McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Phoenix Area

We left Prescott at 10 am, clear skies, slight wind, very brisk morning with temps around 35….it was around 25 last night, perhaps colder.

Not far after we turned south on I-17 there is a rest area, with a great view of the desert with this western panoramic view.

But the desert comes with its own warning…although in the winter we are less likely to see any of these creatures.

Very quickly as we continue south along I-17 we hit the 3,000 foot level (Prescott is at 5,400 ft), and we start to see the Saguaro Cactus.  There are thousands upon thousands of them just along this stretch to Phoenix.  We stop at Flying J in Phoenix for gas and propane.  Our propane had gotten down to 10%, otherwise we would have waited until we left for both.  Thank goodness, the Flying J was not real busy, so it worked out just fine…except for the extra miles we traveled.

So here we are at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, which has come highly recommended by fellow bloggers, especially Technomadia who stayed here about a month ago.  And they are right, the views are great, and we are only 30 miles from our friend Joyce’s house.  Funny thing, had she not moved a few years ago, we would have been about 10 minutes away….but this view is a killer, that’s for sure.  And for $108 for four nights, that’s a very decent price here in the Phoenix area.