McDowell Mountain Regional Park!

February 11, 2021 / Ed Armstrong

This is a beautiful Maricopa County park that is fantastic for mountain biking, hiking, and riding horses!

I took our motorhome and headed to northeast Scottsdale to the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. It was only 90 minutes away from our house, but it was wonderful to enjoy the campground and ride my mountain bike on trails all around the area.

I love riding on trails on a beautiful day!

My first day I rode through the campground, went to the visitor center, and then rode one of the easier loops as suggested by the visitor center. The next day, I rode 15.3 mile Pemberton loop trail. This started with a long uphill route and then a mostly downhill rocky path back down to the visitor center.

At the top of the hill on the Pemberton trail is a fun place to rest and repair your bike, if needed.

I met several people on the trails. Mountain biking couples quite a bit older than myself, a photographer hiking that found deer on the trail and a couple of groups of ladies riding horses. I have learned to be extra cautious around horses on the trail. Mountain bikes can scare them and riders do not want you too close coming up behind the horses. Caution is especially warranted on narrow trails. So, I hung back on the trail to allow the horses time to find a place to get off the trail and allow me to pass.

The weather was in the 70s, so everyone was smiling and enjoying being outside on a sunny winter day in the desert.

The campground was quite spacious and each site had electricity and water. The quiet was wonderful!!

This is my second trip in the motorhome to mountain bike in a new location. I have really enjoyed this trip and need to plan another new location soon.

Zoo Lights!

January 3, 2020January 3, 2020 / Ed Armstrong

The lights at the Phoenix Zoo were beautiful for Christmas!!

I had a wonderful time seeing the Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo. Everything was decorated for the Christmas season. It was great to walk through the zoo and see so many wonderful decorations!

This amazing lion was eating my hand!!

The scenes were amazing!

I loved all the creativity in designs!

The colors were fun!

Friends and family had a wonderful time seeing all the beautiful lights!

Apache Wash!

March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 / Ed Armstrong

I absolutely love riding my mountain bike on the Apache Trail! It is so much fun!!

The Phoenix Sonoran Preserve is spectacular!

Spring time in the desert is so beautiful!!

I have been in Phoenix for the past week and have been loving the spring weather. For the past six days I have driven to the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve and ridden my mountain bike on the Apache trail. It is a wonderful series of trails that are excellent for beginner and intermediate riders. I have loved riding on these trails! Many people hike, ride horses, or ride mountain bikes.

I had so much fun stopping to see so many different cacti!

The saguaro cacti are so magnificent!!

The yellow flowers, green plants, and blue sky were amazing!!

The weather has been spectacular this week and the desert plants are starting to bloom. I have really enjoyed riding along between all the cacti and the spring flowers.

It is absolutely amazing to see the number of arms this saguaro has!!

I love riding along such nice trails!!

This is the saguaro where I hit the cactus arm with my handlebars and caused me to wipeout!! I am glad I wear gloves when I ride!

One saguaro cactus is large and has an arm that has grown into the edge of the trail. Usually I have no problem avoiding the rocks and riding next to the cactus. However, two days ago, I rode a little too close to the cactus arm and my handlebars hit the cactus! It was like hitting a steel bar. There was absolutely no give at all to the cactus. Needless to say, my handlebars turned and I wiped out hands first in the dirt! I am glad I wear gloves when ridding! I only slightly hurt my hand and my bike was fine. When I looked closer at the cactus arm, I could see that I was not the only person that had hit the sneaky cactus arm!

This saguaro is growing in all sorts of different directions!

I absolutely love all the colors of the blooming desert!

There are blooming flowers farther than my eyes could see!

I am sad that this is the last time to ride the Apache trail. Now I need to move the motorhome to get have the yearly oil change and other maintenance items checked. After that, I continue my route west on interstate 10.

I really have to “gear down” my bike to make it up this hill!! My heart is beating fast by the time I get to the top!!

The scenary is spectacular all along the Apache trail!!

I love riding my mountain bike through the blooming desert!

Final Four!

April 21, 2017 / Ed Armstrong

I loved being at the location of the college basketball championship games!

I have always enjoyed watching college basketball. One of the fun discoveries of being in Phoenix, Arizona was that the Final Four was held there this year. It was fun timing. The Friday before the first two games there were open practices to watch all four teams (South Carolina, Oregon, Gonzaga, and North Carolina).

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It was fun to be in the midst of so much excitement for college basketball and see the fans that were supporting their favorite team. There were also many people like me, not a fan of a specific team, but wanting to enjoy the Final Four experience.

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This was as close as I have ever been to the Final Four, so I had to buy a commemorative t-shirt. It was very fun. I looked into buying an actual ticket for the games, but they were over $1,000 per ticket. Oh well, maybe next year I can get a ticket for the Final Four in San Antonio.

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