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| Hiking | 2.22 Miles |
201 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.22 Miles | 1 Hour 10 Mns | | 2.08 mph |
| 201 ft AEG | 6 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | After picking me up in front of the Superstition Museum, we drove to LDSP as Ambika won a free 6 month pass. There was a bit of a line to get in. We were there early enough, however, to get parking in the main TH lots. There were quite a few vehicles already there and it was full when we got back.
We were really on a wildflower hunt but getting in a hike would be a great secondary activity. We took the nature trail toward the Siphon Draw entry as we didn't know you could walk straight east to get on the trail from the parking area. It was fun to walk through here and check out some of the art and other displays. Finally we got through the gate and onto a trail heading east.
We had barely started hiking on Jacob's Trail when we heard a swoosh and looked up to see three hanggliders on their way down. I should have shot a movie but I did individual pictures instead. It was great fun to watch but was over in less than two minutes  . I sure hope they enjoyed that short thrill after a long and hard hike to get up there.
And now on with the show. We did get some wildflowers, but mostly Brittlebush getting ready to spring. There were huge patches of Desert Hyacinth which as usual, was a challenge to photograph. I did a pretty decent job in 2010 but I think the patch was particularly clear of other flora [ photo ] and [ photo ] . And then, Ambika looked over to the Praying Hands and said, "Are those waterfalls?" I initially looked over and didn't think so but I got out the Pany and did some zooming and by gosh, there were a few waterfalls  . Needless to say, we were quite surprised to see that, even at this distance. As we headed back and realized we were on the right trail to take us to the Trailhead parking, we noticed these white daisies below in the gully so we dropped down to check them out.
We drove to Canyon Lake in the hopes of spotting some wildflowers along the way. And we did see some but not in an area where one could pull over safely to go photograph them. We did pull out at a place just before the Tortilla TH and did some 'sploring to a high point where we would see from the Four Peaks to a finger of Canyon Lake to First Water Creek way below. Along the way I captured a Black-Throated Sparrow on a Palo Verde Tree branch singing so I made it a youtube star as I recorded its voice for 30 seconds [ youtube video ] . The day before I filmed a Phainopepla but wasn't close enough to hear it.
We had intended to get lunch at Canyon Lake but apparently the restaurant is closed and per the slightly rude security person, it is closed permanently. We did notice the operation is under new management. So we headed to Tortilla Flat for lunch. We had to wait about 30 minutes but that was fine as it was a great day to hang out so we played tourist, checking out the town. We had a wonderful meal at the restaurant followed by Huckelberry ice-cream for me and some Huckleberry popcorn. It ain't cheap, but it's huckleberry.
The girls dropped me back at Tonto 3 and they went to Silly Mountain. All in all, despite the lack of wildflowers, a good day. Afterall, we had the pleasure of hanging out at Bush Highway the Sunday before and got plenty of wildflower action there. Plus, Ambika and me were at Bartlett Lake the day before. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Chuparosa, LOTS of Desert Hyacinth and the Brittlebush is ready to spring (running late this year) |
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| _____________________
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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