3/1 & 2/22: Phoenix-Home via Las Vegas, NM

After spending the month of February in Phoenix, Steven and I were sad to leave the desert city we'd come to enjoy so much for its fantastic selection of hiking opportunities and being able to lounge by the pool each afternoon but a few weeks at home in Denver beckoned before setting off into the wild blue yonder again.

In case like us you also didn't get enough of the many armed saguaro cactus from the previous posts, all those in the canyons northeast of Phoenix surely would be enough for any saguaro fan!

 The hills further north looked like they may have had terrace farms.

As pretty as the snowy terrain was in northern Arizona, it was a reminder of the snow facing us back home in Denver!

The beautiful landscape of the desert mountains in New Mexico was one step closer to home.

About 40 miles west of Albuquerque in Laguna, New Mexico, we passed under the Khe Sanh Bridge overpass. I was curious to find out how the bridge came into existence and read that a fellow called Harold Lockwood was instrumental in getting the state of New Mexico to install and dedicate the bridge across I-40. It was dedicated to all fallen Marines and servicemen that were lost during the 77-day siege at the Khe Sanh combat base in Vietnam. Lockwood also got the state to place a roadside marker honoring that battle. 

After driving for about nine hours, we stopped for the night in Las Vegas but NOT the one you're thinking of in Nevada but Las Vegas, New Mexico! Las Vegas was the perfect stop for one night on the road before driving the remaining 325 miles home the following day. The funky Skillet Restaurant was our port of call before bunking down for the night.

I love taking shots of odd bathroom doors as we travel but must admit to having to text our daughter, Nina, in NYC this picture to ask if she knew whom it was of. My question certainly confirmed my status as an old fuddy-duddy as she was incredulous I didn't know it was of a young Beyonce! The men's door displayed an image of Jay Z, her husband and music partner. In my defense, I'd like to think if the pictures were more recent, I'd recognize both superstars!

The next morning, March 2nd, Steven and I wandered around Las Vegas' historic downtown for a bit. I learned that Las Vegas was established in 1835 after a group of settlers received a land grant from the Mexican government. The town was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza, now known as Plaza Park, surrounded by buildings that could serve as fortifications in case of attack. 

The Cry to the Ages statue was erected in 2014.

El Campesino was dedicated to all the farmworkers in San Ysidro county.

I almost gagged when I saw this picnic table in the plaza as never had I seen one that nobody would surely want to sit on! It was such a shame it was so filthy as the park was quite pleasant.

After a railroad was constructed to the town in 1880, Las Vegas boomed during the railroad era quickly becoming one of the largest cities in the American Southwest. Turn-of-the-century Las Vegas featured all the modern amenities, including an electric street railway, an opera house, a Carnegie library, the Castañeda Hotel, and the New Mexico Normal School, now New Mexico Highlands University.

The 1895 Veeder Block was named for the Veeder brothers who were lawyers and community leaders. They lived on the second floor while a grocery store occupied the first.

The arrival of the railroad brought with it some dubious residents. Murderers, robbers, thieves, gamblers, gunmen, swindlers, vagrants, and tramps poured in, transforming the eastern side of the settlement into a virtually lawless brawl. Among the notorious characters were such legends of the Old West as dentist Doc Holliday and his girlfriend Big Nose Kate, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Wyatt Earp. Historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell once claimed, "Without exception, there was no town which harbored a more disreputable gang of desperadoes and outlaws than did Las Vegas." 

According to Roadside America, Bobby Valdez's Sculpture Garden was a fun sight to see in Las Vegas. However, there was a big No Trespassing sign out front so this was all I could view.

The Howdy Doody Calumet sign/mural was far more approachable!

In northeastern New Mexico, the village of Wagon Mound was named after, and located at the foot of, a butte of the same name. Resembling a Conestoga wagon, it was a landmark for covered wagon trains and traders going up and down the Santa Fe Trail.

Being in Phoenix for all of February was such a great break from the winter blahs in Denver that we've already rented a condo in nearby Tempe for next February.

Next post: From snowy Denver to paradise aka Hawaii!

Posted on March 28th, 2022, from the town of Lihue on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. We have a couple of more days here before we fly to Maui for almost a week and then the same amount of time on the Big Island. To say life is good for us and we are blessed is an understatement.

Late February 2022 Phoenix Hikes

After dropping off our son and his family at the Phoenix airport on 2/23, Steven and I drove to hike at nearby Papago Park. There were oodles of trails to choose from but we chose the Double Butte one as it was less challenging than those we'd been hiking recently at other mountain parks.

For some reason, park planners had placed the amphitheater very, very close to a highway which confounded me as car noise was annoyingly loud right there.

We spotted a lot of quail in the park.

A couple of days later on February 25th, we found a fun spot to hike on the Christansen Trail in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve.

This is one of my favorite photos while hiking - perhaps because its vibrant red was in such contrast to the standard brown desert hues.

Every afternoon after a morning of hiking bar none, Steven and I were lounge lizards - we found the combination of hiking and relaxing by the pool to be ideal for us and a very refreshing change from our normal going full blast all day, every day while traveling.

On the 26th of February,  we returned to hike another trail at the Apache Wash Trailhead in the Sonoran Desert Trailhead than we'd hiked with our younger son at the beginning of the month when he'd visited us for his birthday.

Signs at all the parks warned of the dangers of hiking in Phoenix's oppressive heat that normally last from April through November. February was hot enough for us in Phoenix!

The later in the month we hiked, we were treated to more desert wildflowers making an appearance among the rocky terrain.

A poignant tribute to someone named Cody but no explanation why:

You can follow where we'd just hiked.

More barrel cacti:

As in so many Phoenix parks, we had to be on the alert for cyclists also on the trails.

This must have been a very old saguaro because it takes so long for its arms to grow.

It was difficult to imagine having to be cautious in this area even after heavy rains but it obviously must flood and catch unsuspecting hikers by surprise.

A 'carpet' of springtime flowers:

On the 27th, we walked through a tunnel at the North Mountain Visitor Center to hike another area of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve.

The beginning of the hike overlooked a large horse ranch where we could hear and see a gymkhana taking place.

We found ourselves on another part of the same Christiansen Trail we'd hiked a few days earlier as the trail weaved about 11 miles in and around the mountains. This part of the trail was certainly more challenging because of the uneven rocky terrain and the steepness of the hike.

If we were ever to come to Phoenix in March, I'm sure we'd just be stunned by the profusion of wildflowers as opposed to captivated by the few we saw in the latter part of February. 

Zachary: Another take on the word 'trailblazer' for you!

Diane: I added a rock in memory of Ron at the top of the cairn.

On February 28th, our last day in Phoenix this year, Steven and I returned to the North Mountain Visitor Center to hike the far more difficult Shaw Buttes Trail. The hike started out nice and flat with great views of buttes or hills in the distance.

One of the washes:

As the trail got closer to the buttes, it merited its moderate rating on the All Trails app, though!

Where we'd hiked and would again to return to the park entrance:

Palo Verde tree:

Steven and I had been absolutely delighted with the array of hiking opportunities primarily in the north Phoenix metropolitan area and could only hope that we'll also find as many next February when we will be staying in the southern Phoenix suburb of Tempe.

Next post: Home to Denver via Las Vegas, Mexico.

Posted on March 25th, 2022, from the town of Princeville on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Steven and I are thrilled to escape Denver's snow and explore Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island for the next three weeks. How extremely lucky we keep reminding ourselves we are to explore so much of the world. May we never forget that when so many others are enduring such hardships.