A Walk in the...Desert?!

Still in Arizona. On Monday, the 10th....Dave and I decided that we needed to reconnect with my native land so we took a hike in the desert. For May...and for Arizona...it was a beautiful day!!!! Relatively cool with a lovely breeze! Lovely! We went out to Usery Mountain Park which is a favorite place for Dave and me. Instead of going up to the wind caves, we took a loop trail and did a total distance of almost 6 miles. Nothing major but it was a nice chance to soak in the alien scenery (alien to Virginia) and reconnect with our roots.

Before the hike though, Dave noticed that his barrel cactus had bloomed. When Dave and I were first married, he had a very little barrel cactus in a very little pot but decided to not take it with us to Idaho. He gave it to my parents who just set it down in the backyard....and it took root. Now it is a huge and very happy barrel cactus. His blooms are amazingly beautiful!!!
It was then off to the desert.
This is the beautiful Usery Mountain! Our loop would take us to the back of the mountain.
Almost as soon as we had landed in Phoenix, I noticed that the Saguaro Cactus were blooming!!! What a fantastic treat!!!! They are beautiful when they bloom!!!
The Superstition Mountains -- probably my favorite mountains in the Phoenix Valley.
The backside of Usery Mountain opened up into a forest of Saguaro Cactus that was stunning to behold!
My home!!
Dave and I -- happy to be back in the Grand Canyon State.