Our
7:00 am breakfast was in the hotel where we could choose foods from the hotel
buffet, supplemented by bananas provided by Michael. Food was OK and included hard-boiled eggs plus the usual
hotel buffet choices. By 8:15 we
were in the two vans, headed for our first hike. A short drive took us to the Usery Mountain Regional Park
and the Pass Mountain Trail. David
and I had hiked this trail on our own a couple of years ago, but it was fun to
revisit the area and learn so many facts from Mike about the geology and desert
plants. The loop hike was about
7.5 miles in length with about 750 feet of elevation gain. The trail is sandy in parts and very rocky
in other sections and included a couple of long gradual inclines plus one set
of steep switchbacks coming down from the saddle where we ate our lunch. We could see the Superstition Mountains
in the distance. This was an
excellent introductory hike and helped to wake up our hiking legs!
 |
| Mike "playing music" on the cactus. |
 |
| David and Ellie enjoying the view! |
 |
| "Four Peaks" and the Superstitions in the distance. |
We ate
dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then enjoyed a great evening
program.
An expert on local animal
life brought live examples of his favorite desert inhabitants – snake, lizard,
scorpion, and tarantula.
We ate
dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then enjoyed a great evening
program. An expert on local animal
life brought live examples of his favorite desert inhabitants – snake, lizard,
scorpion, and tarantula.
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