Buggy ride with Marlene, Gregg

the wandering chick

off-roading with G and M

...Riding the trails

This has been an incredible season of off-roading for me thanks to my Pleasant Harbor friends who have invited me on several desert rides in their super-duper Talon.

Each ride has been in a different direction: through dry washes, among massive boulders and over and around mountainous terrain on trails I never would have experienced otherwise. They've all been incredible, and I'm thankful and appreciative.

Here are pictures of some of our rides.

This and the next pictures were taken north of Lake Pleasant. We covered several miles of off-road trails including through the Morrison City Wash. We returned by way of Castle Hot Springs Road.

It's always a delight to see the burros in the desert. We didn't see great herds this trip, but seeing them up close even just two or three at a time was satisfying enough.

Downtown Phoenix in the far distance

The last leg of our trip was along the Castle Hot Springs Road and the oasis resort of Castle Hot Springs.

Roughly south of the 303 loop in Maricopa County is a collection of boulders not accessible by car. It's a stunning area frequented by off-road vehicles and mountain bikers who have discovered it. No signage makes one aware of, nor is it named on any map that I've researched. One can enjoy the enormity of the boulders while walking through and around the narrow paths and crooks and crannies. The next several pictures were taken there.

I named this boulder Big Eye.

$boulders\\$

Another off-road trip we took was to Rock Springs. It's a tremendous ride over lots of hilltops and through a creek; the trail parallels Interstate 17 to the north. It takes some expert driving, as much of the trail is winding and narrow, with little room for error .

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