We left the west valley of Phoenix and traveled 52 miles across the valley to Usery Mt. on the valley’s east side. The trip, mostly on expressway took 1 1/2 hours. The valley is included in Maricopa County which is home to over 4.7 million residents. That’s 65% of Arizona’s population. No wonder it took so long to cross the valley.
The desert on this side of the valley is greener with a greater abundance of flora. Why? This side of the valley is in the rain shadow of the Goldfield Mountains and gets more precipitation as a result.
We’ve camped here before but came back for the hiking and biking. While the trails aren’t as challenging as those in White Tank they are fun to ride.
The Pass Mountain Trail is considered a Black Diamond trail and that’s well above our mountain biking skills. We left our bikes at camp and hiked the trail. The hike offers some great views of the surrounding mountains and desert.
The trail off the mountain takes you through an area thick with saguaro cactus.
On our last day in the park the temperature dropped and it rained most of the day. A good time to go to the laundromat.
The rain let up and we walked out into the desert. The birds were happily singing and the desert smelled incredible.
While it was cloudy and rainy on our last day we did get to experience a lot of sunny days with amazing sunrises and sunsets.
Tincan Travels 
Fantastic photos! We love getting your journey photos and travelogues!
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Hard to believe I lived 29 years in the desert and now I live in Raleigh! So different! I’m glad you are enjoying your journey!
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What gorgeous photos!
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You certainly have a lot of “big sky” pictures. You, again, amaze me with your pictures and documentation. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
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Nice
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WOW!! Such beauty you capture in your lens! Rain in the desert—when it rained in the Mojave, people would emerge from their houses to stand and feel water coming down from the sky.
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