The Bridge at Roosevelt Lake

On Saturday we went on a hike with a Tonto National Forest Volunteer Ranger to the bridge at Roosevelt Lake. The lake is a large reservoir formed by a dam on the Salt River.

It's located 40 miles northeast of Phoenix in the Salt River Valley (75 minutes from Payson) and is the largest lake located entirely within the state of Arizona. It is 22 miles long and 2 miles wide. It's a popular place for boaters and fishermen.

We climbed up a steep, rocky path to try and get some photos from the top looking down at the dam and bridge. At the moment the lake is at 32% capacity. We need to have a wet February and March!

The bridge was named one of the top 12 bridges in the nation in November 1995. It is the longest two-lane, single-span, steel-arch bridge in North America.

Luminaries and Snow

We took a trip to the Desert Botanical Gardens while my mom was visiting so that she could see the luminaries and listen to the musical groups.

This is always a beautiful event that takes place during the month of December in the garden.

There are thousands of luminaries throughout the garden. It is quite a sight.

There were twelve musical groups to listen to scattered around the garden…..everything from jazz to Dickens carolers.

Randy and Mom posed for a bad iPhone photo at the Music Museum in Phoenix. It is a top notch museum. Mom was excited because the head phones allowed her to hear the music without her hearing aids.

On the 31st we had a snow storm……we got 14 inches.

I took mom home to S.F. and got stranded in Phoenix on my return. I spent New Year's Eve in a Comfort Inn. I was able to make it up to Payson on the 1st, but it was a slow drive up from the valley.

The snow is beautiful. It was 6 degrees this morning and the high will be about 36 so the snow is definitely sticking around.

Where is the wood pile? Luckily we have another pile of wood on the deck so we can wait for the snow to melt. We have been using the fireplace a lot this week.

This is a shot of the museum where I volunteer on Fridays and some Sundays. Green Valley Park was gorgeous. On Friday the park was full of families playing in the snow.