Mountains, Lakes, and Misleading Road Signs

 Tortuga Thursday 

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Mazatlan Mountains to our west in Tonto Basin

Every winter seems to be colder than the last. I looked through the archives and read my blogs from last January to confirm that. Nope. I complained of the freeze killing greenhouse plants last year, too. I guess time does dim some memories.

As the winter farmers’ market vendors, well, mostly Frank, we’ve

Sierra Ancha & Tonto Creek to the east

decided to do them every other week only. Since we’re staying in Tonto Basin for most of the winter season, it’s too long a trek to make every week. We have to stay two nights at least. Even if we didn’t do the farmers’ market we’d have to go for a stay every couple of weeks – I miss the fam, you know.

I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the Tonto Basin area. There is a rich Indian history here that I’ve yet to delve into but want to as soon as I get caught up with the two books I’m writing. Both the Hohokom and the Apache inhabited this area.

Roosevelt Lake

We headed up the mountain to Payson yesterday then back down into the basin and beyond to Roosevelt Lake.

Payson isn’t the little cowboy town I remember from the early 80’s. Too bad. It's still small, but the cowboy bars are mostly gone replaced by chain restaurants and Walmart. It’s still a gorgeous area but the highway across the rim bypasses some of my memories.

I’m awed by the dam and Roosevelt Lake. It’s unbelievably low and a

The highway to the lake from our park

testament to Arizona’s water problems. I got a big laugh out of a road sign. The Apache Trail is a road (using the term loosely) that connects the dam area to Apache Junction (outskirts of Mesa which is on the way to Phoenix). It’s the only way to get to Apache Lake. If an unsuspecting tourist saw this sign and thought “wow, a short cut to the valley” …boy would they be

The dam from the Roosevelt side

in for a shock. It quickly turns into a dirt road that is not much more than a car wide and a sheer drop off to death. In fact, you can spot vehicles that met that fate along the way. Boaters must really want to go to Apache Lake to brave the road. The road is aptly named a

The damn from the Apache side

trail.

The day was beautiful and a mixed weather event. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Don't follow that Apache Jct arrow!

Around the corner the pavement ends and it hugs the cliff

As you enter the Apache Trail

Stormee Waters by Lynda Coker

Please welcome Lynda Coker to a special edition of Discover Yourself. Lynda is launching her newest book Stormee Waters. She also has a special giveaway going on here: Click Here for Details

Before we learn more about Stormee Waters, let's find out a little about Lynda.

• What does your writing space look like?

I have one room in the house that doubles as a writing and art studio. My author area occupies one side and my artsy stuff occupies the other. They don't seem to mind sharing the same space.

• What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

I love fabric and I enjoy designing original art pieces for my home.           

• What books might we find on your bedside table?

At the moment, you'd find 18 books of varied genres and lengths. Since I enjoy doing book reviews for my blog, I read a diverse range of stories, including nonfiction. 

Stormee Waters released on January 14th.

Dirk Savage never fails to acquire what he wants until he encounters Stormee Waters and a backwash of trouble...

Stormee Waters knows about hard times. Needing to care for her aging grandmother and teenage brother, she moves to Houston, Texas and takes a writing job for a popular magazine. Her first assignment is to interview a successful business man for a series of articles entitled, Make My Man Texas-Sized. Her target, Dirk Savage, appears to have the right criteria. He's adventurous with the air of a conqueror. Admired by his peers and coveted by beauty queens and debutantes, he's just the type of man that Stormee needs to make her first article sizzle and sell. But can she handle the heat when she catches his attention?

Dirk Savage is used to acquiring what he wants, except in the illusive quest for the one woman who can fill his heart. The shock of discovering her in the naive young woman assigned to interview him sets his jaded emotions on high alert. Can he convince her that his pursuit is genuine?

Excerpt

She came back to reality and placed the box on the foyer table, picked up her purse, and stepped through the door. The evening light cast a deep shadow across the man at her side, giving the illusion that he became one with the darkness, and something more she couldn’t define. When he escorted her to a sleek, black sports car of indefinable origin, something more took on solid proportions in her imagination. Every tingling cell in her body warned her against the power of his striking personality. That feeling barely registered before another followed. Dirk Savage didn’t play by anyone’s rules but his own. She nibbled her lower lip and stole a glance at him as he helped her to fasten the seat belt.

“Don’t look so dismayed. I’m not going to ravish you, at least, not before we’ve had our dinner.”

Still leaning over her, with nothing but a thought between their lips, his low chuckle reached to the very bottom of her toes. Embarrassed by his scrutiny, she turned her head...

Buy Links:

The Wild Rose Press 

Amazon

Lynda is an author of contemporary romance that lingers in a reader’s mind long after they’ve closed the book. She lives in Northeast Texas with her husband of fifty years. They enjoy traveling, trying new foods, spending time with family and friends, and doing community service work together. When she feels the need to take a break from writing, she enjoys creating fabric art.  She offers an open invitation to view both her writing and fabric art on her blog.

Blog:  http://betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lyndacoker 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lyndacoker 

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