Fun with Jim

Every winter Ron's son Jim takes time out of his busy life and pays us a visit.  He is truly the best guest - he is happy to do anything we suggest.  One of Jim's goals was to get out in our beautiful Arizona weather and do some hiking.  I suggested we take the Hieroglyphic Trail in the Superstition Wilderness.

One advantage to hiking in the desert is the views.  There are no trees to get in the way.

The brittlebush is coming into bloom.

After a little more than a mile along the trail is an area that just begs to be explored.

We found lots of petroglyphs, some old, some new.  This appeared to be the most authentic grouping.

Looking up, we wondered about the possibility of an earthquake.

This silvery cholla cactus caught my eye.

The guys spotted these ancient grinding holes or monteros.

On our way back down, I got a shot of father and son.

Another day we headed out to a Peach Blossom Festival that Ron found advertised in the local paper.  Hummm, this isn't what I was picturing.

Ah, here they are.

But I think the best part was the little train.  Just look at this cute Union Pacific engine.

For our second hike we drove to the top of South Mountain.  The trail is a bit more rolling than I remembered and about a five mile round trip through picturesque Hidden Valley.  There's a famous spot named Fat Man Pass.  I forgot my camera (can you believe it?), but Jim snapped a picture with his phone of Ron maneuvering through the aptly-named pass.

Now here's the odd part.  I swore the spot was tighter than when we were there before, so I dug out my picture from five years ago.  What do you think?