We left the Sedona area and headed toward Phoenix. It was with some trepidation that we headed to the valley that is the city of Phoenix where approximately 1.6 million people reside. The valley is surrounded by mountains where you can find some of the nicest county parks we’ve had the pleasure to stay in. We reserved eleven days in Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa, Arizona. It’s a great park for hiking and biking in the Sonoran Desert.
Mesa is located in the East Valley and has had double digit growth since 2010 giving the city a population of just under 500,000. If it’s growth continues at its current rate of 13.3%, in a few years it will surpass Tucson as Arizona’s second largest city.
The Mesa Arts Center is an impressive complex of galleries, performance spaces and art studios. On Thursday they present a lunch time concert series.
The galleries featured three exhibitions; Just Cause: The power of contemporary art in social engagement, Facing the Giant: 3 Decades of Dissent- Shepard Fairey and Gift In The Rapture- Caledonia Curry (Swoon).
We’ve long admired the work of Shepard Fairey but have not seen his originals. We weren’t disappointed.
Usery Mountain Regional Park encompasses 3,600 acres with elevation ranges from 1,700 to 2,750 feet and contains a large variety of plants and animals with great birding opportunities. The park features miles of bike trails for every skill level and we spend most of our time in the park exploring those trails. There are two trails that are geared to hikers, the Pass Mountain Trail and the Wind Cave Trail.
Taking a break from biking we laced up our hiking boots and headed to the Pass Mountain Trail and it’s Vista Point, about 4.5 miles round trip.
In between biking and hiking, we found time to visit the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. The Garden features a wide assortment of cacti as well as a gallery for rotating art exhibitions.
The Garden was presenting a large exhibition of the work of Columbian artist Fernando Botero.
One hot afternoon we decided to drive to the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest to see if we could find the wild horses that live along the river.
Phoenix is the home of the Heard Museum. The museum features the work of Native American artists, both traditional and modern. The featured exhibition was “Early Days: Indigenous Art from the McMichael”. It was ironic that we came to Phoenix to see work from a gallery in Ontario, Canada. The exhibit featured both historical and contemporary work from throughout Canada.
While getting around Phoenix can be problematic, it’s an area that has a lot to offer. From great art museums, botanical gardens, restaurants, and local breweries, we’ve enjoyed our stay. We haven’t even mentioned the great regional and state parks that offer outstanding hiking and biking opportunities in addition to the sunsets.
At the end of our stay we experienced a meteorological phenomenon that we had not experienced in Phoenix before. Heavy cloud cover all day. A touch of Buffalo in the desert.
Tincan Travels 