SUPERSTITION MT: HIEROGLYPHIC TRAIL

Wednesday, March 8 – Things have settled down here at VIP RV Park in Apache Junction, AZ. This park isn't bad now that we have gotten use to no longer being in the beauty of the Usery Mountains. The people are very friendly; it it very clean; sites are nicely spaced; and it has a great central location. Especially nice, it is close to the Superstition Mountains and the many outdoor activities.

The good news continues with Paul being able to fix the slideout. He wants to work on it a little more when we reach Houston with the concrete pads to crawl around on. We are pretty confident we'll be able to use the slide without a problem, but we think we'll close it up the night before departing the Phoenix area as a precaution.

We took advantage of the Superstition Mountains this morning by hiking the Hieroglyphic Trail. What a marvelous hike! We really enjoyed this moderate then easy trail. The wording of that last sentence was intentional and for good reason. The trail is a gradual uphill climb almost the entire way to the end (moderate difficulty) and then downhill for the return trip (easy peasy!) Elevation gain was about 590’.

We would definitely do this hike again but next time we'll take our hiking poles and a snack for lunch. Everything we read indicated an easy hike so we only took water bottles and a trail bar. The trail is one of the rockiest we've hiked lately, and we wished we had those poles we left back in the truck. The rocky trail sure slowed down our ascent.

What magnificent scenery! A very beautiful hike.

We could see for miles and miles and miles.

About two miles from the trail head we arrived at a boulder filled canyon complete with a waterfall and pool. We had to do some boulder scrambling. We certainly enjoyed the rest and a trail bar snack while enjoying the view.

The SALT (Superstition Area Land Trust) was doing some clean up in the area, hence the blue bags in the next photo.

This is why the trail is called Hieroglyphic trail.

Going down sooooo much easier than up.

This is a VERY popular trail, and crowds are expected. Even at our 8:25 departure, we were two of many on the trail. The return trip – closer to 10:30 was like a Sunday afternoon walk in a popular park! It doesn't take long to get use to the passersby. We enjoyed the hike regardless.

There are numerous trails branching off from this trailhead. Any one should be able to find a great and suitable hike here. The parking lot holds about 75 cars. It was FULL on our return.

You'll get towed if you park elsewhere. The neighbors in Gold Canyon development have spent big bucks to live in this awesome environment and don't take lightly to visitors filling their streets to hike in the surrounding mountains.

A couple of very happy hikers.

Paul heard from his cardiologist. His April 10th appointment has been moved up to March 20. We canceled our reservations in White Tank Mountains for next week. We will head back to Houston come Monday morning. We are so happy the appointment could be changed.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

BYE USERY MOUNTAINS. HELLO APACHE JUNCTION.

Monday, March 6 – We usually pull out of our campground and on to the next stop by 7:00 a.m  But, this morning we left Usery Mountain Regional Park bound for VIP RV Resort & Storage in Apache Junction, AZ, later than normal. Why? You ask…We only had about a 15 mile drive, to avoid Phoenix rush hour traffic and needed to wait for check-in time at our new location. Our biggest delay is due to trouble with our main slide-out refusing to retract. Paul worked on the slide a little over an hour. He finally was able to get the slide ready for a manual retract. He got a couple guys to help him push it shut. Paul will investigate repairs tomorrow.

Now what could be the problem?

VIP RV Resort is pretty basic, especially if they want to call themselves a resort. It is one very long street, nicely paved, and very wide for an RV park. The sites are gravel with cement patios with plenty of space between sites. They are 50 amp full hook-up sites. Everyone is very nice. Paul wanted to stay in Apache Junction rather than Mesa so he could enjoy the view of the Superstition Mountains. Unfortunately, a large warehouse blocks our view of the mountains.

Site #29.

Looking right.

Looking left.

Classify the following under “It's a small world.” After getting set-up in our site, we needed to go to Walmart for a couple prescriptions and other supplies. While standing in the pharmacy line a fellow passed by us after paying for his prescription. He stopped suddenly and asked, “Aren't you the Weavers?” Yep! Raymond and his wife are here in Apache Junction for the winter. He's been following our blog for years and recognized us from pictures we've posted on the blog. Amazing! Thanks for stopping to talk with us Raymond. It was a pleasure meeting you!

Our plans are to stay here a week, and then we need to re-evaluate our next destination. Paul is having some health issues and may need to return to Houston, TX, to see his doctor. We were hoping the lower altitude of Phoenix would help him but so far it hasn't proven to be the case. We'll evaluate our decision after talking to the doctor.

We are still treated to amazing sunsets here in Apache Junction.

This photo hasn’t been touched. That is how brilliant the sky was.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

MORE FROM USERY MOUNTAIN

Sunday, March 5 – We took another hike this morning in Usery Mountain Regional Park near Phoenix. We combined several trails to make a little over a 4-mile hike. Moon Rock was part of the hike and is an excellent hike with ups and downs. Great for mountain biking.

We can’t get over how green the desert is.

Maybe this is where Moon Rock trail got its name.

We've sure enjoyed this park, and the many hiking opportunities. We looked into extending our stay here but there are no vacancies.

Last night we attended a movie at the Nature Center entitled “Desert Dreams: Celebrating Five Seasons in the Sonoran Desert.” It was about life in the desert during the four seasons. We think the five comes from adding the rainy season to the four regular seasons.  It had no spoken lines, only the sounds of nature in the desert. Lasted about an hour and was pretty enjoyable. Well attended too – a full house.

Jan, Bill and Jan RVing in the USA, suggested that we check with the Ranger what the big Phoenix sign on the side of the mountain means. Marsha did just that. Here is what she found out.

A former WWII pilot was convinced some sort of directional aid was needed to help pilots find Phoenix. In the 1950s, the Air Explorers Boy Scouts cleared away brush and arranged rocks to spell “PHOENIX” on the southern slopes of one of the peaks in the Usery Mountains. They painted the rocks white, and it was fronted by a large white arrow pointing to the airport, located almost thirty miles away. Each letter is about 100 feet high and 12 feet wide.  The tip of the arrow to the end of the word, the sign is 1,00 feet across— that’s about the size of the Eiffel Tower. Now you know the rest of the story!

One last photo from Marsha. On her bucket list to get a photo of a javelin, Gambel’s quail, coyote and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Well, guess what. She got one of the four and is she thrilled. Doesn’t take much to make her happy.

Gambel’s quail.

This is our last day in the mountains north of Phoenix. Tomorrow we move down to Apache Junction. We will miss Usery Mountains but put it on the list of places we might want to return to again.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!