Tag: tincantravels

The foothills that surround Phoenix are home to a number Maracopia County parks. White Tank Mountain is one we’ve not explored before. It’s located in the west valley of Phoenix in Surprise nestled in the foothills of the White Tank Mountains.

As we drove through massive development throughout the west valley we wondered about our park choice. We came for the extensive mountain biking and hiking trails and we were not disappointed.

The west valley had long been an agricultural area, where cotton and flowers were cultivated. This part of Phoenix is experiencing explosive growth with fields being replaced by new housing and massive warehouses.

As an antidote to the developing sprawl of the west valley we traveled 70 miles north of Phoenix to visit the experimental town of Arcosanti.

The architect Paolo Soleri proposed a concept based on the integration of architecture and ecology in the 1970’s. He named the concept arcology. He wanted to demonstrate that urban conditions could improve while minimizing the destructive impact of development.

The buildings are constructed of concrete made from materials found on site. The concrete panels were cast in a bed of silt acquired from the surrounding area and give the concrete a unique color and texture.

Beautiful architectural details can be found around every corner.

The community’s main source of income comes from the sale of bells, both ceramic and cast bronze.

White Tank Mountain Park provides a buffer to all the development. For the time being it is a natural oasis that provides a welcome respite. The picnic areas, hiking and biking trails are magnets for the people of Phoenix. We stuck close to camp to maximize our time on the trails during our stay.

The waterfall that the trail is named after is seasonal. We didn’t expect to see water so we were surprised to see a pool of water at the base of the falls.

The white granite rocks where water pools during the rainy season is how the mountains got their name, White Tank.

The trail also features numerous petroglyphs created by the Hohokam people who populated the mountains 1000 years ago.

The trails are rocky but still very doable with a mountain bike.

Most of the trails in the park are multipurpose, available to hikers, bikers and equestrians. Our preference is biking but some of the trails are beyond our skill level.

We decided to hike into the mountains to check out three canyons: the Mesquite, Ford and Willow. The eight mile hike took us into the backcountry. We took our time.

We were treated to some great canyon views.

Spring in Arizona is not far away. Wildflowers are beginning to make their presence known.

On our last day in the park we drove to the Musical Instrument Museum(MIM). This is one of our favorite museums. If you find yourself in the Phoenix area don’t pass this museum by. There are permanent exhibits and every country of the world has a display featuring its native instruments and music. In addition they have rotating special exhibits, Treasures: Legendary Musical Instruments is currently on display.

The permanent exhibits also feature some very unusual instruments.

The museum also has a wonderful 350 seat concert hall with amazing acoustics. We stuck around to hear Leo Kottke and Dave King. This unusual pairing was remarkable and a pleasant way to end our time at White Tank Mountain Park.

We left Desert Hot Springs and went south along the west side of the Salton Sea to Borrego Springs. A mile and a half outside of town is the entrance to the Palm Canyon Campground in Anza-Borrego Desert Park. The park is located on the western side of the Colorado Desert and is California’s largest state park, about the size of Rhode Island.

Biking is limited but there is plenty of hiking to be had. We started by heading down Coyote Canyon to hike the Desert Garden. Be assured that there is no garden to tour along this trail.

The Ranger at the Park Visitor Center suggested we try Little Surprise Canyon, a short ride from the Park.

Whenever we travel we encourage friends and family to meet up with us. It is rare that anyone ever takes us up on the offer. This trip Shelly’s cousin Marlene and her husband Lee met up with us for a weekend of desert fun.

On their first day in camp we hiked the Outlook Trail.

The Palm Canyon hike is very popular. You hike one and a half miles up the canyon to a palm oasis. In years past you were allowed into the Palm oasis but since it burned three years ago that is not allowed. The trail has been rerouted to a view point above the oasis.

The canyon is home to a herd of Peninsular Big Horn Sheep. Everyone hiking the canyon hopes to get a glimpse of them. As we hiked into the canyon we saw three sheep silhouetted high on a ridge. They were too far away to get a decent photo. Descending the trail we chose an alternate trail but soon lost our way. After scrambling over boulders we found ourselves in a small meadow face to face with this guy.

Marlene and Lee left for home after two days of camping with us. Before they left we checked out Galleta Meadows Estate. The Estate consists of privately owned plots of land with metal sculptures scattered throughout the properties. The sculptures were created but Ricardo Breceda. The work was commissioned by Dennis Avery, the owner of Galleta Meadows.

Tamarisk Campground is a small primitive camp just over Yaqui pass. We didn’t camp there but drove over one morning to hike the cactus loop trail.

Our drive home took us back through Yaqui Pass. As we neared the summit we stopped to hike the William Kenyon Overlook Trail for an expansive view of the San Filipe Wash.

On our last day in the park we connected with Paul and Susanne who were staying in a park near us. We arranged to meet at the entrance to Blair Valley for some hiking.

We finished the hike and decided to try one more short hike before parting ways.

The trail gets its name from the numerous morteros along the trail. Mortero is Spanish for mortar . These “bedrock holes” were created by the Kumeyaay people who lived here a thousand years ago. Think of the morteros as stone food processors.

We’ve had a wonderful time here in Southern California but it’s time to move on. Arizona and the Sonoran Desert beckons. But one more look at Palm Canyon as you descend along the Alternative Trail.

Here we are staying in another private RV park. What gives? In Tucson staying in a private RV park gave us easy access to Tucson and great mountain biking. Here at Sky Valley it’s access to the mineral hot springs as well as its proximity to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs. We scheduled our stay to coincide with the Palm Springs Film Festival which was sadly canceled due to the current Omicron surge.

The mountain biking here involves riding along dirt roads through the Colorado desert. It’s not a very scenic ride.

We booked two weeks to enjoy the park’s hot springs.

We get to the springs when they open and often have them to ourselves.

Our proximity to Palm Springs gave us the opportunity to hike the Indian Canyons located in the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

No trip to Desert Hot Springs is complete without a visit to the Sam Cobb Date Farm whose motto is “We Grow Good Dates” and they do it without pesticides. The date blooms are pollenated by hand and placed in mesh bags to keep insects and animals at bay while the fruit matures.

The nearby Whitewater Preserve offers excellent hiking opportunities. We chose the 4 mile Canyon View Loop.

Palm Springs has a very nice art museum, vaccinations are required as well as masking while inside. Robert Longo’s large charcoal drawings were featured.

The museum also has an eclectic mix of outdoor installations.

East of Desert Hot Springs is one of our favorite National Parks- Joshua Tree. In spite of their name they are not actually trees they are succulents. Mormon immigrants named them as they were heading west.

Joshua Tree NP is very large, spreading across the Colorado and Mojave deserts. In addition to Joshua Trees there are wonderful piles of Granite boulders to explore.

We spent a day hiking the Black Canyon section of Joshua Tree with our friends Paul and Susanne. We headed out to the Panorama Loop.

As an added bonus Shelly was able to spend time with his high school friends Jim and Suzy.