Rex and Nancy's Travels - "ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST" - JRR Tolkein

April started out HOT – April 1st the temperature in Apache Junction hit 102! The official temperature in Phoenix was 100 – April 1st is the second earliest date that Phoenix reached 100 degrees. The average date for 100 degrees is in late May. Even though it was hot we took our last organized park hike on April 1st. A few brave souls joined us for a nice hike in the Sonoran Desert Trail System northwest of Apache Junction. Because it was getting hot early we cut our hike short but were able to get a great view of Red Mountain. One of the beautiful cactus we saw blooming by the trail The weather immediately cooled down to the mid 80’s to low 90’s until April 9 when the temperature dropped to a high of 54 and we had SNOW on Superstition Mountain again.   The weather again went back to nice and warm and stayed in the 80’s and 90’s the rest of the month. Nancy joined a park bus trip to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. The gardens were full of wildflowers ...

The weather in March started out great with temperatures in the high 70’s and low 80’s and even hit 91 a couple of times. The month ended in the high 90’s. Rex has been really busy with the Dolly Steamboat but was able to join our hiking group more this month. We hiked to Fremont Saddle in the Superstition Wilderness which is one of the harder hikes we do each year as it is a steady climb to the saddle. It is well worth the effort as the scenery beautiful!   We call this the “Elephant Saguaro Cactus” And it is warming up enough that the lizards are out We are rewarded for our efforts to reach the saddle by this wonderful view of Weavers Needle.   Weavers Needle is a landmark in the Superstition Mountains and plays an important role in the Lost Dutchman Goldmine legend. We also hiked in Box Canyon where we have taken Jeep trips in the past.   The narrow canyon is beautiful - a tight fit for Jeeps but easy hiking! It was a fairly easy hi...