Unexpected Stop

Ok, let's continue, with our journey. We left our funeral home and transition back onto US Hwy 60. Now some people would just head north and grab an Interstate Hwy, but not us.  We prefer the lesser known roads. Fewer cars, & trucks and smaller towns. Each one with a unique favor. 

Our journey today was purely by accident. All due to Susan seeing a sign of a town called Yeso, NM. I am very serious, about this. You blink and it is gone. You passed it, knowing left to see and you drive thru. However Susan, mention something and next thing, she was pulling over. This would allow a short walk for Dakota & Tilly and me to grab some shots.

I menton, Susan saw a sign. 

Then I spied the Post Office - New Vs Old

Other then the remaining buildings was in the construction of the building or what was left of them.

As I walked back to Gus, Susan and DaGirls were walking outside. Once back in, Houston we have an issue.

We have explained to Dakota many times. We no longer allow our pets to drive.

Now you maybe wondering, there were only 2 additional building. Both of them were small homes. And yes, they both looked like someone was living in them. 

And I am NOT talking about the tumbleweeds.

This is All for now.

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

DaGirls Rv AKA Gus.

  

First overnight spot

 This week was it, plan, leave on Thursday, as soon as Dakota staples were removed. Prior to Thursday, clean, move Gus to a different spot. This allowed us to clean and cut the grass. 

Dakota was bored with it all.

As you see, we moved over to the driveway.

To see our plan route, see the map on the right side. US-Hwy-60 route. 

Plan a overnight stop in the Town of Mountainair, NM. This would required a distance of about 280 miles. With a stop in Lenitar, NM for refueling. Yes their are photos of Show Low to Mountainair, but they will come later. 

Susan got carried away as you can see

Kendama - our server/manager/cook

Kendama Link - Press Here

As we were walking around town

Our site for the night - next to a closed funeral home. Not bad, the town is very easy to dry camp. Many places even on main street.

There are many other photos of Mountainair, but they will come later.

Safe travels and journeys

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

DaGirls Rv AKA Gus.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest is a 2,632,252-acre property administered as one national forest. The original Sitgreaves National Forest is adjacent to and to the north of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and includes 818,651 acres. The original Apache National Forest included beautiful and varied mountain countryside in east-central Arizona (with a small section reaching across the border into west-central New Mexico) to a total of 1,813,601 acres. Along the western boundary of Apache National Forest are the Fort Apache and San Carlos Indian Reservations.

The Sitgreaves National Forest offers the high country north of the Mogollon Rim (the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau uplift, extending from Flagstaff some 200 miles into western New Mexico) and eight cold-water lakes. The Apache National Forest includes land from the south side of the Mogollon Rim down to the high desert around Clifton, and most of the White Mountains of Arizona.

Both National Forests contain many prehistoric sites, some dating back nearly 12,000 years. Some prehistoric sites show evidence of hunter-gatherer activities while others are the remains of large pueblo areas (with cultivated agriculture) similar to what is found on the Hopi and Zuni Reservations today. In between are the cave and rock shelter sites found along the Blue River and in the steeper canyons of the Mogollon Rim. Carved or etched petroglyphs and painted pictographs were left 600 to 900 years ago by the ancient Mogollon and Ancestral Puebloans all over these two forests. After the old tribes moved on, the Apache came in and were still here when the first Europeans arrived.

Wilderness Areas

· Bear Wallow - Link Press Here

· Blue Range Primitive Area - Link Press Here

· Escudilla - Link Press Here

· Mount Baldy - Link Press Here

The first fur trappers came seeking beaver pelts along the Black River around 1825. The first Anglo settlers started coming in about 20 years later, with the Mexican War. And, of course, they rubbed the Native Americans the wrong way early on but it wasn't until 1870 that the US Army established Fort Apache to try to keep peace in the region. Then came the famous 1872 mining law that threw the western states open to full-scale mining exploitation (with little or no regard for the indigenous people who'd occupied that countryside for centuries).

The big copper mines in the Morenci area began digging huge, open pits in the ground. The local military garrisons had to be "beefed" up (pun intended) to properly protect a large influx of ranchers, farmers and loggers who came to supply the mines and the Army. While railroads were built to the mines early on, logging railroads didn't really start until about 1917. But once they started, they ran all through the forests. Today, most of the railroad gear has been removed and a lot of the old track beds have been turned into mountain hiking, biking and horseback riding trail systems.

Scattered through both forests are many well-crafted "artifacts," left behind by early settlers, and many constructions of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Quite a few of these (the work centers at Pinedale and Water Canyon, several lookout locations, and the campgrounds at the Blue and Black Rivers and at Juan Miller) are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

An old jeep trail near the Blue Range Primitive Area

Because these days, in hiking, biking and horseback riding, it's the journey that counts as much as the destination, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest offers almost 1,000 miles of trails through many diverse types of terrain. Many of the trails are part of the White Mountains Trail System. Four of them are National Recreation Trails: Blue Ridge, Eagle, General George Crook, and Escudilla. There are also several barrier-free trails, including the Pintail Lake Wetland Trail and the Mogollon Rim Interpretive Trail.

Because of dramatic differences in elevation, there is always the possibility of sudden storms and changes in weather. Some trails can carry heavy snow into May, others may never see snow. High elevations can mean cool nights, even during the heat of July and August and the seasonal thunderstorms that rumble in during those months. So trail use will vary with elevation and weather exposure. Be safe, be aware, be prepared.

Hunters come for the mule deer, elk and black bear in these woods but they need to be careful because the Mexican gray wolf has been reintroduced in certain areas (and shooting a wolf can be very expensive). Fishermen come to the headwaters of the San Francisco, Little Colorado, Blue and Black Rivers in these mountains. For good fishing lakes there are Woods Canyon Lake, Big Lake, Chevelon Canyon Lake, Willow Springs Lake, Crescent Lake, Luna Lake, Bear Canyon Lake, Black Canyon Lake and Fool Hollow Lake.

Update: Over the years since the big fires in 2003, more major forest fires have impacted large sections of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and some areas pictured on this page have been severely fried. The trails are mostly open, but there is significant danger from falling trees, flash floods, mudslides and burned out stump holes.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

US Forest Service

PO Box 640, Springerville, AZ 85938
928-333-4301

Latitude: 33.637222°N Longitude: 109.288056°W
US Forest Service: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Photos courtesy of TheArmchairExplorer, CCA-by-SA 4.0 License
Map courtesy of the US Forest Service

 

History of Show Low and Surrounding Areas

https://townsquarepublications.com/history-of-show-low-az/

HISTORY OF SHOW LOW AZ

In 1200, a tribal village was established in the area of present-day Show Low, but was later abandoned for unknown reasons.

Three centuries later, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado left his footprints in the area searching for the Seven Cities of Gold. He was followed another three centuries later by mountain men Ewing Young and Kit Carson, as they led a trapping party down to the Salt River Canyon in 1829.

In 1856, Show Low’s founder, Corydon Cooley, left Virginia at age 20 to come to the New Mexico Territory. After service in the Union Army and as a scout and interpreter for General George Crook, Cooley married into the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Chief Pedro became his father-in-law. The tribal center is located in White River and old Fort Apache approximately 40 miles from present day Show Low.

In 1873, Cooley moved his family to a small cabin on the banks of what is now Show Low Creek and became a ranching partner with Marion Clark. After the legendary card game of 1876, Cooley named his newly-acquired ranch “Show Low” and hired Mormon settlers David Adams and Alfred Cluff as workers on the ranch. Adams and Cluff would soon have their own ranches.

In 1880, Cooley and the Huning brothers became partners in the Show Low Ranch property and opened the first store in Show Low three years later. Cooley and the Hunings dissolved their partnership in 1888 and the ranch was sold to Henry Huning.

In her book, Show Low Dreams, author and historian Jane Stump wrote: “In 1903, the Huning Ranch was sold for $13,500 to a group of six Mormons (Flake, Willis, Owens, Hansen and two Ellsworth's).

The sale was negotiated by William Flake…the property had increased to more than one half million acres…”

Show Low was incorporated in 1953.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Low,_Arizona

Name and history

According to a legend, the city's unusual name resulted from a marathon poker game between Corydon E. Cooley and Marion Clark. The two men were equal partners in a 100,000-acre (400 km2) ranch; however, the partners determined that there was not enough room for both of them in their settlement, and agreed to settle the issue over a game of "Seven Up" (with the winner taking the ranch and the loser leaving). After the game seemed to have no winner in sight, Clark said, "If you can show low, you win." In response, Cooley turned up the deuce of clubs (the lowest possible card) and replied, "Show low it is.".As a tribute to the legend, Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance.

In 2002, a large forest fire, the Rodeo–Chediski Fire, threatened the city and forced an evacuation. The fire was extinguished less than a half mile from the city's border, and Show Low was completely spared. The city is near extensive forests, and is a popular recreational area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo-Chediski_Fire

Origin and development

Initially there were two separate fires. The first fire, the Rodeo, was reported on the afternoon of June 18 near the Rodeo Fairgrounds on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation by Cibecue. An arsonist was arrested on June 29 and was later charged. By early evening, around 1,200 acres (1.9 sq mi; 490 ha) were ablaze. Increasing wind speeds fed the fire to over 2,000 acres (3.1 sq mi; 810 ha) by the following morning, and when wind speeds increased to around 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) the fire grew rapidly, increasing fourfold over the next three hours.

The Chediski Fire was first reported on the morning of June 20 near Chediski Peak east of Payson. It had been started by a stranded quad rider, Valinda Jo Elliott, trying to signal a news helicopter. Similarly fed by the strong winds, this fire spread to 2,000 acres (3.1 sq mi; 810 ha) by mid-afternoon, and by the following morning it covered over 14,000 acres (22 sq mi; 5,700 ha).

By June 21 the Rodeo Fire had consumed around 150,000 acres (230 sq mi; 61,000 ha). Around 8,000 people were evacuated; by the end of the fire, around 30,000 people would be moved. The two burning areas approached through crosswinds over June 21 and June 22 as a further 11,000 people were ordered to leave their homes. The burning areas joined on June 23 having consumed around 300,000 acres (470 sq mi; 120,000 ha) of woodland. The fire's progress slowed after the two merged and by June 26 the fire was 5% contained by backburning, line building, and aerial retardant drops – protecting the settlements of Clay Springs, Linden and Pinedale, but 460,000 acres (720 sq mi; 190,000 ha) had burned. The fire was 28% contained by June 28, but it was not fully under control until July 7 at a cost of $43.1 million. About 400 homes were destroyed in Pinedale and other small communities. The fire was declared a disaster area. RodeoFire.com was established at the fire's onset as a portal for concerned citizens and family members acting as an event update website.

The Cooley Family History as recorded by Anthony Cooley

https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/plhsoh/id/99/


Al Fulton Gravesite

https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYYCW_Al_Fulton_Fulton_Point_Sitgreaves_National_Forest_AZ


https://www.paysonroundup.com/opinion/columnists/the-crook-military-road-9-the-murder-of-a-sheepherder/article_e0f4de7f-3494-59ef-994e-96dea1757c11.html

The Crook Military Road 9: The murder of a sheepherder

by Stan Brown, Roundup columnist

Mar 27, 2020

We are continuing to investigate legends that originated along the Crook Military Road, today’s Forest Road 300.

We continue east from the grave of the “bumbling trapper” and the gravel road soon turns to blacktop. The road passes a turnoff to Woods Canyon Lake, a name that holds legends of its own. However the junction with State Route 260 is just ahead, and the place is called Fulton Point, complete with a National Forest Information Center. The altitude here is 7,600 feet. Near the parking lot is the grave of Al Fulton and another legend.

A footpath leads east from the parking lot, and this is the continuation of the Crook Military Road (marked by white chevrons). The trail ultimately ends at Fort Apache in the White Mountains.

With a short walk a sign is seen announcing “Fulton Gravesite 600 feet.” It points left toward “Lake Number One.” This “lake” is more of a wetland area, and across on the other side can be seen Highway 260. It was a camping place for military and pioneer wagon trains because of the presence of water. It was also on the trail used by settlers from Young and Pleasant Valley driving their sheep and cattle to the train at Holbrook.

Fulton’s death occurred in 1888 during the second year of what is called the Pleasant Valley War. Fulton was a young sheepherder in his early 20s, who, with his brother Harry, brought sheep from Texas to Arizona. When they detrained at Holbrook they knew nothing about the murderous feud going on between two factions, the Grahams (cattle ranchers) and the Tewksbury’s (sheep ranchers). As the Fulton’s herded their sheep toward Pleasant Valley a violent faction of the cattle ranchers trailed them out of Holbrook, and at this place on the Rim the cowboys stampeded the sheep into a sinkhole. You can go down into it just north of the highway here at the information center.

There are two different stories about how Al was murdered. One says that the cowboys shot him. The other says that he died at the bottom of the sinkhole under the hooves of the stampeding herd of sheep. His brother Harry escaped and in time became a prominent sheep rancher in the Flagstaff area. Al Fulton was buried there on the edge of the Mogollon Rim and the place came to be called Fulton Point. As years passed tourists desecrated the grave, so the Forest Service moved it back into the woods where it is today.

In 1992 someone tried to dig up Al Fulton’s remains but when they came to the concrete slab protecting them the grave robbers gave up. The headstone has been changed several times. But the walk to “rediscover” the Fulton grave is worth it for anyone interested in Rim Country history or who enjoys returning in one’s imagination to the “days of old.”

When you have paid respects to Al Fulton, walk back to the parking lot, and return to SR 260. Turn left and head down off the Rim. You will drive through beautiful forest land as you come down “under the Rim,” passing through such fascinating places as Christopher Creek, Tonto Creek and Kohl’s Ranch, Camp Tontozona, Little Green Valley and Star Valley. The highway leads you back to the town of Payson.


The Mystery of the abandoned cabins, around Hawley Lake, White Apache Mountains Reservation.

One by one, the summer cabins and year-round homes of Non-Indians snuggled amid the aspens, firs, pines and spruces on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation are disappearing.

Two homes on the 1.6-million-acre reservation were hauled out this month by professional house movers. More are expected to follow as residents' 25- year leases, some costing as little as $40 a year, start to expire. The White Mountain Apache Tribe, citing ''staggering'' losses, has refused to renew the leases, and the homeowners have no legal recourse.

There are 410 home sites altogether, and 65 leases covering 63 homes expire this year. Forty-four more will be up in 1985 and 290 in 1988. The last will come due in the year 2001.

Non-Indians have lived around Hawley Lake, a manmade lake that is stocked with trout, since June 1959, when the Apaches issued the first leases. Both residents and the tribal chairman, Ronnie Lupe, describe the resort as a ''paradise.'' Homes Were Embellished.

''It compares with any resort in the country, in the world,'' Mr. Lupe said.

Several people initially put up humble cabins and gradually converted them into luxurious structures, some in the $150,000-to-$200,000 range. Homeowners said they had invested their time and money at Hawley Lake because they had oral or written assurances that the tribe would renew the leases.

''The crux of the whole thing is that at the time we signed the lease, we were told that it would be renewed at the end of the 25 years, nothing to worry about,'' said Howard Rose, 73 years old, president of the Hawley Lake Homeowners Association, one of a handful of year-round residents. ''We all feel that we're getting a real raw deal out of it.''

But Ellsworth Hanson, who has several years remaining on his lease, said he was grateful to Mr. Lupe ''for the privilege of living up here - the garden spot of the world.''

''Even if I have to move off I'm thankful for the years I've had up here,'' hew said.

Mr. Lupe said the fixed-rate leases, which initially ranged from $40 to $130 a year, did not ''say anything about renewal.'' Some Leases Reassigned

Losses to the White Mountain Apaches have been ''staggering,'' he said. Total lease fees initially averaged $32,000 to $50,000 a year. Only recently, with reassignment of some leases, have they produced a higher amount, about $87,000.

A tribal attorney, Robert C. Brauchli, estimated the investment loss to the tribe as ''probably in the millions of dollars,'' considering that privately owned lakeside lots in nearby Pinetop sell for $50,000 to $60,000.

For eight years the tribe offered to renew the residents' leases. It revoked the offer in 1977, saying the leases were not in the tribe's best interests, ''both culturally and financially.'' Mr. Rose said a former president of the homeowners' association never informed the members of this offer. Mr. Lupe says, however, that the offer was rejected by the association. ''They've got no beef coming,'' Mr. Lupe said. ''They lived up there for nothing for 25 years. To me, that's a lifetime. It's not the White Mountain Apache Tribe chasing off a bunch of white people. This is not the case. It's just the economics of a lousy arrangement for 25 years that have really killed my tribe.'' Homesteader's Offer Rejected

The homeowners' association last year proposed raising the average annual rental per lot to $702, for a total of $365,000, if the tribe would renew the leases. The tribe declined.

As for the future of the resort, Mr. Lupe said the options included letting the land revert to its natural state for the benefit of both Indians and tourists, or attempting a full-fledged resort development.

''But just to have that land and walk in the quiet pine trees with nobody around is a priceless million-dollar feeling to an Apache,'' he said.

A version of this article appears in print on June 12, 1984, Section A, Page 15 of the National edition with the headline: APACHES END LEASES AND A RESORT IS FADING. New York Times

Fort Apache Historic District and General Crook

By Robert M. Estrada, Northern Arizona University

Reference Material 1 - Link Press Here

Reference Material 2 - Link Press Here

Brigadier General George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 -March 21, 1890) is popularly recognized as the quintessential ‘Indian Fighter’ of the late nineteenth century, despite expressing admiration for his adversaries. In December 1870, Crook’s forces established a camp known as Fort Apache in the territory of the White Mountain Apache.

Fort Apache was the main terminus for General George Crook’s recruiting efforts with the White Mountain Apache and in the forced relocation of most indigenous people in the area in 1874. In 1871, Camp Apache was a semi permanent bivouac with only a single log cabin for General Crook. The majority of the permanent construction began in 1874 during the Apache and Yavapai ‘Exodus’ from the Verde Valley to the San Carlos Reservation. Captain John Bourke of the Third Cavalry recorded, “The post, still in the rawest state, is situated on a gently sloping mesa, surrounded by higher hills.” Ten months later, the United States negotiated a treaty establishing the White Mountain Agency in November, 1871. In exchange, the White Mountain people supported the Army against the other tribes and were promised to retain their ancestral land and receive farming equipment.

The tactical support of the White Mountain Apache was indispensable for the success of the Army’s mission, and Crook responded with friendship. According to Captain James Shannon, “The Indian cannot be beaten at his own game. He is like a wild animal stalking his prey.” General Crook befriended Alchesay, a local chief and scout. During the campaign against the Tonto Apache, Alchesay was virtually inseparable from ‘Gray Wolf’, or General Crook. Many enlisted men were perplexed by the apparent friendship between the two men. Captain John G. Bourke remembered about Crook, “He wanted to treat the Apache just the same as he would treat any other man--as a man. He did not believe in one kind of treatment for the white and another for the Indian.”

Prior to the ‘Exodus’ relocation of the Tonto and Yavapai, Crook complained to General Philip H. Sheridan about the corruption with Indian agents in delivering promised material to the White Mountain Allies, “It was a grievance among the Indians at Fort Apache that they could get nothing from the Government, not even farming implements.” Crook was desirous to enforce the U.S. obligations in the treaty with the White Mountain Apache in order to maintain peace in northern Arizona. In 1875, with much unfinished business, the army ordered General Crook to leave Arizona and report to the Department of the Platte.

The Fort Apache Historic District is the original site of the Fort Apache military post. Fort Apache was a major outpost during the Apache wars (1871-1886) and remained a military post until 1922. In 1923 the fort became the site of the Theodore Roosevelt Indian Boarding School. The district contains over thirty structures, ranging from a reconstruction of an early log building to original two-story dormitories. Included in the Historic Site are the headquarters building, barracks, corrals, warehouses, a guardhouse, an armory, stables, and an old cemetery. The museum and surrounding property is operated by the White Mountain Apache Reservation.

Safe Travels and Journeys

DaGirls Rv AKA Gus

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

Spring has Come

 Yes, spring has come, but is leaving us now, while summer is just arriving. Temperatures in the valley have hit the triple digits and yet here, the highest was 86 degrees F. 

We have pretty much completed some of the mayor work on the Happy Cabin. 

We even had our first client. They spent 2 nights and arrived from Prescott, Az. Then left a wonderful note and enjoy there stay here. We do hope they come again, as he was here scouting out the lakes for fishing trips. 

Our next client will be arriving on the 18th of May for 4? nights. 

Jeff & Linda left on the 15th of May, and are heading to Waco, Tx. We wished them well and safe journeys. It was a wonderful time. The only down size was Linda got sick for 4 days.

The garage is now cleaned and organized into something, but I don't know what.

Jeff was very helpful in loading and unloading 20 4x6x16' rough cut wood. These came from an old saw mill near Springerville, which had gone out of business.

Thank you Jeff for the very big help

When we left, I spotted something worthy of a Photo

Oh, forgot, the lumber will be used to make a bridge across the creek in the backyard.

Rudy and Beate have arrived at the Campground in Custer City, SD. and are waiting for family to arrive.

Big news, some of you have heard about Dakota and her limping, due to front left shoulder. Well it is all fixed. Turned out to be a bone chip, which caused all the problems. 

Post Op X-rays after surgery showed no chip remaining. 4 weeks of taking it easy and anti-inflammatory meds. She is already showing signs of walking with less of a limp.

She is one Happy Girl. 

All the painting is completed:

And finally - Susan got her new refrigerator:

Well that about wraps it up. We will be pulling out on the 26th, after Dakota's stables are removed.

Safe Travels and Journeys

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me. 

Don't forget to drop us a line sometime and let us know where you are going.