Wandering in the Superstition Wilderness

Think we got on the wrong route to our goal of reaching an historic site called the Massacre Grounds*. After climbing a rubbly/rocky dry wash for 45 minutes we decided to abandon and head cross country to catch a trail we were familiar with!

Before we left the area we took the panorama movie below of our surroundings. It was such a pleasant day that we weren't too disappointed to abandon Plan A!

Once it starts you can go full screen and mute the wind noise.

* There is a legend that lies 40 miles East of Phoenix, within the powerful and rugged Superstition Mountain Range. This is the legend of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold, in which it has been said a plentiful but cursed gold mine still exists within these haunting mountains. This legend still today entices treasure hunters from all around to explore Superstition Mountains for this lost gold.

The beginning of this legend starts at Massacre Grounds. It has been said that in the 1840s there was a group of Hispanic miners working for the Peralta family and mining the area for gold. After a war in 1848 the land became Arizona territory, meaning that the miners and Peralta family would soon have to return to their homeland. In an attempt to bring home as much gold as possible, these miners began mining in different locations. In one of these areas they found a vast amount of gold and starting excavating the land. The only problem was that this was on Apache sacred land. The Apaches asked the miners to stop, but the miners in their greed ignored the Apache warnings and went on excavating. The Apaches decided they needed to make an example out of these miners.

They joined forces with other surrounding tribes and came up with a game plan to herd and attack the miners into an isolated area where they would have no chance of escape. Massacre Grounds Trail follows this attack route from the beginning to the miners unforeseen end.

Thanksgiving Day: Round 2

 Lucky us, we get to have the turkey dinner experience twice!

We joined our "family" of 16 persons in the Hall at our Park. Let us explain....

So, the family is created when folks put their name on a list where the first sign-ups become responsible for cooking a turkey provided by the Park and the rest of us indicate what we will bring to the meal.

On Thanksgiving Day we met to eat in the hall at 3 pm. Three banquet tables are arranged in a U-shape for each "family". The food is put on the the table at the bottom of the U and we sit along both sides of each arm of the U.

Our "family" enjoyed turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry condiments, two different salads, home made buns, roasted squash, roasted sweet potoato, harvard beets and a corn casserole. Then there was dessert - pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake! There were even leftovers to bring home.

We were at the same table as friends Wayne & Maureen but chatted mostly with people across the table from us whom we had never met before. That's the joy of this arrangement. Jim & Gerri are from Washington state, not too far from British Columbia. The most amazing thing we learned is that they have been married 68 years! We're just getting started, apparently, as we look forward to 50 years next April.

What we Missed this Morning in Calgary

 

A neighbour captured this scene early this morning on the frozen stormwater lake to the south of our Calgary condo building. They are coyotes walking on the ice!

Fruiting Olive Tree

                                     

This olive tree is a landscape planting - not in an orchard.

When in bloom, the tree is covered in white flowers and is showily beautiful.

This tree is about 12-15 ft tall.

The tree is loaded with fruit - should have tasted some, perhaps

Walking in the Desert

 

Here we are posing south of the Superstition Mountains, east of Apache Junction. Because it was another windy day, we chose to walk in the lee of the mountains to avoid the NE wind. It worked, and we had a fine time; it wasn't long before we were losing layers!

This area is well populated by the suguaro cactus which you may be able to see in the middle distance. Recent rainfalls are keeping the desert looking quite green.

Cousin Time

We had a fun day with Rose Lynn's cousin Cheryl; she's visiting with her son and family in Scottsdale.

First we found a great eatery for lunch in "Old Town" Scottsdale. While the food was good, the best part was that we also witnessed the thoughtfulness and compassion of the small business owner as she "spoiled" a grey-haired customer. We complimented her on her indulgence and she shared that the man and his wife had been Friday regulars but that the wife was in the hospital for knee surgery only two weeks following hospitalisation for a stomach bleed. The owner was making sure the man had food on hand for when his wife returned home the next day.

Since the weather, while sunny, was very windy and coolish (60F/15C) we went back to Cheryl's place and played a card game indoors. Later we sat outdoors, out of the wind, with the fire table keeping us warm! Then her family invited us for a meal. It was all so good!

Fancy Clouds

 

Another Rain Episode

Wednesday afternoon we had a few hours of rain. As the storm blew in, the temperature dropped from 22C/71F to 13C/56F in short order. Since then, the skies have cleared and the weather is warming up enough to play outdoors!

More Family Circus humour. So true.

" Being a grandparent is easier than being a parent 

'cause you get more time off"

Memories of Rose Lynn's Early Life

 

Rose Lynn grew up the eldest of 7 and was taken back in time 

with this Family Circus comic as her Mom also used this expression 😍

Lunar Eclipse Experience

 

(borrowed photo)

Happily, we (randomly) awoke about 5 am and were able to see the finish of the eclipse in a clear sky. As we have not had much luck with night photography, this image will give you some idea of what we saw - it was even more dramatic!

Changeable Weather

 On Thursday our weather came up cool (8C/mid 40sF) windy and showery in the morning. It's taken a few days getting over itself 😉and we've since enjoyed some more hiking and biking.

                       

Ocotillo leaves glowing in the sun

Last night was a Welcome Back potluck meal at the Hall; the Park provided fried chicken, we brought the fixin's and then we enjoyed a rock/country vocal duo, Desert Divas. Even got in a few turns on the dance floor - so much fun after all this time with covid hesitation.

Bill's Back at Bridge

Today, Bill met in Las Palmas Del Sol (a mobile home park near here) for one table of bridge. Exciting event! He has played with the same group other years including last fall before the rise of the omicron variant discouraged him from playing in person for the rest of the season. Better luck this winter.

Home...

Guess we're "home" for the duration - our internet was hooked up yesterday! 😂. Now we can catch you up on our adventures since we

 arrived in Beaver UT.

Leaving Beaver Sunday Oct 23

After congratulating ourselves on not being in Calgary on Saturday, winter arrived with a fury overnight in Beaver UT. As we sat playing games at our table, we watched as the temperature took a fast dive to freezing and listened to the wind and the rain. By morning we had 6-8" of SNOW

(and SNOW  is a four-letter word!).

It was a slow start as we discussed whether we should stay put (snow was continuing to fall) or brush off the accumulation and creep south to dry, warm weather. We decided to move and it was a slow crawl (better going south than north because there was little traffic coming out of even worse road condions to the the north) and we saw miles of traffic stopped northbound due to several vehicles in trouble. By the time we reached St George UT, we found what we were looking for - dry roads, rising temperatures and no sign of snow. We carried on to the Hoover Dam area and booked into a campground for 3 nights.

Two Days to Play

Morning view of (what's left of) Lake Mead from our window

Too windy to cycle so we walked the Historic Railway Trail, part of a service line created to deliver supplies during the building of the Hoover Dam in the '30s. Five over-height tunnels were blasted in this section to accomodate the equipment.

Sunset on Lake Mead from our campsite.

The next day we had absolutely perfect riding conditions (calm, about  20C / low 60sF) to tackle the River Mountains Loop, a challenging 34 mile/ 55 km route through the mountains to the west of our campsite. It's all paved, mostly with concrete, and much easier to accomplish with our e-bikes than the two previous times with our regular bikes!!!!

Arriving in Apache Junction  Weds Oct 26

It was an uneventful drive from Nevada to our winter home at Rock Shadows RV Park in Apache Junction, AZ. Arrived with plenty of time to get our site set up for the season.

It's Always Something! Thurs Oct 27

Returning from some errands in our truck, the "over heating" notification started chiming about 4 blocks from home; Bill pulled over immediately and called our Roadside Assistance service. The truck was towed to a local sevice shop we had used before. Thank goodness, this didn't happen in any of the remote locations we travelled on the trip down!!!!

 

The Verdict Friday Oct 28

We picked up the truck today after the water pump was replaced. It's been a costly year for truck repairs and sobering to think/admit that this lovely 2010 vehicle is aging just as we are....

Time to Play Again Saturday Oct 29th and onward

The weather has been warm ( hi 20sC / lo 80sF) so we have enjoyed getting back to our hiking and biking pleasures.

Aptly named Peacock Plant!