Drive to the Lost Dutchman Mine State Park - 11/20/16

When confronted with the cooler temperatures of coming winter and the need to prepare Bambi for the months ahead, we decided to take him out for one last adventure before we drain his system.  We wanted some camping site nearby (no long drives during the Thanksgiving driving. Season), reasonable temperatures (definitely not interested in freezing or over-heating), hiking from the campsite (no need to unhook Bambi from Fritz) and some where new to both of us.  Lost Dutchman Mine State Park fit the bill ... 2 hours from home, moderate temperatures, hiking in the Superstition Mountains, and we had never been to this park.

Fortunately check-in time wasn't until 2 pm, so we had a reasonably comfortable start to the morning.   We drove up the Pinal Pioneer Parkway ... so much more leisurely than driving I-10.  And, it gave us an opportunity to stop for a bite to eat at the Tom Mix Monument.  Tom Mix was a silent movie star as the quintessential Western cowboy with his horse, Tony the Wonder Horse, making over 200 Western films.  He was born on my birthdate, in 1880.  When he was 60 years old, his film career nearly over as "talkies" took over the movie industry, he was driving from Tucson to Florence and crashed when he failed to observe a construction site along the Pinal Pioneer Parkway.  He likely was drunk at the time having stopped along the way at a tavern to play poker and drink whiskey.  He actually survived the crash, but when getting out of his car, a heavy leather trunk that was lashed to his car fell on him and broke his neck.  The Tom Mix Monument celebrates his life and marks the site of his death.  Tony the Wonder Horse lived on and died on the same date as Tom two years later at the age of 37.

Enough history ... and on to Lost Dutchman State Park ... we followed our iPhone map onto a dirt road, not maintained by the County, deeply rutted and a challenge for Fritz and Bambi for over a mile.  Note to Self:  Do not take Mountain View Avenue in Apache Junction ... it is on private land and no longer maintained and a hazard to drive.

We arrived, safe and sound, to a lovely site and few things disturbed in Bambi after the rough road.  Rain is threatening tonight, but we're tucked into our site ... had a walk around the campground ... and hoping for some great hikes in the Superstition Mountains.  Who knows, perhaps we'll find that Lost Dutchman Mine ...