The weather this week has been so temperate that we just had to go out on the road for an exploratory drive.  Tuesday was the day, and the Superstition Mountains was the destination.

We took the 60 to the 88, and it was clear sailing and a wonderful vantage point for view.  The first stop was at the Superstition Mountain Museum.  It’s one of the better local museums we’ve been to so far.  There are a lot of historical paraphernalia, not the least a plethora of Lost Dutchman Goldmine maps.  My favorite chuckle came from the Canadian Club Hidden Cases display.  It seems that there was an “unidentified” local hero who found the case in record time – well before all the marketing information was sent out.  The quote (and I paraphrase) on why he searched for the case was basically “it was election day, the bars were closed, and I was hard-pressed to dig up a drink.”  Gotta love the attitude!  My other favorite exhibit item was the Navajo (I believe the correct nomenclature is Dine) weaving loom.  At the side was a mapping of the colors of the rug to the local dyes used to produce the colors.  Fabulous! There was also a gorgeous handmade quilt from the late 1800’s.  Love that fiber!

The museum grounds are big enough to take a walk up a short hill for some pretty views, space for a Boot Hill facsimile, and a recreation of the Elvis Chapel (I swear you can’t get away from the guy no matter what you do), as well as cowboy movie star memorabilia, and a recreation of Apacheland Ranch – including the doctor’s horse buggy from Gunsmoke and Cisco Kid’s saddle.

Another fun thing was the fact that there was a real live Blacksmith smithying away right on the premises!  Eric Grip of Iron Grip Blacksmithing has wares for sale and will answer any questions you have.

You can imagine that it was time for eats at that point.  Right on Hwy 88 (Apache Trail) we had passed Filly’s, which had a good crowd, so we stopped there to tank up the tummy.  The dining room was packed and people were out on the patio as well.  I had the turkey burger, my husband had the chicken tenders, and it was all good.  Of course, on the way out of town we passed about a million more places all along Main Street (which runs through to Mesa).  As you may have discovered through past posts of mine I am a sitting target for farmer’s market stands.  Superstition Ranch has two places where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables – one right in Apache Junction, the other in Mesa.  We stopped at the Mesa location and got really great deals on asparagus and grapefruit.  Plus, more local honey to sample (I am constantly in search of the best orange blossom honey), AND homemade salsa.  What to say?  We’ll be taking our out-of-town visitors to Superstition Mountain.  And one of these days we’ll hit the mountain trails, too.  As far as the lost mine – well, I’ll let someone else worry about that one.