OVERGAARD, AZ

Overgaard, AZ


This is mountain country! We are on the Mogollon Rim, an Arizona Mesa that's more than 300 miles across at the widest. This area is a destination place for cactus lovers desiring to cool off in the heat of summer. But this time of year, it's slow. There is snow on the ground and frost on the morning pumpkin.

We have been in the hot tub every day so far, morning and evening. We haven't seen anyone else crazy enough to be out there in these temperatures! We have it all to ourselves and that's fine.

We have been relaxing and lounging around as if we had good sense. It's like we're on vacation or something! The condo is great! It has two bedrooms, full kitchen, two bathrooms, fireplace, living and dining rooms, big TV, washer and dryer.....all the comforts for $42 a night.

We have driven around and looked over the area as much as we can. The back roads and trail heads are closed to vehicles. So it seems like rest and relaxation are our main agenda items!

Yesterday, we drove into Overgaard to the Post Office. Not really knowing where it was, I sped past the entrance before I saw it, so I slowed and entered in through the unmarked exit. There was no traffic and there was plenty of parking and there was no entrance or exit signage. So I whipped into a parking slot and we began to gather up the things we were mailing. About that time, Larry the cable guy drove by and, through his rolled down passenger window, yelled out that we entered through the exit. He never looked our way but seemed eager to educate us on unmarked parking lot entrances. People here are so helpful!

We finished our postal duties and headed down the highway to the Ranger Station, where we wanted to see about getting a map of this area. Debby enjoyed all of the Smokey Bear stuff they had for sale. She asked if they had certain posters for her class and was told that there were major budget cuts looming and that they would not be reordering that stuff. I mentioned that we ALL were experiencing major budget cuts and that it seems our taxes were going up another $2000. The other Ranger lady spoke up and angrily blamed it on NASCAR and went into a defense mode! Ha Ha! I said, "We'll, I'm glad it's going to a good cause!", and immediately changed the subject to local hiking trails. She told me they were all closed!

I went away wondering, ''Were they REALLY closed?" 

Funny, but the only ATM on the Ranch is located in a local snack shop called  the Wild Women Saloon.