Picacho Peak State Park

March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  Our resort observed the day with a parade in the Park and a special Irish Stew dinner.  It consisted of mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage made into a well with Irish Stew ladled in the middle along with rolls and a choice of deserts.  Yum!

Last week we took a drive a short distance south of Casa Grande to see if the wild flowers and cactus were blooming.

Taking the long way around to catch I-10, we passed through the town of Eloy where we observed some people sky diving.  There is a sky diving school located in Eloy called Adventures in Skydiving where you can do a tandem jump with an instructor.  They say you can see a lot from 13,000 feet up while looking straight down with no airplane beneath you.  I bet you can, but I think I will pass on finding out.   The building below with the three air funnels are where prospective sky divers can experience the feel of  handling their parachute before actually diving.  A friend of mine in Albuquerque once did a tandem jump on a trip she and her husband were on.  She said she always wanted to do it, but would never do it again. 

Picacho Peak (“picacho” means peak in Spanish so the name is redundant) is a huge 1,500 feet high rock leftover from volcanic flow and has served as a landmark for travelers in the area for hundreds of years.  The Spanish explored it in the 1700’s, the Mormon Battalion passed it in 1848 as did miners on their way to California.    A Civil War battle was fought here and can best be described as a “skirmish” when it is compared to other large scale Civil War battles.  However, it does hold the distinction of being the western most battle in the war. Each year in late March (it is actually being held this weekend) they do a reenactment of this battle at the Park. 

After a brief stop at the Visitor Center, we took the short drive through the small Park taking a number of loops but not observing much in the way of wild flowers except a few patches of yellow flowers here and there.  We did take a number of pictures of the cactus and the mountain itself before returning to our resort.

The bones of a saguaro cactus

A bloom on an Ocotillo Cactus

Ron found a prickly pear cactus blooming just up the street from our campsite and we have been watching daily as more buds open up.  Observe the many, many buds on this cactus.  What a beautiful sight.

 

An early in the week photo

Photo taken on Friday afternoon, May 17

We have thoroughly enjoyed our two month stays at Sundance 1 RV Resort meeting new people, enjoying the camaraderie at meals and activities we have participated in and of course the warmer winter weather here in Arizona.  Our current site has been reserved for us starting the first of January of next year for three months.  We look forward to seeing our new friends here again and doing a bit more sightseeing in the vicinity. 

Signing off until after the Escapee Escapade in Tucson next week.