Hiking to the Garden

Last week we hiked from a trailhead we had never been to before.  We took the Second Water Trail to Garden Valley.  The rocks were covered with green lichen.

We saw lots of chain fruit cholla cactus.

Here is a group from the Youth Conservation Corps improving the trail.  They were pulling rocks from one location and using them to line the trail in a place that was washed out.  That is very hard work.

There were views of the surrounding hills.

We crossed the dry First Water wash.  Someone had built two cairns to show the way.  This is one of them.

Although there was no water in First Water, debris showed damage from a previous flood.

I love saguaros and there were lots to see on the hike.

This is perhaps the tallest saguaros we have ever seen.  What it lacks in beauty, it makes up for with height.

It was a good hike and we will return to the area again.

Another hike

Tuesday we went on a hike with friends Barbara and Ron. Our destination was the Cats Peak and Cat's Peak Pass in Usery Mountain Park. The desert there is just beautiful.

There was a forest of cholla cactus.

Barbara likes taking pictures of the cholla, too.

Here are my three hiking companions.

It was a great hike and we finished with lunch at Village Inn in Apache Junction.

First Hike of the Season

We love to hike and we love the desert. We hope to get out regularly this winter to hike in the Arizona desert. We didn't do that much last year. We have been here for just over a week and decided it was time to start.

Our destination was the Wind Cave trail in Usery Mountain Regional Park. The temperature was in the low 70s when we started out, thankfully low for this time of year.  John stopped by the great saguaro.

Usery is at the right elevation to support a beautiful desert landscape.

Last week we had a good rain and it brought out the leaves on this ocotilla.

Wind Cave is a steep but fairly short trail--3 miles round trip. We have hiked it almost every year we have come to Arizona for the winter but we didn't go there last year. It was good to do it again today.

The cholla was really pretty today.

This is the rock face of the mountain  where Wind Cave is located.  Lichen on rocks here in southern Arizona is always this fluorescent lime green--so striking.

Scenery like we saw today is why we enjoy Arizona--when the weather cools down. It's so much better than snow back in Colorado!

John took a picture of me in the cave--which really isn't a cave but an overhang of rock above the trail.

A Prickly Day

No, I'm not talking about prickly people or prickly relationships. This is about prickly plants. Like these cholla cactus. Pretty to look at, dangerous to touch.





Here is another cholla. The chain fruit look smooth and soft. Trust me, don't touch them. You will be pulling spines from you hand for a long time. I know.



We went for a hike at San Tan Regional Park this morning. Watch where you step and be careful not to sit down right here. This hedgehog cactus will really make you uncomfortable.



This barrel cactus is reaching for the sun.



We saw lots of horse-back riders today. We come from Colorado, where lots of people own and ride horses. But we haven't seen nearly as many on the hiking trails we enjoy there as we do on the trails here in Arizona. Today we saw more than usual.





And the parking lot showed how they all got there.



But the most special sights of the day were the saguaros. We just love them. They develop into such interesting shapes.







The saguaro really tells us we are in Arizona.