Photo Blog with Waterfalls, Hiking, Outdoors, and other Adventures
After booking a terrible AirBnB in Maricopa it was time to get back on track with my plans. The original idea was to fly in and immediately drive to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and hike a couple days. Now plans have changed but at least I get one full day until I can come … Read more
My afternoon was mostly a failure but still got to enjoy some cool scenery. Second and final stop was at the Carney Springs Trailhead for a failed attempt at hiking to the Wave Cave in Gold Canyon, Arizona. The drive to get here is down well maintained dirt roads and weather looked good all the … Read more
Rental car snafus blew apart my original plan but that’s okay – it pushed me to some places I probably wouldn’t have visited otherwise. First stop was Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, Arizona. This site was the first prehistoric and cultural reserve established in the United States and a sacred place to the … Read more
After touring Hoover Dam I didn’t have any more set plans so I decided to visit the Lake Mead National Recreation Area visitor center and see what I could find. Took a short lunch break at Boulder Beach which already has some amazing scenery. Park staff turned me towards a hike at Owl Canyon, a … Read more
As I completed hikes I was crossing them off my paper map which was now covered in a fair amount of X’s. The big hike for today was to Lost Horse Mine / Lost Horse Loop trail for a 6.5 mile ass kicking. The trail starts and immediately climbs but has a gentle ascent that … Read more
No time to waste today, weekend crowds would surely be crazy so it’s time to get on the trails ASAP. First stop is Ryan Mountain, a small peak popular for it’s 360° panoramic views. The trail is about 1.5 miles each way but climbs about 1000 feet in that span. Most of the trail is … Read more
No star photos last night (overcast skies) but I did catch an awesome sunrise from camp this morning. Not much else to say – this is what makes my trips worth the effort. After my nutritious breakfast of coffee and Pop Tarts I broke down camp and headed out for some final hiking. Stay tuned, … Read more
From Mastodon Peak I continued on the trail to Lost Palms Oasis. This is an in/out trail going about 3 miles each way. The trail winds through many different types of landscape – hills, sandy washes, patches of rocks, and just about everything in between. Damages from flash flooding in October has blocked off the … Read more
Today’s afternoon trek would be a long one starting at the far southern entrance at Cottonwood Springs. Parts of the road & trail were closed due to flood damage but you could access the trail via the Cottonwood Campground. The trail starts by winding through a sandy hike through the lower lying fingers and has … Read more
From Arch Rock I continued south on Pinto Basin Road. It’s Friday meaning the park is filling with weekend visitors and I wanted no part of the crowds. The southern entrance gets far less traffic and should give me some peace. This post is a bit “odds and ends” that don’t fit elsewhere so I … Read more