Gila Bend is out of this world!

About 70 miles southwest of Phoenix is the small town of Gila Bend. If you are traveling from Phoenix to Yuma or San Diego, or heading down to Rocky Point Mexico, you will probably find yourself driving through this town. I have to admit, I rarely stop for more than a quick bathroom break, fill the gas tank, or to grab something cold to drink.
Outside one of the gas stations on the east side of town are a couple of metal sculptures. Being that it is the desert southwest, I understand the rattlesnake.

Watch out for the fangs on this guy!
I'm still not quite sure how the brontosaurus fits in. At least make it a T-Rex.
If you decide that you must own your very own sculpture (unpainted) just drive a few blocks west and one can be yours.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was that one of these giant beauties wouldn't fit in my car. I so wanted one for my front yard!

Giant metal animals aside, when I think of Gila Bend, I think of one thing. The Space Age Lodge!
Although I've never stayed here, I can't help but think of how hip you would have been to stay here in the early 60s when it was brand new!
There is amazing detail in the exterior design of the building and the signs.

I love how the rooms have little space ships on their doors. It also looked like glitter or something was embedded in the exterior paint. When the sun caught it just right, the building glistened.
Even the detail around the pool is amazing. All the pool hardware is stored in the geodesic dome on the left side of the picture.

Globe trotting

If you're craving a bit of western and Americana kitch, a quick day trip to Globe, AZ should cure that craving.

Globe is full of historic buildings.


From central Phoenix, it is about an hour and a half drive (east on Hwy 60) to Globe. As you approach Superior and continue to Miami and Globe, the scenery is beautiful - with interesting rock formations.

Tucson Mountain Park

Tucson Mountain Park is found on the west side of Tucson, just outside of Saguaro National Park. This picture shows a wash (dry river bed). These areas flood and become very dangerous following a rain (even a small rain of 1 cm!)
There is a lot of plant diversity in this area of the Sonoran Desert. Some of the plants you can see in this picture are cholla, palo verde, mesquite, prickley pear cactus, creosote, and saguaros.

Hiking trails run throughout Tucson Mountain Park.
Watch out for the Teddy Bear Cholla. It isn't as cute and fuzzy as it looks.
It is full of very spiny sections that attach to you or other animals like giant burrs. I found this out the hard way when I first moved to Arizona. I took my dog out hiking, and within 5 minutes of hitting the tail, he bumped into one of these chollas. Several 5-inch-long segments stuck into his flank. He tried to pull it off with his mouth, but instead ended up with the spines on his face and in his mouth. As I tried to help him, he panicked and transfered the remaining pieces of cactus to my arm.

Neither of us enjoyed the subsequent removing of the spines. The tip is slightly barbed, so even when you pull the main spine out, a tiny bit is left behind.
To this day, I still have scars on my arm from that incident - and it's been 17 years!
As you drive northwest through the park, you enter Saguaro National Park.

Saguaro National Park - West

Saguaro National Park is split into two sections: West and East. The east side is a bit more developed, while the west side blends into nearby attractions of Tucson Mountain Park, Old Tucson Studios, and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.
I recently visited the west side of the park.


May and early June are a wonderful time to visit. The weather is still reasonably cool (90s to low 100s), and the saguaros are in bloom.


Here you can see the beautiful saguaro flowers.

Petrified Forest National Park

I thought I would get in one more quick trip to a national park before my pass expired in June. I visited the Petrified Forest National Park, which is just outside of Holbrook, AZ. Here you can see large petrified logs from a time when this part of Arizona was lush tropical forest. About 225 million years ago, this part of Arizona was near the equator.
When the continents broke apart and shifted, the climate changed. Some trees fell into rivers and were buried in the sediment. Mineral seeped in and replaced the wood. This caused the mineralization - petrified wood.

Here you can see the quartz in the sections of a log.
The agate bridge is petrified wood (concrete was placed under the bridge in 1917 for support)
As you drive through the park, some of the reds are replaced by blues. You can see streaks of blue in the striations of the sandstone in the Blue Mesa section of the park.

Along the road, are some fabulous formations that show the striated sandstone. This area of the park is called the TeePees, because of the shape of the rocks.

As you drive north of through the park, and cross I-40, you enter the Painted Desert.
The first overlook is at Lacey Point. I was greeted by this raven there.
View of the painted desert from Lacey Point. You can see how it gets its name.
While not part of the park, these two rock formations caught my eye as I drove along Highway 87 north of Winslow.