White Tank Mountain Regional Park

The Phoenix area is not only a desert, it is also surrounded by numerous mountain ranges. To the northeast are the McDowell Mountains, to the west are the White Tank Mountains, and the Superstition Mountains lie to the east. The Sierra Estrella is southwest, and within the city itself are the Phoenix Mountains and the South Mountains. All these mountains are an easy drive from Phoenix and the suburbs, offering thousands of acres for hiking and biking. With the mild winter climate, this is the perfect time of year to explore these trails. So far Dan and I have taken a couple of hikes and one bike ride in the White Tank Mountains, about 18 miles away, an easy drive out of the city, located in White Tank Mountain Regional Park.

The park itself sprawls over 29,572 acres where the 4000-foot-high White Tank Mountains separate the Phoenix Basin of the Salt River Valley from the Hassayampa Plain. The mountains are steep, deeply serrated with ridges and deep canyons, and include fault lines. Floodwaters, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or "tanks", in the white granite rock below, thus the name of the mountains. There is evidence of ancient Arizonans dating back 10,000 years, with hundreds of figures and symbols pecked on the rock faces of the Mountains.

Dan and I really enjoyed hiking and biking through the many varieties of cacti, including Barrel, Saguaro, Cholla, and Prickly Pear. Unfortunately this isn't the time of year when these cactus bloom, but then again - do I really want to be scaling a mountain with a 1300-foot elevation gain in 100 degree plus weather? Probably not!

Hope you enjoy these pictures of our most recent hike and bike ride in the White Tank Mountains Regional Park.

Surprise, Arizona

We wrapped up our summer in Michigan on September 30, 2009 and started our southward trek on October 1st. We were scheduled to arrive in Surprise, Arizona, our winter destination, on November 15th. In the six weeks between leaving Michigan and arriving in Surprise, we had RV maintenance scheduled, a new truck purchase (unscheduled), and family to visit. After making the rounds and taking care of our business, we arrived at the Sunflower RV Resort, one day ahead of schedule.

Surprise is a suburb not too far west of Phoenix. It is an outgrowth of Sun City, and the population grew by tens of thousands during the 1990's and early 2000's as retirees flocked to the area. Then you add the snowbirds, like us, that come to live here for a few months each winter, and you can imagine the congestion! It was sort of a shock leaving the bucolic and peaceful village of Hillman and landing smack dab in the middle bustling city life again. It is possible to insulate yourself from the mass confusion somewhat if you never leave the resort, but occasionally you do have to go out for supplies. And golf, which is the main reason we ended up here to begin with. Several other golfing couples we've met along the way were congregating here for the winter, so we decided to join them.

Sunflower RV Resort offers a lot of amenities in and of itself: Bingo• Bocce Ball• Cactus Ranch House Grill • Car Wash Area• Computer Center• Dinner Dances• Dinner Theater• Driving Cages• Exercise Classes • Fitness Center• Fitness personal trainer • Grand Ballroom• Heated Pool and Spa• Hiking Club• Horseshoe Pits• Kitchen• Lapidary• Laundry Facilities• Library• Massage Therapy On Site• Meeting Area• On-site Post Office• Outside Patio Area• Pet Area• Pickle Ball• Picnic Area• Ping Pong• Pitch 'n Putt Course• Pottery/Ceramics• Putting Green• Quilting & Sewing Room• RV and Boat Storage• Shuffleboard Court• Silversmithing• Social Hall for Community Gatherings and Parties• Stained Glass• State-of-the-Art Fitness Center • Three spas and a Eucalyptus Steam Room• Two Tennis Courts• Vendor Market Day• Water Volleyball• Weekly Dances• Wood Carving• Wood Shop. Okay, you get the idea…

At first I wasn't quite sure about the "tin city" we were parking in. Row after row of streets lined with mobile homes and RV's. No lawns, but a lot of rock and concrete, cactus, and palm trees. But, I figured, we are in the southwest, the dessert, and I'm sure this is the appropriate landscaping for this kind of climate and terrain. After being here for a few weeks, I have actually come to appreciate the regional approach to landscaping. Especially during Christmas it was fun to see the blending of traditional decorations with the existing flora - twinkling lights wrapped around a prickly cactus, silver bulbs placed on the tips, and palm trees sparkling decorated like a Douglass fir.