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).
It’s time to leave Tuscon and continue our journey. The days are definitely getting warmer here yet the nights are still chilly. I awakened this morning wishing I had my extra blanket last night. So, up again at 6:00 and out for my walk. Nobody else seems to be awake yet, probably because it’s Saturday.
Today will see us head to the most westerly point we will achieve on this trip, but more on that later. First, we have to strike camp and hit the road. A shower followed with a light breakfast sets us up for the day. Packing away goes smoothly and we’re off the site by 9:30. Traffic in Tuscon is light being a Saturday, but still as frantic as ever it seems, particularly the nutty motorcyclists that choose to weave between lanes and traffic far above the speed limit all while wearing just a tee-shirt and jeans.
Tuscon and area, heading NW.
North of Tuscan the desert returns intermixed more and more agriculture. Eventually we leave the I-10W and begin passing lots of open farmland. It’s heavily irrigated from long drainage canals that run alongside the roads. Looking at the crop we were confused as it appears to be Alfalfa, in the desert? Sure enough, a little further along we see a farmer cutting the crop and sure enough it’s Alfalfa being cut in March! But for what?
Large Alfalfa bales drying on the sun
That question is answered a little further along as we pass a huge dairy farm. Due to the climate the barns are all open sided and silage is ramped for use later in the year. This farm has to have in excess of 500 cows plus younger animals. It will not be the last such farm we see like this today, nor the largest.
Huge dairy farm near Casa Grande, AZ
We finally arrive in Coolidge, AZ at our first stop of the day, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The site contains the remains of a village from around the 1300s. The main attraction is a large multistory adobe structure named ‘Casa Grande’ (Big House). There have been very few of these ever discovered and it is now protected from the elements under a large steel structure. The thought is that this site acted as an important trading site in the area and was important amongst the Hohokam tribes that lived in this area 700 years ago.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Leaving Coolidge, we drove to the city of Casa Grande where we reprovisioned at Walmart and picked up lunch from an Firehouse Subs. Argh, it’s Saturday and everyone in town is out shopping. It seems.
We leave town and head West on I-8W. It could take us to San Diego, CA if we wanted but our goal was much closer and far less occupied. Tonight we would set up camp on BLM land at the Painted Rocks Petroglyph Site and Campground near Dateland, AZ. $8/night without any services to camp in the desert away from it all. There are other campers here as well, but there is lots of room between us and so it feels almost as if we’re all alone.
BLM camping
In the late afternoon we wander around the Painted Rocks and observe petroglyphs that are 1000s of years old.
Painted Rocks petroglyphs
As the sun sets the magic begins. One by one the stars appear, these is no light intrusion here as we’re far enough away from any urban area. The moon unfortunately is almost full which obscures half of the stars in the sky. However, those we do see are brilliant.
SunsetStargazing. The shadow is caused by the moon.MoonshadowBig Dipper over the van
At 4:00am I awake and take a look outside. The moon has set and now the sky is full of stars, even the milky way is visible, I’ve include a picture below.
