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| Hiking | 3.81 Miles |
225 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.81 Miles | 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.52 mph |
| 225 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Spring Flower Quest 2011
Having suffered through a Saturday evening of Sharks dining on Coyote meat, I needed to get outdoors and complete what seems to have become a Spring-Time ritual since moving to the desert - chasing the desert wildflower display!
2011 wildflower reports have been underwhelming so far, with Boyce Thompson (see => [ Boyce Thompson ] ) being the epicenter for the best displays. With rain earlier in the week, I thought I'd check out some of my more reliable spots. Loaded up the F-150 and Skippy and I was off checking out irrigated river walk network at Wild Horse Pass.
Obligatory brittlebush and desert marigold blooms with the occasional orange globe mallow. Nothing to get excited about saw pretty much the same displays at South Mountain the day before.
Onto Hwy 347 (aka Queen Creek Road) which has always been a bell weather for wildflower conditions for me. Obligatory brittlebush and desert marigold blooms along the roadside, but I can pick out the odd Mexican poppy and African daisy - this is looking promising!
Onto Hwy 238 (aka Maricopa Road) and we bounced (when is Phoenix going to repair this road? The daily garbage transfer trucks are sure eating this road away!) our way towards the Shawmut Trainspotting Loop trail head. Couple of trains passed by before I could get Skippy and my cameras readied - no problem, there's sure to be more.
We cross the tracks and head into the main wash - plenty of isolated poppies here! Crest over the mountain and find lots of hedgehog cacti in bloom here. Into the basin to the copious brittlebush fields - nothing happening here this year! Circled around the mountains and back to the wash and waited by the bridge to capture some Trainspotting images.
Skippy and I wait. And wait. And wait. Patience expires and we head back to the truck without a Trainspotting image. As we angle onto the highway, I can see the distinctive dual headlights of a train...
Shawmut Trainspotting Loop => https://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=7372 , 3.82 mile figure eight loop with Skippy checking out the dearth of wildflowers. |
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Route Editor
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