Timeless Enticements

I make a wrong turn and don’t realize it.  The sun is nowhere close to showing itself, so nature’s compass is unavailable.  When I enter barren Gila Indian reservation lands, my wrong turn becomes obvious.  I plug in my GPS and it keeps re-calculating me toward dark thin roads that just don’t feel right.  After several miles ignoring it, my GPS and I finally get in sync and we’re off toward the San Tan Mountains near Queen Creek.

I’m hoping the park doesn’t have gates that only open at designated times.  If so, I’ll be forced to sit and waste precious time.  But this is the wild (and open) west.  No closed gates out here.   I’m the first one in at about the time the first touches of light are beginning to temp hikers.  In a land of diamondbacks, scorpions, coyotes, and jumping cactus needles, light is especially important when hiking this unknown territory.  Back east, I’d feel comfortable hiking blind-folded, but in Arizona, I’m a fish out of water, and less brazen than normal.

With only a handful of hours to explore, my plan is to get just a taste of the foothills; to meander the trail’s lower elevations up close with the Saguaros, Chollas, Creosote, and the undulations of the mountains.  But a reachable shoulder was calling.  With a little heart pumping effort, I quickly switch-backed my way up the Goldmine Trail to a gap in the mountain affording an open view north toward Chandler.  Here I sat for a while catching my breath and enjoying the cradled feeling of this mountain.  It was a view that brought home my impression of the Phoenix metropolis.  The sprawl here is overwhelming; a seemingly unending grid of walled-in, planned communities and chain franchises.  But very nearby and in all directions are escapes like the San Tan Mountains with open gates and easy access.  Phoenix is a fine mix of congestion and solitude, all amid the backdrop of spectacular scenery.

For years I half-jokingly said I’d love to move to Arizona for my mid-life crisis.  Having spent the last several days wandering this spectacular state, my feelings have only grown stronger.  A state with iconic and timeless enticements like The Grand Canyon, Sedona, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly, in addition to countless other surprising geographic and cultural amenities would be a fine place to cause and have a mid-life crisis.  Don’t you think?