I’ve driven the road from Apache junction to the dam. This was years before the closure. I wouldn’t consider it to be particularly dangerous, even the fish creek area. You just need to use your brain and don’t drive it like an idiot (and sadly there are those who drive it like idiots).
Yeah, you mentioned brain and idiot, so unfortunately, that leaves out a huge chunk of the population!! But maybe it will be good if they all stay away!! It's kind of like Yellowstone. Signs everywhere and you see what happens there! Like, hey hon, the sign says don't stick your hand in hot water. Let's try it!!
I also have driven on the Apache Trail from Apache Junction to the dam at the end. The section of Fish Creek Hill, when I was driving down to the bottom, I came upon a truck towing an RV coming up the hill. Luckily i had enough room to pull over and let him pass. I couldnt believe someone would do that, ive never forgotten that. Seeing your video brought back all those memories. When you get to Roosevelt Lake, you turn left on the highway go about 4 miles and there are some old cliff dwellings you can hike up to. Also if you go in the saloon/restaurant at Tortilla Flat, they have some killer hot chili. The first time I could only eat a cup, but after a few times i could eat a bowl. That was some of the hottest food ive ever eaten. My mother had a winter home there, so did a lot of traveling throughout Arizona. Thanks for the memories.
Hey thank you for checking out the video! I enjoyed reading your story. Even just thinking about a truck towing an RV up fish creek hill gives me the willies. Going out to fish creek hill in a few weeks, but this time I plan on hiking down and checking out the damage to the road. Thanks again for watching 👍
GPS will take you through the trail, at least it did for me on my trip, people with trailers probably did not pay attention on what the condition of the trail, especially that it is close to Phoenix city, they wouldn't know what they are getting themselves into, is there even warning signs for vehicle length recommendation or limits?
Back in the 1950s that dirt road was narrower I remember dad constantly blowing the horn as we went around blind corners. It was an adventure we did often because dad loved fishing at Apache Lake.
ITS A REAL SHAME SO MANY PEOPLE ARE TURNING THE APACHE TRAIL INTO THEIR OWN PERSONAL JUNK YARDS...THOSE WRECKED CARS 🚗 IN THE VIDEO 📹 DIDNT CRASH....THEY WERE DUMPED THERE BY MINDLESS IDIOTS...
My Dad spent his childhood in the 40's driving to Roosevelt Lake via the Apache Trail with his Dad on the weekends to fish in the Lake. My Mom is close friends with a descendent of the Frazier family who ran a store at Roosevelt Lake from Dam Construction until the late 1960s, when they were shut down by the Forest Service or some other government agency. Whenever my family went to Phoenix, we would drive the trail. I rode the Apache Trail last some time in the early 2000s with Dad. He was in his last decade, and I found the trail scary with him at the wheel. In Fall 2019, Mom wanted me to drive her along the trail, and I'll admit to relief that it was closed. Still -- I appreciate this video because this road was so meaningful to my parents. Thank you.
My Mom Dad any myself left Ohio on my 8th birthday in 1960. Living in Tempe until I graduated high school. Growing up with and adventurous, sportsman alcoholic dad I remember many trips into the boonies of Arizona from an early age. After being in Az a month, we set out for Payson, one morning for a day trip. WE had lunch 7 hours later and got home barely at midnight. we had two flats, one of which dad broke down by hand and patched on the side of the road in the dark. Lots of dirt and gravel in those days. One trip my father crossed the Verde below Barlet dam in our 53 Mercury 2door that we drove from Ohio. Teh water line was midway up the doors when I was ordered to open my door, as he opened his and let the water flow through until we reached the opposite bank. That is just one of the adventures dad took us on the first years living in the wild west. As years went by, and we became more settled Dad got a truck, then a boat. What self-respecting 'Zonie male didn`t drive a pick-up. And what kind of fisherman cast his line from the shore. When we moved to Tempe, all we owned fit into the ole Merc and a 3x 6 x3 feet high trailer, and had maybe, Maybe $100 and no job prospects at all. Mom was a super waitress and could get a job anytime anywhere. I do remember before she passed away in 1966, working at the Safari coffee shop , a swanky resort in Scottsdale at Scottsdale road and Camelback, her one night record for times was $66 .That's like $500 in todays money. It was an understatement to say she was GOOD! Dad had a few jobs, and the economy was good In Az in the early 60s. The purpose here was to set the stage for a trip to Apache lake, Burnt Corral campground specifically in 1965. The site we were at is located north of fish creek hill on the now closed section of the Apache trail. Dad had met up with a bunch of his drinking /fishing buddies there for the weekend , and he caught , what was a state record channel catfish that weekend. Dang thing was over four feet long and I could barley lift it . Big cause for celebration. And celebrate he did. He was totally lite up by noon. I believe it was August and a Monsoon storm was moving in, so about 2-3 pm the boat was hooked up and off to home we went, just as the storm hit. The danger of this section of road , especially going uphill is an 11 on a scale of 1-10. Add to that during a monsoon, 40 plus mph winds and latterly watching water flow off the cliffs like waterfalls. Add to that wipers that are typical Arizona sun baked hard as a rock, a 2 wheel drive 59 chevy with semi bald tires, Oh and dad is probably a 2.5 if blowing into a breathalyzer. We met another truck coming down hill about halfway up the hill. Now, if we would have stopped, or even let off the gas, we for sure would be slipping downhill backward eventually going down a 1000 foot hillside. Dad kept the pedal to the metal coming so close to the downhill bound truck that both vehicles lost their drivers side mirrors. WAMM! I was sure we were goners upon the mirror impact. Holding onto the door handle ( it had no armrest) I starred at dad who had not lost an ounce of his composure. I dont know if his reaction or lack of , was a result of being in the south Pacific in 1944-45, his blood alcohol content or God. It never bothered me to ride with him when he was drunk from that day on. Come to think of it , his drinking and driving never bothered mom either. He always proclaimed, "I drive better drunk "He never got a DUI, had an accident or missed a day of work. They don`t make men like that anymore. The only bad thing I remember happening to him is during a monsoon years later, his boat came off the trailer on his way to Cave Creek Corral from Barlet Lake. Teh next day he went back to look for it and all that remained was the hull. No motor, seat tackle boxes or poles. His reaction when he found it....Dang!!
I cant tell you how much I enjoyed reading that story. Its first hand stories like this that you don't find in the history books or read about in the newspapers. It almost sounds like something out of a movie. I appreciate you taking the time to share your story and memories with us. Sounds like some good old fashioned fun!
It almost sounds like you are romanticizing habitual drunk driving. He could killed people. He could have wiped out an entire family. You should not speak so glowingly about a habitual drunk driver.
Your dad ,your hero ,I understand , but please don't glamorize his alcoholic and drunk driving life style ,you could have been in a wheel chair or worse not to mention other people getting hurt because of his choices, hero dad could have wound up in the pen . and yes,sadly, they still make men like that .
@@jessiesdroneadventures7464- Yes, most definitely, a vic on the drive to Young !! Btw, this one was great. I’ll have to get up to Roosevelt the long way (toward Payson) before it gets hot. Then again the AJ way, once they get the road fixed. They are definately taking their sweet time appropriating money for the fix. Very long drive around for the first responders that need to get up there, or get someone back down to Phoenix for treatment if injured. That’s for reminding us how beautiful this whole area is. Cheers .
This is my old backpacking grounds. Glad I did all that before my back went bad. We used to have conversations back in the day about how you never know when you'll be too beat up to do it! Glad I did!
Hey no problem @sandiwilliams7101 Glad you enjoyed the video. it was pretty fun to put together, and I'm surprised that I havent made this video sooner, considering I come out here fairly often. Thanks again for checking out the video 🙏
Boy this brings back many memories. I had a 1969 Mustang Mach one with a 390 and a four speed manual in it. Threw a trailer hitch on the back of it and we used to go to all the lakes on the trail. I remember er when Tortilla flat was one little lonely building with a restaurant in it. We would tow my 17 foot flat bottom boat to Canyon lake and just back the boat a trailer into the water on the sand beach. This was before they ruined it and concreted it. We would camp and party all night. Then the next morning go to Torltilla flats for breakfast. Steak and eggs and a few beers. Then back to the lake and ski all day long. All the way back up to the dam that divided Apache lake from canyon lake. Then at times I would go to Apache lake up and down fish creek hill in my Mach One towing my boat. Never had a problem there. The tule was is someone was coming up the road you let them have the right of way if they were towing a boat. This is where you learned to back a trailer up with ease. My mustang worked the road like a champ even with the AC on high. Loved the fish creek hill road section. The Apache lake Marina was great also. They had an open bar outside on fridays and Saturday nights with a band. Great place also. We did have a problem one night there with a guy in his motor home that had his generator running all night to power his AC unit. I got tired of it and shut it off and took the spark plug out of it so he couldn’t use it the rest of the night. That poor guy never figured out why his generator quit ha,ha. We also found a mustang out there just south of the dam road that divided Canton lake from Saguaro lake. It was upside down ing the bottom of a canyon. Fell off the road I suppose. It was a 68 and totaled. But it was belly up and it had a nice top loader four speed tranny in it. I watched it all summer long and it was still there untouched. So we went back one night after we got to the lake late that night and it was the easiest transmission removal ever in my life. It was in perfect condition. The car was a light green metallic mustang with a white top. Thanks for the tranny folks. I hate to see the area so commercialized today. That is to bad. It was such a great place to water ski with a hot dog boat. The sheriffs hated us there. He made us pass by the beach at full throttle and if we were over 120 decibels we got kicked off the beach with our board. My boat had a 428 Ford with dry open headers inverted. Yes it was a little loud, but so much fun. At full throttle it burned up about forty gallons every 3-4 hours. I miss those days. And obviously I am old now. 68 but still living the life 👍. Thanks for the video and the story. I could go on all day about this highway and my experiences there.
Thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed every bit of it. especially the part about removing the spark and the other guy not having the slightest clue about why the generator quit......priceless 👍
I remember racing over that road on Sunday nites coming back to Phoenix,also remember gas tanker rolled on his side at bottom of fish creek hill ,he had lost his brakes scary time for driver , he was coming down hill on Sunday evening which was a no no because lots of traffic coming back to Phoenix.when roadopens will go back to Apache Lake where I dry docked speed Boat for 20 plus years.last boat was a Donzi, My family loved the Owner Jack and his family.Lots of memories.
I remember getting stinking drunk at the marina and betting some guy that my stang could beat his vette by 100 feet. I woke up on some rocks and my beautiful car was destroyed, but at least I was still alive. I went back a couple of years later to get whatever I could off my car and the tranny was gone, but all the loot in the trunk was still there. Whew!
UK - 1990s - A family group of us were on vacation in Az - we heard of the Apache Trail, we decided to take a look, we were surprised to find it was an excellent paved road ----until we came to the dirt road and no where to go back, my young nephew was crying on the car floor, he was terrified, it was a excitingly scary dangerous road, we were in a Lincoln and were so lucky not to meet another vehicle in the opposite direction. Thanks so much for these wonderful memories.
When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s my family must have gone over Fish Creek Hill a thousand times on our way to Burnt Corral campground on Apache Lake for a weekend of boating, camping, and water-skiing. I practically grew up there. Almost every weekend from early spring until late fall, we were at Apache Lake. And 2 weeks in summer when my Dad got his vacation. I got some stories. Thanks for the memories.
In 1942, we were moving to Arizona. My father and mother and me came through on Fish Creek Hill. It was scary looking down with no guard rails. We saw some of the cars. We were followed by some friends, a mother, father and son about six. My father told him, don't use your brakes, just use second gear. Well, he didn't listen, and the car caught on fire. So we stopped until it cooled down. Another time, we went to Roosevelt Dam to fish. My grandmother was with us. For some reason, my dad decided to turn around with the back end toward the ravine. My grandmother and I were in the back. She scooted down to the floor before he finished turning around. It's great to see the video of Fish Creek Hill.
The only place I've ever experienced brake fade with disc brakes was on an AZ mountain road. I was using engine braking as much as I could but you can find some rather steep grades here.
The environmentalists would decommission it. Not because It’s bad for the environment, but because of the anarchy that would ensue, which would in gender a socialist form of government.
While doing a few weeks of work in the Phoenix area in 1993 I made a trip along the Apache Trail from one end to the other. It was a great experience. Thanks for your video!.
First wreck image is an early-70s Oldsmobile Delta 88 two-door Coupe. High confidence level on that one. (Note placement of backup and side marker lights.) Second rusty wreck is a Ford F-150. I frequently take my '07 Softail along the Apache Trail specifically for its inviting "twisties". It's a wonderful way to respect the road AND hone one's riding skills when condition and debris can catch any disrespecting rider. Proud to have never taken a spill... but I have seen more than one cocky squid on his sport bike take a header off a curve.
Hey thanks for sharing! and oh god! yes! I got nothing against bikes but sometimes they can be nuisance on the trail.......Hows the expression go....ef around and find out, haha....thanks for watching the video
@@Loibip21 - I thought about that as well.... but Monte's of that era have no reverse lights where these are located on the bumper. Google an '71 Delta 88 "rear" and it'll have all the same contours, lights and markers in the same place. It's an Olds.
I took my old Honda Accord everywhere including this road from the dam to A.J. Very bumpy washboard road in places and super windy curves. Amazing rugged wilderness! Love this desert!
In the Spring of 2018 I was 75 years old and I wanted to see the desert blooming. Being new to Arizona I figured the Apache Trail was a good place to find desert flowers. I drove the entire length! Very scary. No flowers. This video is bringing back memories of a beautiful (but scary) drive. I also went to Sheeps Bridge in the Tonto National Forest. Another white knuckles on the steering wheel. I did want to drive the Mogollon Rim but didn’t have the time. Maybe you could?
My wife and I drove this road in 1987 towing a camper. It looks in much better shape today than then, but we didn't think that it was that dangerous. But then we only met one vehicle on the entire trip and that was close to the dam. No GPS or Cell Phone then, just a paper map which worked quite well for us.
Luckily, I was able to traverse the entire Trail 7 years ago when it was still open, around this same time in March. Beautiful day and journey. Took a lot of photos. Sad to know it's still closed for the foreseeable future. At least the section before Canyon Lake got repaved. It sure needed it. I rode my bicycle from East Mesa to Canyon Lake Marina and back to celebrate my 50th birthday. 50 mile round trip! Wild ride, with people in cars cheering me up the steep hills.
ADOT just approved $4 million worth of work to be done on the closed section this year to get it open again. But they are doing the bare minimum to get it open again, so it will only be suitable for high clearance 4WD vehicles.
I visited Roosevelt last year for us Houstonians (flat land) is was jaw dropping scenery. Where the construction containers is was closed and that's about how far we drove. Can't wait to go back.
Great video! We drove the entire Apache Trail in 2017. Sad to hear that a section is currently closed. According to a bit of research I did, it's scheduled to reopen on April 12th. Interestingly enough, that just happens to be the date we're flying to Phoenix for a long weekend. Hmmm, might have to check it out again!
I live in the area, and my favorite place to visit over there is the Superstition Mountain Museum. It tells the story of the area and the Lost Dutchman treasure. Old Western movies were filmed in the area. I love those mountains, which can be seen in the distance from my neighborhood. Simply beautiful! That is a picturesque drive.
We did the Trail before the closure about 7-years back. Did it with a mid-size rent-a-car. Great adventure. Drive safe and slow and it is safe. One thing though, plan ahead and do any expected potty break before starting the ride. It took us a couple hours to make it to the dam starting from Apache Junction and I don’t recall any outhouses along the way.
Before Roosevelt dam was raised, there were multiple wrecks down below the switchbacks , when they widened the road near the dam , they were buried forever, were dozens of them down there
I am very glad I happened to see this video. I am taking my wife on this drive in a couple of weeks and had no idea about the closure. I had driven the Apache Trail 15 years ago and wanted her to be amazed by it as I was. I would have been very upset to unexpectedly come across the road closure but at least now I can prepare a plan to deal with it. Thanks for the upload and great footage from the drone.
I can certainly relate to your casual reference about the lack of road shoulders. In the fifties, when an early teen and riding in the front passenger seat, looking out there often very little between paved road edge and the deep steep ravine. Scary.
Thank you so much! it one heck of shoot haha, I was out there all day, actually I think it took a couple days......appreciate you checking out the video though!....thanks again!
We used to tow a 25 foot boat to Apache Lake and back on this road, just went slow and pulled mirrors in to pass by oncoming traffic. Really hope the road gets restored, thx for posting!
Good video...well done. It should be noted that Apache Trail is officially known as HGWY 88 and is considered a national treasure and is therefore indeed earmarked as an Historic Highway. As you mentioned, much of it was built (or improved) in order to complete the construction of Roosevelt Dam (who was at the official dedication ceremony in 1911) for what was then known as Salt River Dam #1 and renamed Roosevelt Dam in the 1950's in his honor. The dam is one of the highest masonry dams in the world and was constructed for irrigation and flood control for the original farmer/settlers in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler areas of the Valley. It was built by the Army Corp of Engineers and was constructed of huge blocks of stone cut from the adjacent cliff face by Italian masons. The "Trail" was the route used by The Salt River Valley Water Users Association (now known as The Salt River Project or SRP) and the journey to the dam site originated out of downtown Tempe as Apache Blvd. which then becomes Main Street as you travel due east through Mesa, and then finally changes to Apache Trail as you enter Apache Jct. The trip from SRP's Cross-Cut facility (just north of downtown Tempe on the north side of the Salt River) took about three days and much of the penstock pipe used to divert the river around the Dam site during construction was transported by 20-25 mule team wagons along this route. I have seen pictures of these mule team wagon trains being slowly and carefully steered around those hairpin turns along with extended wagons carrying huge sections of pipe as they made their way from the Valley up to the site. Imagine the skill it took to coax those teams and negotiate that route back then! Note that Arizona was the last territory in the lower contiguous 48 States to become a State in 1912...At about the 19:20 mark in the video you passed one of the original transmission towers that were constructed in the early 1900's as electricity was also generated and delivered for the first time to the farming communities and growing towns that lie southeast of Phoenix. In 1989 the original dam was covered in concrete in order to raise its' capacity another 77 feet so, although you can no longer see the original stone dam, know that it still exists under that concrete surface you see today!
hey hey! thank you so much for sharing! all the info and history is appreciated! plan on putting together a video no the Dam in the near future and this was incredibly helpful!.....Thank you for checking out the video and chiming in 🙏
Right! I'm not even from Arizona and it amazes me, when I ask people if they've ever been out there and they look at me with a blank face and say " what's the Apache trail".
Hey good video. Since I have complained on other background music, I need to tell you that your background volume is perfect, complimentary! And the music is good.
Remember driving up the Apache trail back in '77, my dad wanted to go see Roosevelt lake. We had a '57 Ford pickup with a camper on back where my sister and I rode. I remember my dad blowing the horn on a lot of corners and the road was so washboarded it took way longer than planned and ended up being dark by the time we got to the lake. We were all glad just to be back on pavement and headed home to Phoenix on 87.
I remember climbing to the top of the bridge at the first of Canyon Lake, and it was at night, about 12;00 midnight so, when I jumped off I couldn't see the water, so when I hit I was confused at which way was up. I had some great times at that lake. This was the summer of 1972.
I jumped off that bridge, but not the top, I used to do it every time we went there just to announce my arrival lol the cliff jumps were a nogo for me though.
Jessie, excellent videos on Ariz. I have thought about doing similar videos about Arizona but I never got around to doing them. I am glad to see that you have, they are very interesting. I have lived here since I came out here to attend ASU in 1968 and I have learned a few things from your videos that I did not know. Thank You. I am a 107 drone pilot and I also fly the DJI Phantom 4 pro and the Mini 4 drones. I love DJI drones. I live in the Gilbert area and I was just curious what part of the valley you live in. No address but just the area you are in if you don't mind. Thx. Keep up the videos. Going to get too hot to fly in a few months!
hey thanks!....from the chandler area! yea, you should definitely do videos! lots to see in arizona, so much history which creates an endless amount of content!
I live in Phoenix. Glendale (Happy Valley/Hwy17) to be exact. Haven't driven further than Apache Junction yet. Wild how the chewed up vehicles were just left there.
When working for SRP I would drive a large tandem drive axle dump truck pulling a large trailor loaded with a large Case backhoe down that road when it was open. I was always blessed and never had to pass another large vehicle.
Excellent! We drove the trail to the closure on both ends with a Chevy Sliverado 3500 this year Up past Tortilla Flats and then around to the Dam. Hope you stopped at the Cliff Dwellings on that side too. Beautiful views. Met some crazy motorcycles laying on those corners like they were in a race. Glad I found your video!
Thank you so much! glad you enjoyed the video. I got some more historical locations coming up pretty soon here......Appreciate you checking out the video
The dam is a rock dam they brought Italian rock masons to build it, My grandfather went off fish creek hill and lived.I can tell a lot about that road,Burt thanks for video
I have live in Arizona all my life l have fish and water ski at canyon Lake, Apache Lake and Roosevelt also for you to make that round-trip to get to the other other side of the road closure must took you at least 90 minutes also, when you said truckers, hopefully you mean four wheelers because the word truckers usually means the big truck like semi and they could never go that way because all the tight turns Great video.😊
I rode Apache Trail including the closed section on a Harley in 2014. The only thing that sucked was the washboard gravel that got worse the closer we got to the dam.
Yep, another older born Arizona native and all us that grew up here on the many old dirt roads and etc. Those roads taught us how to respect Az terrain, and especially during the summer. Better hope you have enough water, not only for yourself, but your vehicle. Those were the best days before all it was torn up and scared from off roaders, with no respect for nature and God's Beauty. P. S. plus Spare tires, and a radiator bag. Been stuck out many times broke down in the middle of the nowhere desert back then, with my parents and siblings and after awhile you begin to pray for someone to come along adventually to help you. 🙏 😅
Back in the 80s I would routinely drive from Mesa on the Apache Trail towing a boat behind a Ford bronco ll to get to Apache Lake. Talk about a white knuckle ride. We were young and crazy and just wanted to have the most remote empty lake. We could water ski in. Those were the days!
Your second stop you brought your drone out & were surprised they're were bullet holes in the car but if you go back to the first pile of cars the first big car which looks like a Cadillac is full of bullet holes that's just what happens to abandoned cars out here the other cars probably have both holes too it's just hard to tell because the pictures are from such distance and their rust colored which would make them blend in
I recognized that squarebody chevy truck in the first group of car wrecks you have shown. Also, when you were mentioning wrecks being 60+ years old, that frame looked like a 30s car!
It's funny that you mention that. Shortly after I uploaded this video, I found an article on phoenixFox10.com I think it was, that also identified one of those cars as Dating back to the 1930s
ADOT recently announced that they are putting $4 million into opening the closed section by the end of this year. However they are only putting in enough work to make it suitable for high clearance 4WD vehicles. Eventually they plan on making it wider and paving it so that any car can go through, but that will depend on when they can acquire the funding.
I am now 80 years old when I was approximately six I lived at one then it was called the horse Mesa dam housing. We had 10 homes, one multipurpose, building for school and dances, and such the road going into the dam at that time was single Lane and you had to pull over and back up as much of a quarter of a mile with steep cliff on one side to pass each other although you could see each other several miles before you gotten there to pass so one of us would have to stop and wait at the widest point as a kid it was a wonderful place to live. My father worked for salt river.😊
I haven't been on that road for years, but I used to drive it all the time. Sad to that part of it is closed. I hope they fix it someday. I remember when my ex-husband wouldn't listen to me when I told him that I he shouldn't go 60 miles an hour on a graveled road. He lost control and hit the side of a cliff. We had a flat tire and he made me drive all the way back from Apache Lake to Apache Junction on a donut with a baby in the car. It's beautiful, but the road is treacherous in some areas.
I couldnt agree more, one of the best scenic drives in all of arizona, but also can be very dangerous. Glad you made it back ok......thank you for watching the video.......Jessie
Great video. We stayed in Apache Junction and didn’t realize all these areas were nearby. It would be nice if Arizona repaired the Apache Trail, but they REALLY need to fix the huge Hwy 40 potholes from Lake Havasu City to Williams. We thought we’d end up with four flats!
Hey thank you! so many neat things to see out here! thanks for checking out the video!.....Lake Havasu is beautiful, been thinking about doing a video out there about the bridge
I’m glad I watched this. I’ve driven it a few times but didn’t know about the closure. I have family coming from Australia and that was high on my list. Oh well may do it anyway. Thanks. If you are interested in doing a video on Roosevelt dam, visit the restaurant at Apache Lake. They have lots of old pictures during construction. Really interesting.
I actually have a book that I picked up on roosevelt lake/ dam. tons of old pictures in there from when it was being built......That will be a future video
oh you totally should! the variety of different shots you can get using "follow me" is phenomenal. I've used if many times when I'm riding biking, walking or longboarding, but never with my car, and especially for videos like these, it really gives the viewers and stunning cinematic perspective
I’ve a sister who lives in Peoria, I’m going to visit in a couple of months, I will drive to the dam just for the fun of it, sounds like fun. I grew up on dirt roads.
Driven this road many times and agree with everything you said. I’d also suggest anyone taking this road let someone know they’re going, especially later in the day. You don’t want to have car trouble and get stuck out there, especially when the sun goes down, with no cell service. Plus, just general safety concerns.
Very interesting, informative, but scary . Great travel video. More films about early days would be great. The skills of our forefathers is impressive. Be safe.
For of us UofA college guys had a long weekend so we accepted am invitation to spend it with a girl friend and her family in Mesa. We travel in a French Renault by way of the trail. Year 1958. What a scary trip! But fun. Noticed a lot of wrecks way down cliffs.
Back in the 90s after a monsoon you go up to Fish Creek and look at the waterfalls all over on both sides of that Canyon I can only imagine how crowded it is now
just released a new video of me hiking down fish creek hill, and you can see the spots on the canyon walls where the water comes down, there wasnt but a little trickle when I was there though.....just have to go back there again
I once drove this road to the lake and back and was so nervous the whole time. Years later my husband and I went out that way and inadvertently ended up starting up that mountain road, and I had the biggest panic attack knowing how dangerous the road was going to get and forced him to turn around while we still could.
I kind of felt the same way the first time we were driving up that hill. We were left with the decision to either keep going up the hill, knowing the pavement section wasn't too far away, or turn around and start the drive all the way back to the dam. It was getting dark at that point but we decided to drive up the hill and hey! we made it!.......Thank you for checking out the video and sharing your story
Back in 73 or 74 a coworker and I decided to go watch the ski races at Roosevelt lake. These were high performace ski boats dragging skiiers about 90mph on a circular course. We hopped into my 68 Camaro and left Peoria and took the Apache Trail route to the lake thinking is was shorter for some reason. It was quite a drive. The road was not as nice back then. Lots of washboard so you couldn't go too fast. This was before they raised the damn and built the bridge. It was quite interesting driving across the old damn. Found the place, but they were shutting down the races due to weather closing in. So we headed up 188 to Jakes Corner and back on to 87 to head back to town. Back then it was no phones and paper maps and no signs. Thoughts of getting lost in the dark and trapped behind a flooding creek were running through both of our minds. Luckily we made it back to paved highway with no car issues. It was a long day but the scenery along the trail was wonderful. First and last time I drove the trail. We used to go to Canyon lake a few times to go water skiing. People would drive way to fast on that road. Almost got hit head on a few times because of people driving to fast and crossing the centerline. It is a great motorcycle ride though. Did a charity ride out to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flats once.
we go to apache lake several times a year. the long way now. growing up we took the original fish creek route and it gets super sketch when towing a boat. still some of the best scenery ever.
When I was a little kid in the 70s, my family went to the lakes around the Phoenix area most summer weekends . If it was just a day trip for water skiing, we would go to Sahuaro, Canyon, Bartlett, or Pleasant. If we were camping, we’d go to Roosevelt, Apache, or even to Lake Powell. I don’t recall any difficulties driving on those many trips except for the time we were on the scariest part of the Apache Trail returning from an overnight at Apache lake. We had a giant Travelall and were pulling our boat. At the highest point with the most drastic drop to the canyon floor, we encountered another family with a similar truck/boat going towards the lake. Both my dad and the other driver did what they could to back up to find the most room in order to get past each other, but finally my dad could not risk another half inch, as already one tire on the boat trailer was off the edge a tiny bit. They had to squeeze past each other. I remember that there was maybe an inch (no exaggeration) between our car and theirs. As we slowly, carefully crept past one another, I could see the faces of the family we were passing absolutely frozen with fear. I know ours were too. Of course, they weren’t the ones who were going to plummet of the cliff should either driver make the tiniest mistake. Finally each trailer was clear, and we were safe. As soon as there was room to pull off the road, my dad stopped the car and got out for a minute, just to calm his nerves. Good thing he did, because once we were on the highway, a tire on the boat trailer blew out, probably it was damaged when it slipped off the edge of the road. That trip home was the most frightening experience I have ever had while riding in a car.
I used to drive this road starting in 1967, it was narrower and a great road to drive. I had a 1961 dodge and it did very well. If you didn't do anything stupid it wasn't too dangerous.
