Month: March 2024

Spent a few days near this strangely named town in New Mexico. We found out that it really is named after the radio game show “Truth or Consequences” back in the 40s. The network airing the popular show had a contest of sorts that if a town changed its name to Truth or Consequences they would air the 10th anniversary (1950) show from that town. Guess the town previously called Hot Springs wanted the notoriety and maybe potential tourist money so they legally changed their name. Eventually the radio show became a TV show and was hosted for 17 years by Bob Barker long before he did the Price is Right.

We have had the pleasure of seeing these roadrunners out on the road a few times during this trip. Only thing missing each time was the coyote. While in the area we got in a few good paddles in our kayaks as well as a nice hike through the desert.

This trail through the desert was not very well marked. We did see a few other folks out for a nice springtime walk but had to use our gps a few times just to make sure we did not get too lost. Is there such a thing as “too lost”?

The prickly pear cactus were in great abundance here. We noted that many of them had “bite marks” taken out of many of their paddles. We looked it up later and found out that the elusive javelinas do eat these cactus. We have not seen a javelina during our travels but wikipedia shows them to look much like a wild boar.

There were two different lakes to paddle on in the area. Both days we cut our paddles a bit on the short side as the wind made it difficult to enjoy the peaceful scenery.

Nice to have the lakes to ourselves. Not sure which mountain is off in the distance but it looks like a good hike for the future.

We did find a nice and almost wind free cove to paddle around. Still amazes us that the desert has so much water.

We could not tell who got pushed around by the wind more. My larger body versus her smaller one or the fact that my boat was deeper in the water causing more drag. Either way, only half our paddle was against the wind.

Sunsets from our camping spot were a beautiful way to end each day here in central New Mexico.

How many of these giant saguaro can you count here. Can certainly see why they named the park after this behemouth.

Our path for the day seems like it will lead to somewhere amongst the clouds in the desert.

Right time, right place to see this barrel cactus in bloom. We saw some of the blooms detached and partially eaten along the trail. Maybe there are seeds in the flowers that other animals eat and then excrete somewhere else for germination?

We noticed that these teddy bear cholla cactus seem to be dropping some “arms” this time of year. Maybe they are dropping them so they can root themselves and become viable new cacti? The one on the left seems to have sprouted 2 or 3 of these offspring.

What would a good walk in the Arizona desert be without some good ocotillo cactus to keep the saguaro company?

Many of these ocotillo cactus were also in bloom this time of year. Very pretty indeed.

Not sure whether this two headed monster is a barrel or a saguaro. Either way, the saying goes “two heads are better than one”.

The end of the official trail found us staring at this small but impressive waterfall in the desert. Not even enough water to keep the pool from stagnating.

Imagine the complete silence in the desert and then hearing this waterfall. Almost felt like laying down and taking a nap.

Saguaro National Park has two units but we only visited the eastern one near Tucson. There is a nice 8 mile loop along the park road that I took a bike ride on but no pictures. Very cool ride as the road is one way and there is not much traffic either.

Our friends in the Salton Sea area of California clued us in on the Superstitions and said it was a must see if in the area an hour east of Phoenix. We found the hiking, and especially the kayaking, were absolutely fabulous.

A picture of us with our friend from New Zealand, Charlie. He is spending the month of March in Arizona looking for the spring blooms in the desert. Charlie is a horticulturalist and is very interesting to walk with as he knows quite a bit about the local plants and is a fun guy all around to spend time with. May get to see him in the Adirondacks this summer as he has rented a place there.

A lunch spot with a view of the surrounding desert. Even the clouds in the desert are interesting to look at.

Up close and personal with these wonderfully scenic mountains.

A different hike in the Superstitions. Cacti galore!

This 150 year old (or so) saguaro is being guarded by a patch of prickly pear cactus.

More of a jeep track to start this hike out but check out the potential for street lights if you put one on top of each saguaro.

Not only were the saguaro cactus plentiful but the ocotillo and teddy bear cactus made quite a showing on this fine day.

After a few days of nice desert hiking we drove up to Canyon Lake to see how the paddling would be. You can tell by Laurie’s expression that she approves of our venue.

We could tell this would be a nice paddle but up ahead on the right was the entrance to what we would call a fjord. Very reminiscent of our float in the Grand Canyon last year.

Not sure how tall the cliffs were but they certainly dwarfed us as we paddled by.

There were all sorts of little caves to paddle into and explore.

Gotta love the cactus hanging on for dear life here.

More beautiful scenery with the obligatory saguaro dotting the hillside. Did I mention that it was 72 degrees on this fine early March day.

We know that we will return to this area as it intrigued us quite a bit. The weather, the people and most of all the scenery with its abundance of activities for anyone interested in being outdoors.

Those are the actual names of the road, valley and lake. Not sure if someone intended the connection among the names but we found it perfectly apt.

Kayaking on Lake Pleasant in February! 75 degrees and sunny but no more New Zealand sun to sting your skin. There seem to be more boats in the desert than anywhere else we have been. There is even a yacht club on Lake Pleasant.

Of course the Happy Valley area is home to the cactus league for MLB spring training. We went to a few games and got a kick out of the mascot here at the stadium where the World Series champ Texas Rangers were playing.

Now that I am over 60 I get to do the “Senior Stroll” around the bases after the game ends. Laurie did not have her fake ID to get onto the field. Maybe sometime soon. It was actually fairly fun to walk around the bases with all the other geezers.

On our almost daily hike we found this beauty. It is a crested saguaro cactus. No one really knows what makes this phenomenon happen to only a few of these cacti but it is really cool.

When the saguaro cactus dies it leaves behind a wooden skeleton. Did not know this. Not all cacti have this anatomy. Some just slump over into a heap like the barrel cacti dotting this desert.

This cute little guy is called the Teddy Bear Cholla. They are about as abundant as the Saguaro. Don’t let the fluffiness of the tops fool you. They hurt like hell when you bump into them.

Made it to the top of Dixie Summit and watched the military planes doing their exercises. Boy the desert has a big sky!

Rule number one in photography: Do not point your camera directly into the sun. Fun to break the rules sometimes. I think the sun adds something to the scenery here.

In we go. Our first hike in the area was the Ladders hike in Painted Canyon. The 5 mile approach road was a bit bumpy but we made it and found this stone arrow leading us in the right direction. Would not have known to enter here without the arrow. Notice the ladder leaning up against the big boulder in the middle of the photo. The first of many aluminum ladders to traverse today.

The beginning of the hike looks like there is no where for the path to take you. As this is a slot canyon hike we knew to expect the walls to close in around us.

Just this short little ladder? Must be more up ahead if the trail is called the Ladder Trail.

The places a good ladder will take you! This is one of the widest portions. Good thing I did not eat a full lunch or I might not fit.

Where to now? I initially thought that up and to the left might work but….

Hard to believe that this ladder and opening was right around the corner.

Figured I would spare y’all a few bigger pictures of my butt by putting the next few ladders in a gallery and not a stand alone picture. What a cool place!

After a while we “popped out” to this nice barren ridgeline. A few miles of ridge walking is always nice for views of the surrounding valleys and scenery.

After a while we were repelling down a few spots with ropes as the ladders would not safely work in these areas. Kind of cool.

The walk back to the car was in what folks around here call a “wash”. Basically a dry river bed that is there to carry heavy rain runoff during the few major rain events that hit the area. Not as exciting to walk a wash as to walk through slot canyons but the colors and general scenery is out of this world.

Just a few pics of the walk out. Love the line of demarcation on the right photo.

On the left we were not sure what mineral caused the white in the rocks and on the right we were racing to get out of the canyon before the sun set.

Next we took a separate hike up near Joshua Tree National Park. We were not expecting much but we got a good workout and got some surprisingly good views:

So nice to have to protect yourself from the sun in February.

Oh, the life of a desert cactus! What a view it has all day long. In the distance is the Salton Sea. California’s largest lake. It was formed due to an accident on the canal system for the Colorado River Basin. The river breached the levee and poured into the valley here for a few years creating the lake. It has no natural water feeding into it so it is slowly evaporating away. The salinity of the lake is about twice that of the ocean and getting worse every day.

With views like this we could hike the many paths for days. Only ran into one other couple from the DC area during this hike so plenty of solitude for us.

We love hiking, or bike riding as the sun is beginning to set as our shadows appear and seem to follow us. Funny how we can never beat them in a race!