet, presumably from nearby Luke Air Force Base, thundered right over our heads.

Needless to say, this wasn’t in our paradigm, and I think we all had to quickly squeeze to keep from wetting ourselves a bit.

During our visit we enjoyed perhaps six of these jets, flying no more than 100 feet over the lake, noisily screaming by, making quick maneuvers as they jetted down the length of the lake.  Because we were deep in the surrounding mountains, I was unable to get any photographs.  It seemed as though they would only fly by when I put my camera down.

After all the excitement of the fighter jets, we pulled anchor and made our 90 minute journey back to the marina to complete what was a most serene, and wondrous adventure.

We will most certainly be back to do this again.  Next time, we will come later in the season, after the water warms up a bit, bring our swimming suits, and make a whole day of it.

If you are visiting the Greater Phoenix area, or perhaps you live in the area, and have never boated on Bartlett Lake, words can’t express how beautiful this place is.

We can highly recommend this adventure, and were greatly pleased with our experience with the folks at Bartlett Lake Marina.

Disclosure:  this wonderful experience was provided by the fine folks at Bartlett Lake Marina.

Tortilla Flats

While visiting the Phoenix area, if you have time for a day trip, and love to see incredible panoramas, then in my humble opinion, you simply must take a drive on the world famous Apache Trail Scenic Drive.

To help you enjoy your drive on the Apache Trail, I have prepared for you a custom Google Map, complete with turn by turn instructions, and helpful tips.  Depending on how often you stop to gawk at the scenery, you should plan on 7-10 hours to complete this trip.

A great portion of this trip is driving through the Arizona back country, so you should plan to bring along water and snacks.  You should also plan to have great stretches where you will have no cell phone service.

Here are a few tips:

• Plan to leave around 8:00 a.m. with the idea that you will have a late breakfast at Tortilla Flats.  Tortilla Flats was a stagecoach stop in 1904, and today is a wonderful place to have breakfast/lunch.  Depending on your speed, and how often you stop to enjoy the scenery, you will probably arrive at Tortilla Flats around 10:30ish, if you are leaving from the East side of town.
• After breakfast, you will head east from Tortilla flats into the vast wilderness of the Tonto National Forest, climb upon dirt roads for the first time, and work your way across the 40 +/- miles of the Apache Trail.
• At the end of the trail, you will be rewarded with views of the Roosevelt Dam, and the Roosevelt Bridge.
• From the Roosevelt Bridge, you will once again drive on paved roads, and make your way back to Phoenix as you drive through the historic mining towns of Globe and Miami.

I have provided quite a few more tips in my interactive custom Google Map.  Enjoy your trip, and drive safely.

When you get back from your trip, come back, leave me a comment, and tell me about your trip!  I would love to read a little of your adventures.