We're Not In Idaho Anymore

Saturday December 5 2015

Steph's in Heaven, I'm in Scottsdale. It's totally true for Steph, down south in the warm sunshine in the place of a cold Idaho winter.

Not complaining, mind you. Sure, I'd rather be wallerin' around in the snow and hoar frost, wearing 5 layers of clothes, but this is a nice road trip in a fascinating part of the country. And I'm sure glad I'm not here in the summer!

We got out on the horses today on a little corner of the 100,000 square mile Sonoran desert. Jose and I both enjoyed the scenery. He's spent a winter down here before. 

The Four Peaks of the rugged Mazatzal Mountains and wilderness line the eastern horizon, 

and the alluring Superstition Mountains and wilderness lie to the southeast, with Weaver's Needle poking up in the melee. Legends abound of lost gold (particularly the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine), and a hole that leads down to the lower world. 700-year-old cliff dwellings in the Tonto basin, between the Mazatzals and Superstitions, leave behind an intriguing mystery of a vanished ancient people.   

Jose and his desert reflection

Yep I like to hug trees, but I'm keeping my distance from this saguaro. 

Pretty much anything out here, you don't want to run into or touch, particularly the cholla!

this was a cool old monster. With the right conditions, they can live to be 150-200 years old.

Snow Bird

Tuesday December 28 2010

This is something totally alien - me fleeing the winter snow for southern climes!

I'm not running away though; I'm on assignment following endurance rides around the southwest for a couple of months. And while I'm sorely missing the frigid Pacific Northwest, and every snowflake that falls there, and every bone-chilling shiver down my spine, I'm soaking up the splendor of the Southwest (while sweating).

There is, however, some chilly, wet, blustery weather heading our way Wednesday and Wednesday night, but that will just set up the trails and the days perfectly for the 3-day Resolution Endurance Ride which begins on Thursday near Scottsdale Arizona.

Expect cool and spectacular sunny days (on Thursday after the rain stops) in this Sonoran desert, the hottest desert in North America (in the summer!), the only one where you'll see - and ride through - forests of Saguaro Cactus, the state flower of Arizona.

Here is a taste of the scenery you'll glimpse on the trails.

(slideshow here)