Snag and Save excursions
March 9, 2010 by taha
For those of you joining Take A Hike Arizona on our Snag and Save hikes, here are the directions to the trailheads that we will be starting from.
Piestewa Peak Park (Phoenix Mountains Preserve). From Highway 51, take the Glendale Ave exit. Head east on Glendale Ave (which actually turns into Lincoln Ave as you head further east). About 3/4 of a mile from Highway 51, you take a left turn at the traffic lights onto Squaw Peak Drive. Follow this road straight into the park and stay on this road all the way to the far end where you come to a circular parking area and can drive no further. This is where we will be meeting to start this hike.
McDowell Sonoran Preserve (Gateway Trailhead). For those of you with GPS, the exact address for this location is 18333 E. Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale. We will be meeting at the main building area on the east side of the parking lot. For those of you who still drive around the old fashioned way (like me), here are the directions.
Heading North on Hwy 101, take the Frank Lloyd Wright exit. This exit will drop you onto the service road that runs parallel to the highway (Pima Rd). Stay on this road through the first set of traffic lights (cross over Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd at the traffic lights). Go past the West World entrance. Stay straight until your next set of traffic lights at Bell Rd. Turn right onto Bell Rd. Follow Bell Rd past the Ice Den skating rink and past the Basha’s shopping center. At Thompson Peak Parkway (major intersection) take a left. Follow Thompson Peak Parkway for a few hundred yards. The entrance to the Gateway Trailhead parking area is on your right. Follow the entrance into the parking area and park wherever you find a spot. We will all meet up by the main building.
Heading South on Highway 101, take the Pima Rd/Princess Rd exit. From the exit ramp, stay straight through the first set of lights at Pima Rd. At the second set of lights, take a left onto Bell Rd. Follow Bell Rd past the Ice Den skating rink and past the Basha’s shopping center. At Thompson Peak Parkway (major intersection) take a left. Follow Thompson Peak Parkway for a few hundred yards. The entrance to the Gateway Trailhead parking area is on your right. Follow the entrance into the parking area and park wherever you find a spot. We will all meet up by the main building.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@takeahikearizona.com. See you there!
Spring showers bring new flowers!
February 26, 2010 by taha
Scottsdale and Phoenix hiking trails are starting to show off their colors! I did a quick scouting trip to see what is going on out in the desert as far as our spring flower season. The amount of rain we have had over the past month or so should definitely provide us with a much more colorful wildflower season than last year. Anyway, just to give you a real quick update on what we are seeing out there right now….
The Chuparosa, always an early bloomer, is hitting its full stride right about now. You will find the red blossoms on the plants especially abundant on the sunnier sides of the trail and along the warmer areas along the washes. In particular, you can see these plants in full bloom along the sides of the road as you drive around town as well. The Chuparosa further up the slopes and on northern sides of slopes have yet to blossom. For those of you who may not already know this, you can eat the blossoms of the Chuparosa. You will even find them mixed in for color in salads you order from select restaurants around the valley. So go find a blooming Chuparosa and pick a fresh red blossom and try tasting it (please make sure you know it is a Chuparosa before eating it!). Let me know what you think it tastes like.
Other plants not yet blooming quite as spectacularly as the Chuparosa are the Creosote and Brittlebush. Both of these bush-like plants produce pretty yellow flowers. The Creosote flowers are smaller and are accompanied by little white fuzz balls (I’m sure there is a technical name for those cute fuzz balls – if you know it – please tell me). The Brittlebush produces larger daisy-like flowers and can be found all over the desert in the Spring. I also noticed that the Buckhorn Cholla (not Staghorn which is not in this part of the desert) is starting to produce the very beginnings of its blossoms. As you hike along, check out the burgundy color shoots sprouting from the tips of the cholla branches on the Buckhorn.
We’ve also been seeing quite a few tiny little yellow and white flowers sprouting up here and there among the rocky slopes. I’ve yet to see any poppies, lupine, owl’s clover, desert marigolds or any other cactus blooming. As soon as those start popping up, I will be sure to let you know. If you’d like to see what these flowers look like, just go to our photo gallery and head to the Flower folder. We have photos of all kinds of desert flora. If you have any questions about anything you see during your desert wanderings, please give us a shout at info@takeahikearizona.com and we’ll try to help you out or find someone who can! Enjoy the Spring!
Phoenix Parks Closures!
February 22, 2010 by taha
Hello fellow hikers and outdoor enthusiasts,
As many of you may already know, the State of Arizona is starting to close 13 state parks in the coming weeks. Many of us are contacting our representatives about this issue, but in addition to the state closures I also wanted to provide you with some information about the planned closure of a number of our beautiful Phoenix parks. These closures are not getting the same amount of press as the state park closures, but to those of us who love these areas and use them regularly these closures will have a significant impact on us and visitors to our area! As of right now, it appears that the City of Phoenix is planning to lay off 14 park rangers and reduce public access to our local parks in the area. The city plans to reduce public access to the parks by closing them on Mondays and Tuesdays. The anticipated closures include:
- Camelback Mountain
- Piestewa Peak Park
- North Mountain Park
- South Mountain Park
- Shaw Butte
- Lookout Mountain
- Papago Park and
- Shadow Mountain
If this concerns you as it does us, please email one or all of the City of Phoenix Councilman listed at the links below and tell them to keep our parks open and save the jobs of 14 Phoenix Park Rangers:
Councilman Thelda Williams at: http://phoenix.gov/district1/emdist1/index.html
Councilman Peggy Neely at: http://phoenix.gov/district2/emdist2/index.html
Councilman Bill Gates: http://phoenix.gov/district3/emdist3/index.html
Councilman Tom Simplot at: http://phoenix.gov/district4/emdist4/index.html
Councilman Claude Maddox at: http://phoenix.gov/district5/emdist5/index.html
Councilman Sal DiCiccio at: http://phoenix.gov/district6/index.html
Councilman Michael Nowakowski at:http://phoenix.gov/district7/emdist7/index.html
Councilman Michael Johnson at: http://phoenix.gov/district8/emdist8/index.html
Mayor Phil Gordon at: http://phoenix.gov/mayor/emmayor/index.html
Help us save our Phoenix Mountain Parks from closure!
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