We put our new grand-baby down just long enough to adventure East to Tortilla Flat, Arizona. A scenic 35 minute drive from Chandler, we found ourselves meandering around the town decorated with hundreds of thousands one dollar bills! According to the museum notes, at last count, there were over 300,000 one dollar bills (see pictures below) decorating the walls of the buildings. The replica (single room) school house is now a museum showcasing Tortilla Flat’s rich history. Be sure to stop into the Country Store for some fudge or ice-cream. If you’re into camping, check out the Tortilla Flat campground open to campers October-March.
For a July Saturday afternoon, there were some tourists, but not so many that it was difficult to walk around or get a table at the Tortilla Flat Saloon. We walked through the museum, the Tortilla Flat Country Store, the jail and the Mercantile Gift Shop. Be sure to check out the jail and the story behind the jailhouse 5-step lock … it was so interesting! Everyone we chatted with was very nice and helpful, but truth-be-told, we have yet to meet anyone who was anything but kind and willing to share their town with us.
All in all, it was a nice afternoon. On our way back from Tortilla Flat, at Canyon Lake, a lot of boaters were out enjoying the water, as well as families escaping the heat with a water-side picnic. Perhaps in an upcoming adventure, we’ll come back and take an evening cruise on the Dolly Steamboat (we’ve been thinking about this for a while and now that we know where it’s at, we’ll definitely have to put it on the calendar).
