Desert Hike

We went on a hike in the desert down in Arizona one day during our trip to see our parents.  It was a lot of fun and we got some exercise and sun and had a great time.

                                                       Jacquelyn and I .

My brother Mark and his wife Angela.  We live so far apart we don't get to see each other much and this was a good opportunity to do something together.

This is the Pass Mountain and our trail circled around this mountain, staying mostly in the flat lands around it.  The trail was 7.4 miles and was rocky and strenuous.   We were quite tired by the time we finished and it took us several hours.  Fortunately it wasn't too hot and we had lots of water with us.

There was lots of cactus around, we where in the middle of a real desert.  This is a beautiful Cholla Cactus on the left.

 Some famous Arizona Saguaro Cactus, which get really tall.

 A large Prickly Pear Cactus, which is a very common cactus.

Some colorful lichen on the rocks.  How it could grow on rock formations in the desert, not even in the shade, is a mystery to me?

 The desert floor showing a vast and empty, desolate valley, stretching out from the mountain.

 A close up of the cliffs of Pass Mountain.  On the far side of the loop our trail took us part way up.

 Here we are, the happy hikers, about halfway done with the trail.  We had fun.