Hot Day in Phoenix

Saturday morning, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel then made the short drive to the Mormon Trailhead parking for South Mountain Park/Preserve.  By 9 in the morning, it was already hot, but at least it wasn't humid.  The Mormon Trail heads straight up the mountain, but it wasn't too steep, just a steady uphill.

As we got up higher, there were great views of Phoenix and the valley.  Ocotillo was flowering.

Although the mountains surrounding Phoenix were steep, the valley was almost perfectly flat.  We saw a number of lizards on the hike, including some "carrot tail" chuckwallas.

They seemed to be enjoying the 90 degree weather.  One was eating brittlebush flowers.

When we got to the top, we took the National Trail to Hidden Valley Loop and went left to hike in the clockwise direction.  There were lots of saguaros in the valley.

Shortly, we came to the natural tunnel through the mountain.

There were some petroglyphs on the wall at the entrance.

Past the tunnel, we had to scramble up the rocks to the next section.  Around here were a lot of desert blister beetles.

The produce a chemical toxin if handled that is a blistering agent.  Many of them were mating.

Just before Fat Man's Pass, we then saw some people coming down a very steep and difficult section.  When they got down, we noticed a much easier way to get up and down.  Then we reached Fat Man's Pass and had no trouble squeezing through.  We finished up the loop and started heading back.  On the way, we stopped to climb up the small peak along Mormon Loop Trail that had more fantastic views of Phoenix way below.

There were lots of creosote bushes flowering in the desert.

Then we continued back to the car.

Our next stop was Mystery Castle.  The castle was built by Boyce Gulley who moved to Arizona in the 1930s from Seattle after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.  It was built almost entirely with local and recycled materials.

When we arrived, we paid and waited for the next tour.  There were nice views of Phoenix from here.

The eclectic nature of the building made for very interesting views.

The first area we toured was the kitchen and was relatively normal.

We had to go outside to go to the next area.  All of the furnishings were so unique and out of the ordinary.

It was easy to see how random things were used as construction materials.

There were 13 fireplaces in the castle.

The last area we toured was a lower level beneath the gift shop.  It was a little cooler in here.  There was even a little crypt down here.

After the tour, we got lunch and then headed to Papago Park and the Double Butte Loop Trail from the West Parking Lot.  We followed the trail past Little Butte to Eliot Ramada for a short break in the shade.

Next, we got on Big Buttle Loop.  It was quite hot by now, so we climbed up to the butte and took a rest in the shade.  A little Anna's hummingbird was perched on a branch up here.

There were really nice views and it was nice to cool off in the shade.

After a rest, we headed back and drove over to the Hole in the Rock.

It was really crowded but we hiked around to the back.

But it was too crowded to stay long.

From here, we headed back to the hotel.  Embassy Suites had a happy hour with free cocktails so we took advantage.  Then we had dinner at the hotel and started packing for a very early flight home.

Canyoneering Parker Creek

Friday morning, we checked out of Roosevelt Resort Park.  Since they don't serve breakfast on weekdays, we headed to Ma's Kitchen for a hearty breakfast.  Then we made a short drive to the diversion dam and met our canyoneering guide, David from Phoenix Wilderness Adventures.  From here, we followed David into Tonto National Forest on AZ-288.  It was a beautiful drive and we could see the ecosystem change from desert to forest.

Along the way, David pointed out a rare crested saguaro cactus right alongside the road.

In the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest, we parked at a pull off across from Forest Road 488 and got our stuff together.  When ready, we started hiking along FR-488 towards Parker Creek Canyon.  At Sand Tank Canyon, we we put on our wet suits and descended to Parker Creek.

The first part was just creek walking and pretty easy.  The first real obstacle and waterfall was a water slide.

We could have gone around but it was a lot more fun sliding down.  We were pretty deep in the canyon now with the walls towering high above.  And soon the rappelling began.  The first rappel was adjacent to a smaller waterfall just downstream of the slide.

There was a rock stuck at the top of the waterfall, so I called it Stuck Rock Falls.

Shortly past this, we rappelled down another 20-foot waterfall that I'm calling Upper Parker Creek Falls.

It wasn't huge bug very scenic.

After this point, we creek walked a ways further through the beautiful canyon with the sheer walls towering above.  The next waterfall was probably 25 feet and I'm calling this one Middle Parker Creek Falls.

Not long after was the big one - an 80-foot waterfall.  I called this one Lower Parker Creek Falls.

As David was setting up the ropes, I noticed that there were a lot cacti growing in the basalt cliffs.  They were really beautiful and looked like manicured cactus gardens.  But not too much time for photos as we had a big one to head down.  It was really fun.

At the base, we got out of our wetsuits and started making the climb out of the canyon through a very steep draw.

It reminded me of the Devil's Slide in Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  There were lots of wildflowers blooming in here.

Soon, we made it to the top.  I was shocked looking at my phone that we had been in for over 6 hours - I guess time flies when you're canyoneering.  Hiking back, we got some awesome views of the canyon from above.

Lots of cacti and wildflowers blooming along the way.

And the views of the surrounding mountains were great.

Back at the cars, we said good-bye to David and started making our way back towards Phoenix.

We stopped for Mexican for dinner at De La Cruz right at sunset.

There was an awesome sunset view from the parking lot.

I just love all the saguaros.  After some pictures, we had fajitas for dinner and and then drove to Phoenix and checked into the Embassy Suites.  It was a very nice room, but we were tired and went to bed soon.

Fossil Creek Falls

Thursday, we checked out of the hotel and headed north.  Near Camp Verde, we got on the rough FR-708 towards Fossil Creek.  It was almost an hour drive on this long and bumpy gravel road to reach the creek.  We stopped a couple times to see some of the beautiful wildflowers blooming along the road.

Overall, the road wasn't that bad - we parked at the end at the Waterfall Trailhead parking.  The Waterfall Trail started just a little ways up the closed section of the road.  More wildflowers were blooming along the trail.

It was about a mile to the waterfall, but we stopped quite a few times.  Fossil Creek itself is really pretty and there were some nice cascades along the trail.

High levels of calcium carbonate in the water make travertine dams along the creek.

Soon we came to Fossil Creek Waterfall.

When we arrived, nobody else was here.  I got some pictures and then tested the water.  It was cold, but such a beautiful color of turquoise.

So I braved the cold water and took a dip.  It was chilly so I didn't stay in long, but very refreshing.

I got out and realized I had forgotten to bring a towel.  But the air is so dry in Arizona, I didn't need it and dried off in just a couple minutes.  As I got out of the water, more people started showing up so we didn't stay much longer.  Heading out, we spotted a western fence lizard sunning himself on a rock.

A little further, there were a whole bunch of chub swimming in a shallow pool below a cascade.

Fossil Creek is certainly one of the prettiest creeks I've seen.

Soon we made it back and then the long, bumpy drive out.

Leaving the Fossil Creek area, we headed back to Payson and drove to the Water Wheel Recreation Area.  The area is named for the historical water wheel that has been moved from the river.

An unofficial trail leads along East Verde River.

There were some scenic little drops along the river, which flowed through a very rocky gorge.

We continued up from the confluence with Ellison Creek, but there wasn't much up here and it headed back towards the road.  So we crossed at the confluence and followed Ellison Creek upstream.

Not much of a trail, but it was easy to follow.  The trail ends at Ellison Creek Cascades.

It was a scenic little waterfall and a couple people were swimming.

The water was cold here again and I decided not to take another dip.  After some pictures, we headed back.

Then we drove south past Roosevelt Lake to the Roosevelt Resort Park.  After checking in to the hotel, we had dinner at the restaurant.  There was a beautiful sunset from the back porch.

But we couldn't stay up too late as we had a big day tomorrow.