We took some time off from home projects to go for a family hike in the largest city park in the country. Nope, we didn't fly to New York, we practically stayed in our back yard, South Mountain Park in Phoenix.
For those of you outside the desert southwest, a half mile from the urban metropolis, it can be like an alien landscape. It's somewhere you wouldn't be surprised to see armed guerillas from Planet of the Apes ride up on horseback. I thought I'd show some photos, to help share the Arizona in AZ DIY Guy.
It was a nice day, but it got pretty hot during our excursion. We probably should have left a little earlier, but a hefty coat of sunblock and a bunch of water made it bearable as we set off down the trail.
Behind us we could see the high rises in Downtown Phoenix in the distance.
The landscape was covered with giant Saguaro Cactus. We do have a few in our yard, but it was cool to see so many in the wild. Many were easily 20 feet tall with several arms.
For those of you outside the desert southwest, a half mile from the urban metropolis, it can be like an alien landscape. It's somewhere you wouldn't be surprised to see armed guerillas from Planet of the Apes ride up on horseback. I thought I'd show some photos, to help share the Arizona in AZ DIY Guy.
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| The trail started out easy. It was well maintained. |
It was a nice day, but it got pretty hot during our excursion. We probably should have left a little earlier, but a hefty coat of sunblock and a bunch of water made it bearable as we set off down the trail.
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| Frodo and Sam? |
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| This one's in rough shape. |
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| Saguaro down. |
We passed a couple dams, built in the 30's, from what we understand. There's not a drop of water up there now.
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| Dam! |
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| Dam again! |
We managed to find a couple of the ancient Hohokam petroglyphs. We missed plenty in the rest of the park, but that's for other days
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| An original AZ DIY project from long, long ago |
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| Can you spot this one? A spiral, just left of center frame. |
On the way back, going got rough. Gracie took a spill and scratched up her hands. Luckily, Jack packed some Band-Aids. Big brother washed her up and took care of the damage.
She was dog tired and scared of tripping again. Daddy had to carry her...
... and it really started getting hot, 92º at this point.
Then, tragedy of tragedies, one of my oldest friends succumbed to the harsh, rocky environment. If you are squeamish about horrendously graphic and fatal damage to finely crafted, rugged footwear, you may not want to look at the photo below:
One of my trusty Red Wing work boots lost its sole. These tough-as-nails soldiers have served me on the front lines for over 10 years. You've probably even seen them in several of my posts. They'd been glued up once before, but there just wasn't much rubber left in the old boys. They got me within a quarter mile of the truck, past the worst part of the trail, before finally gasping their last. Luckily, I had a Red Wing, heavy-duty insole with just enough liner holding it in, to limp back on.
Beloved Red Wing work boots
2003 - 2013
Rest in peace
I guess I'm down to athletic shoes for the next project.