Summary: We camped with the MOEs.

Sunday, May 30th (Alpine, Az-4th night): We followed Dan on forest roads to Greer, which is a resort town. There were just the four vehicles (Dan, Bob, us, Dick) because Glenn and Mignon drove to the Catwalk in New Mexico. In Greer there were lots of cutsy cottages and resorts. We didn't get any pictures of Greer. This wasn't a really long day, only 105 miles.

Along the way we stopped at the Three Forks Area. These wetland and stream areas are home to some unique and rare species: Three Forks Springsnail, California Floater and Chiricahua Leopard Frog. The Three Forks Springsnail occurs here and at one other site and these are the only known locations in the world for this species. The California Floater was once common in streams throughout the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, but today occurs in only a few locations other than here at Three Forks. The Chiricahua Leopard Frog was also once more common. The Three Forks Springsnail is only about one-tenth of an inch long and looks like a speck of dirt on a rock or on the stream bottom. The California Floater, a fresh water clam, might be up to about 2 inches across, but it buries itself in the stream bottom leaving only the very tip of its shell out so it an breath. The Chiricahua Leopard Frog might be a bit easier to see at 4 inches, but even in plain sight its mottled green-brown color makes it hard to pick out--plus, it is very skittish and disappears fast when disturbed.

We stopped for lunch at the Point of the Mountain Scenic Overlook. This landscape is a hotbed of volcanic activity. With more than 400 volcanoes within 50 miles, the Springerville Volcanic Field is the third largest in the continental U.S. The only difference between lava flows and cinder cones is the amount of pressure during the eruption. For example, take a tube of toothpaste. If you were to squeeze it gently, it would ease out like a lava flow. If you took a hammer and mashed the tube, it would sputter out just like cinders. That was certainly a different way of looking at it!!!

As we drove along, we came to an area that looked like a lot of gardening had been done. Then we saw a sign that explained everything. The object of this timber harvest was to protect the smaller trees from the spread of dwarf mistletoe, a disease that infected the larger trees harvested from this site. This disease is common throughout southwestern forests and is spread from tall trees to the shorter trees underneath. This "shelterwood final removal" type of harvest will increase the growth rate of these remaining trees, reduce disease levels, create habitat for wildlife, and provide forest products for the future.

Monday, May 31st (Alpine, Az-5th night): We followed Dan again, this time for about 100 miles. I spotted the deer in the trees this time. Dan didn't have time to scare them away. Glenn rode with Bob this time.

We stopped at the Reno Fire Tower. We didn't, at first, know that it was a fire lookout tower. The fire preventer manning the tower was very friendly and invited us up for a visit. This is an historic fire tower and they are not permitted to make any improvements to it, like heat, TV, etc.

Marty, the guy manning the fire tower, showed us his emergency fire tent. This is the tent used if he gets overrun by fire. It's a small shelter that should protect him from the fire.

We also noticed a small stool with insulators on the legs. We thought it was kinda cute. But...it turned out to be the emergency lightning stool.

We saw a herd of horses that we thought might be wild horses. They were very skittish and ran away as we approached them. There was no fence between them and the road. They were beautiful, either way.

We stopped at Reservation Lake on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation. There was a waterfall from the water from the lake flowing into the creek.

On the way back, Dan spotted a wolf!!! We were all able to get a look at him as he ran away up the hillside on the other side of the small valley. We'd seen some signs about the wolf being introduced into the area, but we never expected to see one!!! It was awesome. We didn't get a picture, though.