I really thought that Fall had arrived in the Valley of the Sun when the temp during my walk yesterday morning was in the low 50's. Even BJ was celebrating the arrival of Fall on her Facebook page. Unfortunately, the overnight lows for the next week are all forecast to be over 60 degrees.
It has been cool enough to make hiking enjoyable. The gals invited me to go with them a couple weeks ago on a hike to Wind Cave at Usery Park.
It's a 3.2 mile round trip with 800 feet elevation gain that leads through the desert to beautiful view of the valley. It's impossible to get lost on this hike with directions to Phoenix in view throughout the hike. Apparently the pilots that trained here during World War II had a bad habit of getting lost.
In addition to the trails, the approximately 6 square mile park includes over 70 sites in the camping area with water, electric, and a dump station for $25 per night. Nearly empty during the summer, it will be filling up now that temps are more reasonable. Dry camping is available about 7 miles away in the Tonto National Forest for $6 per night with 50% off for seniors.
The confirmation that seasons are changing is the number of out-of-state license plates that are showing up on the street. Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington, and Oregon are all showing up in significant numbers. I guess it's time to get out and enjoy our local back country.
I lost my son on the Wind Cave trail. He was under 10 at the time and he went sprinting on down the hill. He went right past the parking lot and ended up in the next lot with a couple on horseback. Half an hour later I found him drinking a soda and petting the horses. Pass Mountain is one of my favorite local trail.
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