 |
| Hiking Log |
I'm pretty sure I have the answer to the pressing problems facing us today. Plant more trees. After hunkering down yesterday, reluctant to face the biting wind and mid thirty degree temperature, we "cowboyed up" today. We finished the last of the hikes in the park this morning, traveling 7.7 miles along the Quartz trail, so named for a large white outcropping of quartz that rises out of the desert like an altar along the trail. The Quartz, a trail we saved for last merely by accident turned out to be the most scenic of all, filled as it was with numerous majestic Saguaros. The sheer number must be due to the fact that the trail follows the valley floor along a wash which must get some moisture during the monsoon season. At any rate, even though we started walking this morning when the air temperature was 34 degrees, we soon heated up nicely and we were comfortable for the most part, especially since yesterday's harsh wind was absent. Upon our return, we ventured out to do laundry at Papi's Laundromat about fifteen miles down the road. It's a necessary part of traveling, and our pattern seems to be cleaning up the day before we move to a new spot. Tomorrow, we head to White Tank Regional Park, the largest of the parks in this area. It's on the West edge of Phoenix. The closest town is Sun City. Reportedly, it has a very nice selection of hikes from easy to very difficult. We'll see. We're hoping to catch some of the desert bloom. Today, we saw a few California poppies peeking their golden heads out, and every brittlebush seems ready to explode with its yellow buds. The fuzzy Chollas are also beginning to set on blooms, and stickers reedlike Ocotillo are also about ready. We've not witnessed a full bloom of the desert. It would be wondrous. We'll be at White Tank for ten days before making our way West to the California coast. Mimi will fly to Spokane to see Falcon for three days in the middle of our stay. I'll hold down the Frac. We're pretty excited. This has been an excellent stay in terms of hiking, medium in terms of riding the bike, and spectacular for viewing Saguaros, of which I never tire. So, basically, life is good, especially today.
"Can't wait to see you next week, Mimi!"
We passed these cowboys on the trail today.
The desert is quite serene, quite pleasing, and quite unapologetically harsh.
Plant more cactus.
The trails in the park, while rugged, are well marked.
See ya next time, partner.
The vista, majestic as far as the eye can see, can't really be captured in photos.
"Four more years?????"
No comments:
Post a Comment