Whoa, chilly start to the day but supposed to heat up to 26C this afternoon. A light breakfast and then both ready ourselves for our morning walks.
We were visited by Quail while eating our breakfast
Barb will walk about the campground exploring some of the nature trails while I strike off to the Superstition Mountains and UP the Siphon Draw trail. It will take me an hour before I run out of energy and decide to stop and come back down. I manage a 281m (922ft) gain in elevation, not bad for a ‘flat lander’.
Barbs walk about the campground
My walk up & down the Siphon Draw trail
The remainder of the day we spend relaxing and reading at the campsite before a short walk together about the campground after dinner.
Sunset
Tomorrow we leave and head North towards the Grand Canyon. We’re going to camp on BLM land for one night and then in Grand Canyon village for a second night. Come back to see how we make out.
Today we head towards Phoenix, AZ. The sun is up early and we go about our morning rituals to get ourselves and the van ready for a drive. We will miss Picacho Peak State Park, it is beautiful and serine.
Our drive along I-10W is uneventful, yep back to our old friend for what I think will be the last time. Nearing Phoenix we turn East on the 202 and the North on the 101. We’re heading North towards Scottsdale, AZ where we will stop at Taliesin West.
Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ
Taliesin West (now a National Historic site) was the Winter home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. Purchased by FLW in the 1930s, the land was developed by himself and the students of his fellowship using local materials that blend harmoniously into the surrounding landscape.
We took the self-guided audio tour (other tours were all sold out) which lasted about an hour and looked about the grounds and through FLWs office, the living quarters and the drafting studio. The tour was really well put together and gave you an amazing insight into the methods & philosophies applied when the campus was built. Enjoy a few of the pictures we took.
FLW’s office
Outdoor views
Living room
Leaving Scottsdale, we head back across the city towards the East and the Lost Dutchman State Park. It is located at the foot of the Superstition Mountains near Apache Junction, AZ.
This is a very popular park because of its close proximity to Phoenix and we were only able to reserve a rustic site (no services) for 2 nights. The view is amazing!
Another short post today, the wind continues but it’s only going to get to 17C so it will feel cooler than that. The days starts with my walking around the park again, I take the following selfie.
Once back to the campsite Barb catches me relaxing.
We have breakfast and relax for the remainder of the morning. After lunch we go for a walk towards the peak in the background of the photo above. We have no intention of trying to climb it. Along the way we find more colorful flowers and cactus.
We stopped on our hike to take the following picture of Barb next to a Saguaro cactus. They really are quite a bit taller than you might think.
The following is near the end of our hike at the foot of the mountain. This really is quite a special place and we highly recommend this state park to anyone visiting the SW Arizona area.
Tomorrow we’re back on the road. Come back soon to see where we went.
A quick post today. We’re relaxing and doing some reading while the warm winds whip around our site knocking over chairs and footstools. We both finish the books we are reading by the end of the day. Sometimes staying still is very therapeutic. Enjoy a few pictures taken while walking earlier today and one from this evening.
What a night! I still struggle with the complete silence that envelopes you here at night. I suffer from tinnitus and as such when it’s as quiet as it is in the desert, the only sound I hear is literally in my head.
As for darkness, well. As you can tell from the picture in the last post taken at about 4:00am this morning (& reposted below), it gets REALLY dark out here and with there being no tall trees, the sky is REALLY big.
This was the westernmost point in our trip and today we head eastward back to Picacho, AZ. Nope, not to look for Pokémon, but to camp for the next three nights.
Marmalade on cornmeal muffins with coffee
Painted Rocks Petroglyph Park
Returning to the I-8E we pass the Solana Generating Plant, a very large parabolic trough solar power plant capable of generating enough electricity to power 70,000 homes!
Solana Generating Plant
Picacho Peak State Park is known for its wildflowers and hiking trails so we are really looking forward to the next few days. Due to a water shortage in the area, they are asking all campers to arrive with a full water tank as there is no potable water available in the park.
The drive back towards Casa Grande and down to Picacho is uneventful and rather than write anything about todays drive I ask you to re-read yesterdays blog backwards (kidding). 😜
Picacho Peak, AZ
We arrived at the park shortly after 1:00pm and it’s busy with lots of day use folks out for a hike. The campground is flagged as being full, however the sites are nicely separated and so it seems quieter than we expected (Ontario Parks take note).
