I know there are some places where people are still waiting for spring. Here in Phoenix, our spring is drawing to a close as temperatures keep creeping up, and we are savoring it while it lasts.
I made this list of simple ways we enjoy the season that you can adapt to wherever you are, whenever it arrives.
1. Take a hike and look for signs of spring. We like exploring trails at South Mountain – there are tons of them! As the wildflowers fade, the cactus starts to bloom, so there should be plenty of color in the Sonoran desert throughout the month of April.
2. Go on a Picnic. Lots of parks have tables just waiting for you. We noticed a large picnic area at Estrella Mountain Regional Park. There’s also a great day-use area at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (I know! Terrible name but great camping and huge day-use area.) in Cottonwood, if you’re up for a drive – which brings us to #3…
3. Take a drive (or bike ride) and see what you discover. We’re big fans of taking the side streets just to see where we end up.
March is the reason people live in Arizona. Not the only reason. But it represents a pretty big one, because it tends to come with the kind of gorgeous weather we dream of during the inevitably scorching Phoenix summers.
Of course, I would write that sentence on the day we get a fluke spring dust storm. (We don’t really expect those until July or August.) But still. It was an hour or so blip in the middle of some really nice days.
March also brings wildflowers. Some years more than others, but if we’ve had any rain at all, the desert gets more colorful.
Because the weather is so good, things get busy. People come to visit. Events get scheduled. (Lots and lots of events. They were basically stacked on top of each other this past weekend.) Before you know it, you’re in some convention hall or shopping center or crowded restaurant wondering what you’re doing there and if you’ve missed all the nice weather. Or (in my case), you’re sitting outside writing a post about wildflowers and wondering if they’ve already finished their brief annual appearance.
So Monday I texted Phillip that I wanted to see if there were still wildflowers on South Mountain and should I pick him up after work to go check it out. He was up for it, so we slipped into the park just before they closed the entrance gate and hiked until we ran out of light for photos.
I’m happy to report that it’s not too late to spot some wildflowers in the desert.
Also, the creosote bushes are yellow and fragrant, and hedgehog cactus is starting to bloom.
If you’re here in Phoenix and you possibly can, get out this week – even for an hour – and soak it all in. And if you live somewhere else, you might consider visiting next March.
It’s a beautiful time to find a reason to be here or to remember the reasons you already are.
For Your (Wildflower-Hunting) Information: I took all of these photos (except the top one of clouds after the dust storm) on 3/24/14 at South Mountain Park.
We stopped for a minute to decide where to go next. I looked at the part of the Estrellas closest to us and asked how long it would take to get there. He guessed 30 minutes, and we decided to head that direction and find out.
But then Phillip spotted some some side streets he needed to explore. So we drove through this rural neighborhood, into the desert, past an abandoned building, and then we spotted a beautiful little church down a gravel driveway, just out there by itself. It was surrounded by a chain link fence, dirt parking lot on one side, mountains on the other.
We stepped out of the car. For a moment, it was intensely silent. Then this pickup truck full of laughing women drove by. They stopped just over the hill, where we couldn’t see them, but we could hear them talking and laughing and working on something.
We wondered about the church, all fenced in but not seeming abandoned. A little bird landed on top of the cross at the top of the sanctuary and decided to sing. We watched the light transform the mountains.
We forgot about timing our drive to the mountain. Or actually getting there.
It’s funny how sometimes getting sidetracked leads you to a new destination.
Living in Phoenix can inspire this ongoing dialogue with yourself.
Me In September: It’s still hot. Why do I live here again?
Me 2 Months Later: Oh. Right. Now I remember.
The weather has been so beautiful the last couple weeks. It just makes Phillip and I (and probably the rest of the Valley of the Sun) want to go out and soak it all in!
One of our favorite places for a spur-of-the-moment hike is South Mountain. It’s not far from us, there are tons of not-too-strenous trails, and we almost always see some kind of interesting wildlife.
The 16,000-acre preserve is actually the largest city park in the country with miles of trails crossing the natural landscape.
And that’s where we went for a little impromptu hiking Christmas afternoon. We definitely weren’t the only ones with that idea. There were actually a lot of people out on the trails.
At one point, we heard coyotes yelping in the distance. I looked around and realized all the other hikers within eyesight had also stopped to listen. We took a side trail to the top of a little hill and counted at least three coyotes racing up the ridge across from us.
Ridge where we saw coyotes. There’s probably a teeny one somewhere in the photo.
We continued up the dirt road that’s now closed to vehicles, past the wide space that used to serve as a parking lot and up a hill. You could see all the way across the park, across the rest of the Valley, to the Superstition Mountains, sitting east of the metro area and glowing pink from the sunset.
We took it all in for a few minutes before heading back.
By the time we got back to the trailhead, there was already one bright star shining down on us. For Christmas night in the desert, that somehow seemed fitting.
Looking to get some holiday shopping done and support independent businesses? There are some fabulous local vendors and products here in Arizona. Here’s how to hunt them down.
Mega List (Start Here): A great place to begin is Local First Arizona’s Business Directory. Local businesses are listed by category and geographical area. There is also a subcategory of retailers with online stores for shoppers who are out of state or just want to shop from their living rooms. During Buy Local Month (November 29-December 24), they’re posting daily deals.
Top 12: If Local First’s directory seems a bit overwhelming, check out the Arizona Holiday Gift Guide byThe Wilderness Girls. Their 12 local picks include succulent gardens, jewelry, food and wine.
Phoenix newbies: For someone who has recently relocated to the Valley of the Sun, check out my Gifts for Phoenix Newcomers board, inspired by a Pinterest challenge. Several of the items are locally made, and they are all sold by Arizona-based businesses/organizations. They’re all also available online.
Foodie Heaven: The Queen Creek Olive Mill has both an online store and a really nice marketplace on their grounds. (They’ve also opened a new location at the Biltmore.) In addition to olive oil, they sell other gourmet food items, pet treats, and bath products. We’ve purchased client gifts, as well as hospitality gifts there – and tried lots of delicious samples in the process – and everything has been tasty and really good quality.
Artisan Products:Practical Art exclusively sells drool-worthy items handcrafted in Arizona, such as houseware and accessories, online and in their Central Phoenix location.
Artist Marless Fellows painting “Saddle Up” during the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour. Photo taken with permission.
Open Artist Studios: You can tour artist studios and purchase art (and prints) this weekend (November 29-December 1) at the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour in the Cave Creek/North Scottsdale area. You can browse participating artists via the HITH directory or search by medium on their site.
Local-to-you Clothing and Decor:Scott’s Marketplace is an online portal for local businesses across the country, including several Arizona retailers selling apparel, accessories, home decor, and other gift items.
How do you find fabulous local products where you are?
Local First Arizona logo, Queen Creek Extra Virgin Olive Oil photo, and Queen Creek Olive Mill logo images via their respective websites. Landscape photo of Queen Creek Olive Mill from our visit there. This is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to write something in support of local businesses, so I did.
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