Out For A Birthday Drive...

 

Images from the drive we took yesterday, for Joan's birthday outing.  In honor of that, I wore my birthday suit.  Yes, she made me cover it.

Before we left Murphy got some outdoor time.  I got these shots when Joan "escorted" him from Steph and Dan's yard...

 The boy is fast.  All 4 paws off the ground on that image just above.

And then, out for a drive, with the intended destination(ish) of Tortilla Flats.  It is all highway for the first hour and 15 minutes of that drive.  At Apache Junction, you turn east on Hwy 88 to take the two-lane to Tortilla Flats.  One of the first things you see is Superstition Mountain...

The road is twisty and scenic; I've ridden it on my motorcycle, but this was Joan's first time.  We shared the photo duties along the way...

Yes, there are three lakes along Hwy 88.  Not huge, but this is the desert, so any water seems special.

The first view of Tortilla Flats...

It isn't a "town" - there are essentially three buildings: a restaurant/bar, a souvenir shop, and a sundries shop.  We parked the van and walked around a bit...

I have mentioned that the van can fit into a "normal" parking spot - as you can see, it is definitely bigger than a typical car/SUV...

We had a tasty lunch at the restaurant, then drove east on Hwy 88, for as long as the road is paved (a few miles beyond Tortilla Flats).  The road does go all the way to Roosevelt Lake, but we turned around when we ran out of pavement.  Pretty scenery along the way...

Passing back through Tortilla Flats, I pulled into a turnout to get a photo of the van...

We stopped in another pullout for a lake view...

Then one last stop at another view/hiking area parking, for one more photo of the van...

Back to civilization and the highway back to our part of the Valley of the Sun.  It was a beautiful day - in the mid-90s for a high.  We enjoyed the day out in the van.  Back home, it was time to open cards and presents...

Yes, there was cake.