A Quick Cruise through the White Mountains

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Around the Labor Day holiday Tom and I took some days off from work.  Our original weekend getaway plans had to be canceled due to some unavoidable circumstances but we decided to make a quick overnight trip up to the White Mountains.  I've heard a lot about the White Mountains but I've never been to that part of the state.  It's about a four/five hour drive from our house.  We took the scenic route and stopped several times along the way so it took us a bit longer.  So, Monday morning we packed up the car, grabbed Colt and away we went.   
Tom's co-pilot keeping an eye on the road.
The scenic route was a big loop taking us east into Willcox and then north to Safford.  Our overnight destination was the Pinetop/Lakeside area but we drove through Clifton, Morenci, Alpine, Nutrioso, and Eagar in order to get there.  This had us in Apache National Forest for a good chunk of the trip.  The National Forest is basically the border between Arizona and New Mexico. 

Our property in Benson is about 4,000 feet above sea level.  In Apache National Forest and Pinetop/Lakeside, we were around 7,700 feet and higher at times.  It is really pretty and I loved waking up Tuesday morning to 59 degree weather!  It didn't last long though.  It was in the high 90s as we dropped elevation and got closer to home.    
Little Bighorn Sheep we came across in Morenci


Large mine near Morenci
Here are some views from the trip. 

Winding roads made for some slow going but we basically had the road to ourselves.


Can you believe this is southern Arizona?
I think this was the Blue Vista rest stop
As we were driving through the Apache National Forest we saw a pretty decent stream off the side of the road.  We stopped and let Colt get in the water.  He's never been around fast-moving water.  It was fun watching him play.

We found a little lodge to stay in Monday night in Pinetop, and got a fairly early start back on the road Tuesday morning.  We drove through Lakeside, Show Low, Overgaard, Payson and Globe.  Day two took us through Tonto National Forest and San Carlos Indian Reservation.   
Those stripes in the mountain are ski runs.
Driving through Tonto National Forest
After Payson on our way to Globe, we stopped at Roosevelt Lake, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.  We'd been looking forward to getting Colt into the lake.   
The lake is very low but still nice to see a lake in southeast Arizona.

Salt River Dam

Playing fetch with Colt
Who knew we had a water dog on our hands?!?! He's quite the swimmer.
Lake View


Colt resting after his hour in the lake.  One tired pup!
After the lake we started our cruise back to the house. 
Storm rolling in

Dragoon Mountain pass - I love the rock formations

Monsoon rains in the San Pedro Valley
It was a quick trip but a lot of fun.  We'll definitely be returning to the White Mountains but will stay longer next time.  

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