the wandering chick
great hiking trails in Cave Creek
...Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area
Saguaros come in all shapes and sizes and some are so unusual, whimsical even, they make you stop, smile and ponder what may have caused its chaotic formation. This one was seen on the Metate Trail.
The Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area comprises a series of hiking trails of all levels in some of the most rugged and scenic aeas to be found in the upper Senoran Desert.
My hiking buddies and I have hiked a couple of the nicely-marked trails there and are always ready to return for more.
Spur Cross Ranch is part of the Maricopa County Park System and is located in the community of Cave Creek.
The Metate Trail, combined with a section of the Spur Cross and the Towhee and Fairy Duster trails, makes a wonderful and easy two-mile hike with all sorts of nature's splendor, from spiny lizards to delicate spring flowers to some of the largest saguaros in the park.
Mexican gold poppy
Blackfoot daisy
We were a small group who took the hike this wonderful spring day, but we enjoyed every minute of seeing nature's glory.
On a later hike, three of us took off in another direction in the park onto the Dragonfly Trail. Combined with portions of the Spur Cross Trail, we covered some four miles of rugged and more remote, but easy, terrain.
A narrow footbridge crosses over Cave Creek.
In the eyes of many, still magnificent even when life has long left.
Special effects applied
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Another hike, a different group, we hiked the Metate, Spur Cross, Mariposa Hill and Towhee trails, a nice three-mile (approx.) hike.
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