Greg and I arrived in Mesa Dec. 14 and have been able to be outside and walking and hiking without our winter parkas!
Mesa(Spanish for tabletop)is in the center of the Salt River Valley on a plateau. The area has long been inhabited by Native Americans, including the Hohokam Ancestral Desert People who dug some 125 miles of canals around 700 B.C. Some of these irrigation ditches can still be seen.
Late in 1863 the Mormons discovered the ancient irrigation canals and used it to irrigate the farmlands.
Some of the areas we have hiked are Superstition Mountains, and Usury Park. The Superstition Mounts were named for the many legends surrounding them The fabled Lost Dutchman Gold Mine lies somewhere in these mountains. There are petrogylphs on the walls of the mountains. And walks near Tortilla Flats, once a staging area for the continental Stagecoach and Pony Express, with great views and lots of cactus.
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Greg, Jim, Sheila, Dennis and Kate at Superstition Mtn.
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Sheila stepped off the path and was attacked by a cactus. Fortunately Jim carries a tool for cactus removal!
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| Superstition Mt and Saguaro cactus. |
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Jim, Eileen , Kate and Nicholas resting while hiking Meridian Trail.
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| Beginning our hike, Dennis, Gina, Kate, Eileen and Jim. |
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Petroglyphs
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| Off Tortilla Flats road. Water a result of dams. |
At the end of the hikes, we got to spend time in the hot tubs at Dennis and Gina's resort. Not a bad way to spend December.
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