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.