Water in the Desert

First Water is an area NE of Apache Junction, just north of Lost Dutchman State Park. It isn't just one trail, it consists of several. First is the Dutchman Trail, then the Black Mesa Trail, then we met back up with the Dutchman Trail. The entire loop was 9.47 miles according to the GPS. But what a beautiful hike. All the rain this winter has the desert just blooming and green like I have never seen. Here are just a few of the lovely pictures from the hike.

Every little wash had water. We crossed water at least 20 times through the hike.

This just shows all the green when you look out on the mountains.

A little out of focus, but there were little red buds at the end of each cacti arm.

Again, sorry, it's a little out of focus. I think I got too close. These pretty blue flowers were everywhere.

This was the largest creek we crossed. Max has hiked this trail several times over the past 40 years and he says he has never seen the creek with this much water.

Weavers Needle in the background. Notice the green all over the ground.

These two guys were climbing in this cave up on the mountain. This was taken at 40x zoom.

More flowers. I think this is Indian Paintbrush.

It's hard to see, but there are Saguaro on top of this mesa. I kept looking up expecting to see either the U.S. Calvary or the Indians, just like in the movies. But, alas, they never appeared.

More purple flowers.

Even our hiking path was muddy. I would say at least 1/4 of the path was muddy and we had to side step around it.

Is this the Desert Poppy? We only saw 4 of these, all in one spot.

And look at this grass. Yes, grass in the desert. It was at least 10 inches high. Typically I am a forest and beach kind of girl, but I have to admit, the desert does have its own beauty, especially after this wet winter. I just wish I could stay another month to really see it bloom.

After the hike we stopped for a quick bite. Some people even ride their horses to lunch.

Outdoor dining at its finest, along with great music and even dancing. Filly's is a lot of fun on a Sunday afternoon.

Taken the day before, I caught 4 hawks all posing on top of these cacti. I just had never seen 4 hanging around together before. This was in the Queen Canyon area, south of Apache Junction.