We, My husband Brian, my Cousins Joe and Kil and I stayed at our condo at World Mark Resorts in Pine Top, Arizona. It is a fantastic resort in a beautiful mountain setting.

The first day we got there our husbands took off on a hike around the resort which is located in a forest like setting where there are trails throughout. Kil and I unpacked our suitcases and groceries and then lazied around our condo next to the fireplace. We talked and laughed (at our husbands mostly) as we hadn't seen each other for the past year! Then we started preparing dinner, waiting for our hikers to return home! They were gone for about 3 hours.

After dinner, we relaxed in the Jacuzzi and then the guys drank a beer and watched television while Kil and I cleaned up the kitchen (neither Kil nor I drink). Then we all sat around and reminisced about some of our other adventures together over the past years.

The next morning we got up to a gorgeous morning! Kil and I made some breakfast and we all decided to go fishing! Kil and I ran down to Show Low, a few miles away, to the Wal-Mart and bought two fishing rods with all of the accessories. Brian and I had only brought two with us. We went to the Hon-Dah Resort and Casino to get a fishing permit for the lake on the Apache Reservation. The lake was beautiful. It was small but had nice clear water.

A funny thing happened while we were there. The new rod and reel that I bought for me was not casting properly, so every time I would try to cast it out, it would just flip back on me. I couldn't get it in the water! Everyone was laughing at me. My cousin Joe even asked me if I even knew how to cast? Now, I have been fishing for almost 40 years. The problem was my reel was twisted up inside and knotted. Well, the Indian Rangers were coming around and asking everyone to show them their permits, they came to everyone except for me! Apparently they had seen that I hadn't as of yet even gotten my line in the water! So when I complained about feeling left out and pouted, my cousin said, " They see you are obviously no threat to their fish!" Ha Ha Ha

After a few hours of throwing in our lines and reeling them in empty, we finally gave up and decided we would move on! We decided to go back to our resort and come up with a new plan! Our Resort has information on points of interest in the area so we went and found out what the area had to offer!

Our next stop was the Apache Villiage Recreation at the Apache Cultural Center near Fort Apache! They were interesting, only a recreation but they gave a good idea of how the Apache Indians used to live. The information center was very interesting.

Next we went to Fort Apache. It was really like a ghost town. I could imagine all of the soldiers and White Mountain Apache Indian families who were once there. The Fort was opened on May 17, 1870. Fort Apache historical site has over 20 buildings dating from the 1870's through the 1830's and sits on 288. It was originally a military post put there to help the White Mountain Apache Tribe protect their land. Not long afterwards Fort Apache and the land around it was given as a Reservation for the White Mountain Apache Indians. Soldiers from Fort Apache and White Mountain Apache Scouts were sent out to capture renegade Apache leaders who did not want peace with the white man. The most famous of these were Geronimo and Cochise. Peaceful Chiefs such as Alchise and Diable were important leaders of the Apache Nation and valuable in lasting peace between the Apache and the White man of the Southwest.

Next we went to the Oraibi Ruins. This was another awesome site! You can imagine life here. The ruins are spectacular. It is amazing to see how the buildings had been made out of the land.  The Oraibi, which was built back in 1100 A.D., is thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America. According to the Hopi Tribe website, the site of the present-day village is not original, since Oraibi was first established below its present site at the base of Third Mesa. Hotevilla was founded in 1906 after a factional dispute in Oraibi led to a split in the village. Bacavi, located across from Hotevilla, was established in 1908 when a number of clans from Hotevilla tried to return to Oraibi but were not welcomed back. http://www.azheritagetraveler.org/templates/content-view.php?nid=2&sid=527

The last place we visited during our stay was the Kinishba Ruins. These ruins are what is left of the dwellings built between AD 1250 and AD 1400, by the Pueblo. Kinishba translated means  "brown house." At one time Kinishba was 3 stories tall with 600 rooms! The land in the area was good and fertile and the people who lived there were farmers. In 1993. Kinishba became a Threatened Historic National landmark and since then the White Mountain Apache Tribe has been granted money by the Arizona Heritage Fund to prepare an architectural preservation plan and a visitors center.

At the resort we swam in the pool, relaxed in the Jacuzzi, played pool and ping pong in the game room, and we Barbecued on our private deck.

All in all we had a fun and education vacation!