Then, we drove out to see one of only two natural stands of palm trees that grow in Arizona.
They came over to pick us up at 9:00am. Ruth had packed a lunch, and off we went. It was a gorgeous blue sky day, and that's what is in the forecast for the whole week!
Heading out on the trail. It says you can free camp out here. Hey, Sherman could do this!
I love the saguaro cactus.
Geoff, getting out to lower the tire pressure. Might be some rough roads ahead!
Little bit of an uphill climb. I still say Sherman could have done this...
Look at the view. And the road is still in good shape. Who needs a four wheel drive...?
Ummm. Okay. Sherman might have had a difficult time here.
Made it to Dripping Springs.
Dripping Springs is exactly that. A wet patch that comes out of the ground in the middle of the desert. Not much to see, although it is kind of interesting that it exists in all of this dryness.
It was only a short hike to the springs. Not much to see, so not worthy of a photo.
This bush at the top of the hill was backlit by the bright sun.
Sherman might have had a tough time here. But he would have given it his best shot!
Okay, I have to admit, Sherman might have given up at this point. He's not a quitter, but I'm thinking he would have put it in reverse here.
Not us though! Yep, that's the rear wheel right off the ground!
Fran and Ruth getting lunch together.
Our lunch spot.
After lunch, we made our way back to highway 95 where we continued south for a few miles to the entrance to KOFA Wildlife area. We made our way about 7 miles on a smooth dirt road (Sherman could have done this with his hands behind his back!) where we then had a half hour hike to get to view this rare stand of desert palm trees.
Heading towards Palm Canyon.
In the center of this photo, you can see some greenery.
They are actually full size palm trees.
Amazing. How did they get there? Ruth and I tried to hike closer, but there are a couple of sheer rock areas where we probably could have got up, but might not have been able to get back down! We're not 25 anymore!
As we left, we spotted this hawk on top of a saguaro. Do you think he has a feeling of pins and needles in his toes??
What a great day we had. But it wasn't over yet...we made it back in time to watch the kickoff for the Superbowl. I'm not a big football fan, so I didn't have a preference of who won. The half time show didn't do anything for me, and there were only one or two half decent commercials. Geoff is a Patriots fan though, so he was happy with the outcome.
This morning is awning fabric installation day. Should be an interesting do it yourself project. I'll detail it all for you tomorrow, because maybe you can do it yourself!
Some great Amazon.com deals today on T-fal professional frying pans...
Cool pics and I bet the lunch was really good!
ReplyDeleteLunch was good but it is even better when you can enjoy views like this!
DeletePaul wants to do a 4-wheel ride so badly. The closest he came was when we went with John and Pam to Kofo. We did some really bad roads (?), I guess that is what you call them.
ReplyDeleteWe were amazed at Palm Canyon also. All four of us thought about the climb and then said no way! But, there were two people clear up in those palms. Crazy people.
Yep, the ride that we did with Geoff and Fran to Dripping Springs sure had a few rough spots and some very tight ones. It was a great ride and we sure enjoyed ourselves.
DeleteThe palms were pretty cool, it sure makes you wonder where the seed(s) came from that started them growing there in the first place!
We drove our little car to the palm canyon few years, was a little rough and hiked in a ways, but we got in close enough to see them and get a few pictures, like you said "how did they get here?"
ReplyDeleteAlso Castle Dome city is interesting as well, and you can drive Sherman in there. http://geosuzie.blogspot.ca/2014/03/visit-to-castle-dome-ghost-town-and.html
DeleteWe wondered how they started growing there in the first place too!
DeleteThanks for the link, I think this drive will have to wait for another visit. We have already been up and down that road several times and want to start exploring some other areas.
We don't do everything at once either, like to leave things for another time, no sense rushing around.
DeleteSherman has some Jeep DNA??? ;c)
ReplyDeleteWe have taken Sherman down some pretty rough roads before but I think this ride was a little beyond his capabilities even though we was named after a tank! ;-)
DeleteGorgeous but think I'll stick to the Anza-Borrego palm groves which are easy to walk to.
ReplyDeleteThis palms were easy to drive too and then a short hike in to see them so it wasn't too bad.
DeleteArizona was a busy place yesterday with the Superbowl and a big golf tournament near Scottsdale!
ReplyDeleteThankfully that was just in the Phoenix area and didn't affect us at all!
DeleteJust gotta love those 4 wheelin Jeep drives:))
ReplyDeleteYep, you sure do! Almost makes us want to buy an old jeep so that we could do more of that..almost! ;-)
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