I actually managed to drive off at 8:30am. It was 57F and there was fog over the peaks. While I'd rather be hiking in this kind of weather, the cooler temperatures across Arizona made driving easier, too. My van's AC doesn't work well when it gets above 90F.
Traffic was steady through Tucson. I stopped briefly at the Picacho State Park entrance to check on poppies, but didn't see any. The only flowers in broom were the roadside bristle brush.
At 10:30am I stopped at the Casa Grande Mountain Park, right off Exit 200 and I-10. It's a popular area for mountain bikers but there is no shade around these desert hills studded with saguaros, desert palo verde, and chollas. One can see Picacho Peak and the Catalinas from here.
Turn off for the trailhead is at the Love's Gas Station and at the end of the street of new family homes. The parking lot is a gravel lot, but from here one can walk any of the trails from easy to more difficult. One side heads toward the interstate, the other toward an artillery range. I opted for the artillery range since I've hiked the other way before. I took the Blue-blazed East Butte trail for a 2.4-mile leg stretcher. I just wanted to break the monopoly of driving up and give the dogs some exercise before it got too hot.
It was 71F and the dogs were panting. It was warmer than I thought for them. Even I got warm. When I got to the Butte top, there were beer bottles everywhere. Not only that, but Zeke got a dead cholla on his paw. While trying to pull the thorns out, he got more thorns around his snout AND on his tongue. Oh geez, this is a first, but he was a real trooper while I pulled them out of his snout. One thorn on his tongue was a hard one, as the saliva made it slippery to pull out.
What a fun way to start a little road trip! The only poppy I saw was one solitary one in the middle of trail. What a disappointment after last year's big bloom.
I stopped briefly in Phoenix but the traffic was slow. An attempt to see the historic downtown proved futile as the area was cordoned off for some kind of protest. I wasted an hour just trying to find a quiet place. My stomach started cramping again the rest of the night. I hope this isn't a bad omen for the rest of the week.
By 2:30 I just got on I-10, stopped for dinner at a Carl's Jr in Quartzsite, and made it 20 miles to Chiriaco Summit before the sun set, cooling the desert down to 70F and making the short pee walk comfortable, although there was a lot of beer bottles and plastic along the dirt road. The barren mountains briefly shone a golden glow before dusk set in.
The aroma of Creosote was strong tonight. Chiriaco Summit was busy tonight. There was a line for the woman's restroom at the truck stop, so that prompted me to take another desert walk behind the General Patton museum/ dry campsite to pee in peace. Sadie didn't show an interest in walking much more and darted back to the van.
More later
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