Sunday, December 17, 2017 (Lost Dutchman State Park, Apache Junction, AZ)

We were woken at 3:40 this morning by the rumble of thunder...and as it got closer, the flashes of lightning got brighter and the thunder louder...then came the wind and rain. It lasted for a good hour...quite the storm! We did manage to fall back to sleep for a bit, not getting up until 6:30.

It was a cool, breezy, cloudy morning...hmmm...we weren't sure if we'd be able to get out for a hike that we had planned. But after a very lazy morning, we decided that we'd head out. It had brightened up a bit...and it didn't look like we'd have any rain (but we did ensure we had our rain ponchos in the backpack).

We stopped by Ray and Deb's coach to see if Freya would like to go for a walk...we'd never taken her before and Ray was afraid she'd get a little way on the trail and then decided she wanted to go home. But no way...she was more than willing and we had a great hike! Freya and I as we head off on Siphon Draw Trail. The trail is called Siphon Draw because that is exactly what it is...a draw that siphons down water from the tops of the mountain.

The infamous Flatiron...
Flatiron, aka Siphon Draw, is one of the most popular and exhilarating hikes in the Superstition Wilderness. This trail puts you on top of one of the most prominent rock features of the range called Flatiron due to the fact it looks like an upside down iron.

No...we are not going to attempt that! Our friends, Debbie and Steve hiked to the top last March...you can read all about it on their blog 'Down the Road'. Amazing accomplishment! We love hiking but that's just a tad bit too extreme for us! But we will start up the trail and take another trail that goes along the base of the mountains.

Goldfield Ghost Town. We'll be going there tomorrow...

Lost Dutchman State Park Campground...

The first trail to the left off of Siphon Draw was Jacob's Crosscut Trail but it looked like there should be another trail further up. Wanting to go further, we continued our climb...until we came to a narrow, unmarked trail. As we were checking the map, a couple on their way up to Flatiron came by. After chatting and checking our map, they said Jacob's Crosscut Trail below was the main trail. Not wanting to go back we decided to take this trail...hopefully it will cut across the mountain base and meet up with Prospector's View Trail.

Even though we didn't climb up to Flatiron, the views were still pretty darned good! Looking towards Phoenix...

The campground...that's Ray and Deb's motorhome in the center and our fifth-wheel is behind and a little to the left of his flags...

Phoenix waaaay in the distance...you can barely see it...

We had a few spots on this narrow trail that went steeply down and then back up again...this was the most challenging...

Looking back at the ravine we just crossed...

Ahh...finally on the proper trail (Prospector's View Trail)...

We came to Treasure Loop Trail and continued on the north side of the loop where we had closer views of "Praying Hands", a very cool geological formation on the left...

From that point, the trail headed down....

We came across a "forest" of Chain Link Cactus...

We finished our hike by going through the Saguaro Day Use Area, taking the Discovery Interpretive Trail back to the the start of Siphon Draw near our site in the campground...completing a big 3.5 mile loop in 2 1/2 hours. A fabulous hike...and it felt so good to get out on the trails again! We dropped Freya off...I think she enjoyed the hike and I'm sure she was tired out.

Back home, it was time to relax. Steve chilled in his chair watching TV while I took a shower and then worked on our blog until it was time to do some dinner prep.

More birds at the feeder. We think they're Northern Flicker Woodpeckers...

Ray came over around 5:00 and we sat chatting with pre-dinner drinks. Then it was time for me to cook dinner...I made Instant Pot Balsamic Pork Tenderloin. Along with mashed garlic potatoes, buttered peas and salad, it turned out to be a pretty good dinner!

Another beautiful Arizona sunset!