Now at Hickiwan Trails, Why, AZ

Today we finally moved from Usery Mountain Regional Park. We loved it there! But today we were off to Hickiwan Trails RV Park near Why, AZ which near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and we've signed up for a week.

We left Usery at 9:50 a.m. and arrived here shortly after 1:00 p.m. after an uneventful trip. It took a long time to get set up, first of all trying to find a site that we could get into easily and then, of course, all the setup items. We were met when we drove in by Kelly of the Bayfield Bunch . Kelly and Al are also from Ontario, Canada. The people we've met here so far are really friendly.

Tomorrow I have some housekeeping items to get done so will probably be hanging around the RV.

Here's a photo of our site - doesn't look great with our truck parked where it is but here's the view from our rear window - it's not bad at all!


We went for a short walk in the desert after we were finished setting up. It's pretty but different from the area around Usery. I thought there would be some Organ Pipe Cactus here but apparently it only grows naturally within the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Our Last Day at Usery Mountain Regional Park

Today again was bright and sunny and we reached a temperature of 55F (13C) and I did my usual morning exercise.

The plan today was to visit Carefree and Cave Creek, two artsy towns north of Scottsdale. We arrived at Carefree around noon. The downtown of Carefree is built in a sort of a circle around the town square where the sundial is located. It's a very pretty square with fountains (photo below) and ponds and this very cute gila monster slide (photo below). The sundial claims to be America's largest and most accurate.

Easy Street


Sandra with sundial in the background

The English Rose Tea Room

We had decided to look for a restaurant that served all day breakfast and we found one in the shops along "Easy Street" which is the name of the main street. Called the Saguaro Cafe, this is an excellent place for breakfast, the 12 grain bread was really good as were the ham and eggs and the price was fairly reasonable as well. We walked around the downtown and I went in to some of the shops. Lots of cute things but no place to put them! We also stopped at the Chamber of Commerce and picked up some books and maps.

After that we headed the short distance to Cave Creek. I walked around Frontier Town which is a little shopping area, again lots to buy, no room though. There was a guy on his horse ( photo below) soliciting business for a local ranch that take people on desert tours on horseback.

Part of Frontier Town




Since we were so close we drove to another one of the Maricopa County parks, this one called Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area. This is another great place for horseback riding or hiking. I didn't feel like doing any hiking so Gordon went for a bit of a hike on his own for 1/2 hour or so. While he was gone I saw these people out on the trails with the horses.

The road to Spur Cross Ranch



Horses on the trail

Another type of 'feeding frenzy'. The man came in the truck with bales of hay in the back and the horses started to run to get fed.

Cave Creek on the way to Spur Cross Ranch, very pretty.


It was almost 4 p.m. at that point so we took the scenic route home via the Beeline Highway and the Bush Highway so we could stay off the freeways. We got home just before sunset. We sure will miss it here! I saw the sign at the right on our way home. It struck me as funny. It's not something we'd see at home.










Four Peaks Mountain on the way back to the RV park.

Around the Park

The desert in the morning sun

This is better! I woke up to bright sunshine this morning although the outside temperature was only 34F (1C). There was no wind so it felt warmer but there was still frost on the ground. I had a nice walk and a couple of short runs.

It wasn't quick to warm up and only got to about 51F (11C). I got ready and went out to the Superwalmart on McKellips for groceries. Since we hadn't decided where we were going from Mesa on Thursday I decided to buy groceries as if we were going to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. So I stocked up on stuff that I figure you probably can't buy in a small town like Lactaid milk.

Clouds over the Superstitions this afternoon


When I got back to the RV and unpacked the groceries, we decided that we will go to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument so I phoned them to find out about campgrounds. I was told that the one within the park has no hookups. That's out for us. I asked for close RV parks to them and she gave me Coyote Howls. Apparently the RV Park in Lukeville is no longer in operation. I called to make sure and their number is no longer working. I've been reading the blog of another couple from Ontario, the Bayfield Bunch. Al and Kelly Bossence are near Organ Pipe now and are setting up a website for Hickiwan Trails RV Park. I called the park and they have room for us so I guess we'll be spending a week - at $85 for the week it's probably the cheapest place we've stayed since Texas with the exception of the little park that we stayed one night at in Oklahoma that was $10/night (Lake El Reno). I expect there's tax and whatnot on top of the $85. RV parks tend not to tell you about taxes and such when you ask them and only spring it on you when it's time to pay!

The photo on the right is the sun behind a saguaro.

Gordon went out in the late afternoon to take some photos. I elected to stay behind and do my own thing. I looked out and saw shadows on the Superstitions so away I went to the Buckhorn Trail for some photos. They looked so beautiful and still have a little bit of snow on them. I went out again at sunset. The sunset itself was pretty blah but the sun on the Superstitions was pretty. I'll really miss these mountains when we leave here on Thursday. We've really enjoyed being here but it will be nice to have sewer again. My hair badly needs a dye job!

This is a better photo of Wind Cave than I had the other day.

Sunset on the Superstition Mountains

Cold and Rainy!

Today was just an awful day weatherwise. It rained all night and was still raining when I got up. It rained on and off all day and the temperature hovered around 41F (5C). They had forecast 54F (12C) but it never got anywhere near that.

Around noon we took a short drive around the park and got some photos of Pass Mountain in the clouds.


See how green the desert is after all the rain

We had quite a few birds around, our little piggy, the gila woodpecker as well as one of our little hummingbirds was at the hummingbird feeder on and off today. We didn't see much inside the park so went out of the park for a bit and were just coming north on Usery Pass Road when these two javelina crossed the road right in front of us. We haven't seen many of these in the wild since we've been on the road so it was nice to see them.

I watched some TV this afternoon and did some online jigsaw puzzles.

Around 4:30 p.m. Gordon noticed that our favorite mountains, the Superstitions had SNOW on them. Not surprising considering how cold and wet it's been today so away we went to take photos. His other favorites, Four Peaks were in the clouds. We went over to Apache Trail and took some close ups of the Superstitions and stayed there for sunset. On our way out of the park there was a little coyote running around but he was too fast for us! Gordon also said that when he was sitting in his recliner before I got up this morning two coyotes ran by on the road, one so close to the RV that he couldn't even see his feet as he passed by. Guess they were looking for somewhere warm today too!

Red Mountain in clouds

Snow on the Superstition Mountains

A close up of the Superstition Mountains

Superstition Mountains at sunset

Tonight's sunset taken from the ghost town (turned tourist trap) of Goldfield on the Apache Trail

Not Much Except the Super Bowl!

The sky near sunsetIt was cloudy most of the day today. Rain was forecast for this afternoon but it didn't happen so the Super Bowl didn't get rained on. However over night it rained a lot and was still raining this morning!

I walked and ran this morning but I don't think my foot is happy with running yet. It doesn't hurt when I'm running but it does hurt after.

Napping and reading was the order of the day. I finished "Kill Me" and started another Stephen White book called "Privileged Information". It's an old one that I hadn't read yet. My older sister called and we chatted for a while. They are on their way to Florida next weekend.

Gordon put the headphones on and watched some of the pre-game show and then the Super Bowl.

Nice sunrays tonight!

Quiet Day

Not much happened today. It was another beautiful day, warmer when I got up this morning at 41F (5C) than it's been for a while and the high here at Usery Mountain was 63F (17C).

I did my walk/run this morning as usual while Gordon was out on the Pass Mountain Trail. See all the birds on this cholla. I wonder why they don't get cholla barbs in their little feet!

After breakfast, I started reading my book (Kill Me) again. This is a really good book. I would highly recommend it. I like Stephen White's writing but this one is especially good.

This afternoon we had to fuel up the truck, get propane and a few groceries so we just went out locally to do that. Bashas was having a few sales - hamburger at 1/2 price and cured ham at 99 cents/lb. (regularly 2.99/lb.) Unfortunately I have no freezer room! Like I said before their specials are excellent but their regular prices aren't, for instance a large Folgers instant coffee was 9.49 and at Walmart it was 7.49.

It was so beautiful when we got back I sat outside for a while to get back into my book. It won't take long to finish this one!

Gordon went out to the Bulldog Cliffs just before sunset and I stayed here and went over to the Buckhorn Trail. I also took a little detour off it as I saw a rabbit but he disappeared. I also saw what looked like a Northern Cardinal but I couldn't get close enough to verify.

Unfortunately the clouds came in before sunset so Gordon's trip was short lived and he got back before I did.

Another fairly nice sunset tonight!





This is the Superstition Mountains this morning. I never get tired of looking at them. They are beautiful mountains!

This is a Chain Fruit Cholla also known as Jumping Cholla

This is a close up of the Chain Fruit Cholla

This is a dead ocotillo

Wow! Yesterday I had visitors to my blog from France, Italy, Belgium and Malaysia as well as all areas of the U.S. and Canada.

End of Month Expenses and Trail Climbing

January Expenses

January expenses weren't too bad, higher than I would like but then we're in Arizona, not Texas! Since we're staying at a campground that doesn't have a weekly or monthly rate that category is high for this month. I also updated some items in the RV - new rug for the front door, the bathroom rug and toilet seat cover and some new towels. We also bought some things for the RV at the Mesa Fleamarket. Enough said on expenses. They're a fact of life no matter where you live or what you live in.

This morning was even colder than yesterday but only by 1 degree. I did my usual walk and got in a run as well.

Gordon left before sunrise to take the truck in for service. This was an expensive one so February's expenses won't be pretty! It also looks as if we're going to need front brakes. The dealership quoted $500 so we're hoping we can get a better price than that.

While he was out I washed the dishes and wiped down all the wood with an oiled duster rag. It didn't take long, just a tedious job. Things dry out quickly here in the desert, ask my skin, hair and nails!

This afternoon I started reading "Kill Me" by Stephen White. It's one of the books I bought the other day at the Half Price Bookstore. So far, it's really good!




Around 5:00 p.m. we started out to do some walking on a trail. We started out on Pass Mountain Trail that starts from the Horse Staging Area. It was too rocky. I had to watch every step.

So we went to the Wind Cave Trail and walked quite a ways on it until it started to get too rocky for me. Wind Cave Trail goes up Pass Mountain to Wind Cave. You can just about see Wind Cave in the photo above where the shadows are on the mountain.

We then drove over to Bulldog Cliffs (right) to take photos of them in the setting sun. Above is a grouping of barrel cactus that we saw on the Wind Cave Trail.

View from Wind Cave Trail


Wind Cave Trail path

This is where I stopped!

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