Friday the 13th, It Was HOT - 103 Degrees

Okay, it's Friday the 13th. Are we superstitious? No, but we do like the Superstition Mountains!

The weather forecast for today was to be 99 degrees. I figure, give or take a few degrees. Bill & I have wanted to take (or I should say I have wanted to take) a ride to see if we can get some pictures of the saguaro in bloom. I'd like to get high enough to look down on them. We thought today might be a good day to take a drive to the higher country where it might be cooler. I figured we might not see too many saguaro out in the higher country because of the cooler temps & I was right. But we had a nice day. We have been to Superior, Miami & Globe before, but have not stopped in town to check some things out, so today was the day.

We left around 10:30AM to head out Rt. 60.
We stopped at the Information Center in Globe to inquire if we could tour the Copper Mine & they said they don't do those anymore & haven't for a long time. Darn! So we went through the historical museum behind the information center.
Then we went downtown Globe to The Pickle Barrel. As you can see from the pictures they had everything. Someone else's trash, is someone else's treasure. A lot of the store inside had new stuff for sale. A lot of hides for making Indian clothing, beads, bells, leather, you name it. Lots of jewelery. We didn't buy anything, but we looked.
By this time we are getting hungry so we start back toward home. Sorry about the dirty windshield & the reflection of the stuffed animals. I should remember to remove them when I'm taking pictures.
After eating a sub at Subways, I take several pictures of the copper mines. Because these towns are fairly small, I think everyone must work at one or the other of these mines. It is a huge operation. In fact, the lady at the information center said they were going to open one of the mine areas up where they can't get the copper out. They can't pump the water out fast enough to get it, so they have given up on that particular mine. So next year when we come back she said we would be able to see a lot more of what a mining operation does.
Be sure to click on the pictures to get a clearer view of the site.
Heading back down the mountains, we have to go through a tunnel to get to the other side.
Now we have to cross a bridge to get to the next mountain.
Last Sunday, Mother's Day, May 8th, they had a fire along Rt. 60 that burned quite a bit of the landscape. Fortunately they got it stopped right at the entrance to the Bryce Thompson Arboretum. Pictures of the fire damage.
You can see the black area right up the mountain side.
I wish these pictures would turn out as good as the naked eye!
I have always wanted to drive up the Peralta Trail. The beginning of it is paved but then it turns to dirt. It isn't maintained, but it is in pretty good shape. A little washboardy in places, but I told Bill, it's a truck! He was better coming back out than he was going in. I think we drove in about 7 or 8 miles & then back out. It takes you to the back side of the Superstition Mountains from what we normally see from the park.
If you click on the picture you can see lots of buds on the saguaro. A few flowers were out & some had already blossomed. I guess you just have to get it at the right time. We may have been a little early. Next week we'll take a drive in another direction to see what we can find.
Just a pretty view opposite Superstition Mountain.
Superstition Mountain
Tons of buds. I'd love to see them all out at one time, but they usually don't flower like that. Maybe this one would as the buds look to be about the same size.
You can see some of the ones that have already flowered. They turn black & droop over.
Looks like a rock castle in the background.
Some prickly pears were still blossoming. Not many, but a few. Need a toothpick?
This reminded me of a cupcake on top.
This is at the trail head were you can park & begin to hike.
Facing the sun doesn't make for a pretty picture.
Superstition Mountain with an Ocotillo cactus in the front.
I don't know what kind of trees these are, but they grow all over the country side & in town here in the valley.
These are the flowers up close & it does have thorns. As I'm walking around taking these pictures, my eyes are always on the ground. With the temperatures at 103 degrees, I'm always looking for snakes. Every time I got out of the truck to take a picture I checked the ground first. I don't know what I would have done if I'd seen one. Probably passed out & fell on him!
This is another trail head where you can park & begin to hike. That poor Dutchman. I don't think anyone will ever find his gold.
Pretty good size cactus with several buds & blossoms.
We got home around 4:30pm. It was 100 degrees in the trailer! We didn't want to leave the air on since were weren't going to be here. It took all evening to cool it down. Bill read the paper on the computer & I read a little bit then took a nap.

Renee called around 5:45 PM & I talked with here for awhile.

Yesterday we got a call from Bill's sister to tell us that our sister-in-law, Sandy, had fallen & broken her elbow. They did surgery last night at 6PM. Bill talked to Robert Michael & he said surgery went well. She fell on Monday. The doctor put her elbow back in place but it didn't stay. Good thing they did surgery as she had several splinters in there. She is going to stay with her daughter while she is recuperating. Will have a hard cast on for at least 3 weeks.

Bill & I went to a concert in the park in Gilbert last night. It was a beautiful park & a beautiful setting, but we were not impressed with the music. It was country music, but the sound systems was awful. You couldn't even hear or understand what the girls were singing. We left before it was over. It was so nice to sit outside without a coat/sweater & no mosquitoes!! That is one thing about the weather out here. It is never damp in the evenings to sit out. The only problem is, everyone is gone & there isn't anyone to sit out with!! 18 more days & we can head out too.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up, go eat my free Strawberry/Lemonade treat from McDonald's.

Until next time................The Traveling Cardinal's