Usery Mountain Regional Park is named after the Usery brothers, who were cattle rustlers and stage coach bandits in the area in the 1800's. It sits on over 3,600 acres in the lower Sonoran Desert, at the western end of the Goldfield Mountains and adjacent to the Tonto National Forest and, conveniently, 5 minutes down the road from Mesa. The park has 75 campsites; 30 trails covering almost 30 miles for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding; and a "premier 5-star rated" Archery Range (there is also a Gun Range just outside the park. We can hear the pop-pop-pop of the guns from our campsite). The park is well run, which is amazing considering they have only six paid staff. They’re assisted by camp hosts who often get here in Oct and stay for the season. In exchange for 20 hrs/wk of work in the park per person (40 hrs/couple), camp hosts get their campsite for free (equivalent to $5,000 in camping fees @ $25/nite over 6 months). The camp host concept is very common here in Arizona. One of the camp hosts for this park is from Alaska, so it’s not necessary to be from around here.
This is probably the first time on our trip that we have become more intimately aware of the desert
. In Sedona, it was the red rocks. In Havasu, the lake. In Yuma, the agriculture and solar farms. But here, we are in the middle of the Sonoran desert which, by the way, is the most bio-diverse desert on earth.
The park has a number of educational events, such as guided hikes (e.g., “Hiker’s Choice Full Moon Hike and Campfire”) and information sessions (e.g., “All About Scorpions”). On Wed, we joined a hike called “Meandering the Merkle”, where our volunteer guide, Susan, talked about the various plants and animals in the Sonoran desert on the Merkle Trail surrounding the Merkle Hills. There are lots of birds here – many of them literally are snowbirds, wintering here away from their colder climates. But there are also lots of hummingbirds, cactus wrens, and the damn coo-coo-coo doves that followed us here from Regina. :oP
After the guided portion, we continued on to the Vista Trail, which goes up and over the Merkle Hills, providing some beautiful vista views from the top
.
The Cholla cactus, also known as the “jumping cactus”, is a bit of a pain in the ass. It’s long thorns are barbed and, apparently, if you get too near, the thorns jump out and grab your clothes, skin, shoes ... The hikers and guides around here all carry those little tail-less combs like my dad used to carry in his shirt pocket – they work great to whisk away cholla thorns stuck in your clothes. Apparently, you don’t want to pull them off with your fingers, because the barbs take hold of your skin and then you’re hooped. I found out the hard way not to go “off roading” to take a shortcut or to take pictures. The trails are all gravel, but off trail, the thorns are all over. I took two steps out of our campsite to take a picture of some birds, and it took Roger 20 minutes to pull all the thorns out of the bottom of my sandals with pliers. I learned my lesson. Roger is keeping in practice as handyman!
Those damn Cholla thorns may also be the problem with my bike tires
. Bike riding has been a rare event this week (not at all until Sat), as I can’t seem to keep air in my back tire (yes Gil, I can hear your comments about my big butt already). My front tire has gone flat once, and has survived with the new tube. But poor Roger has replaced my rear tube twice? three times? on this trip. After hearing Doug & Eva’s stories of the cactus thorns piercing their golf cart tires, we thought maybe I had a thorn in my tire that keeps re-piercing the new tubes. But no, nothing there. Another theory was that something on the rim is pinching or pricking the tube. But no, nothing there either. It’s giving Roger a mal de tete! After trying leak sealant (didn’t work but sure made a mess!), we finally bought a patch kit and patched the tiny hole on Sat morning. It survived a bike ride through the park, but the problem has been a slow leak, so we’ll see how long it holds air. As of today, I’m still good to go!
The magic of Facebook is to keep people in touch who might not otherwise stay connected
. It was through Facebook that we connected with fellow snowbirds Norma & Steve here in Arizona. I worked with Norma at SGI – she was at our Moose Jaw branch. They were in Tempe this week, so they joined us for supper and a campfire on Tues evening. We had a fun visit!
Thursday was shopping day for me. Roger took me to IKEA and a few other furniture/decor stores. And on Friday, we went to the Mesa outdoor Marketplace/Swap Meet. We’ve gone to the big swap meet everywhere we’ve been on this trip, and it’s the same vendors at every one, so I’m not sure why I keep wanting to go. We did, however, get a bike tire patch kit and air pump this time!
Yesterday, we drove the Apache Trail, which once served as a stage coach and freight wagon route from Mesa to Globe. It runs by the Superstition Mountains, and through Tonto National Forest to Canyon Lake and the century-old stagecoach stop of Tortilla Flat. The brochure says it is “the best scenic drive in Arizona”.
Starting on Wed, it’s all about BASEBALL. There are 15 Major League Baseball teams here for spring training (at 10 ballparks), and the games start Wed. In the five days between Wed and when we head home, there are 18 (or more) games. OMG, how will he choose??? ;o)
P.S. Our Canadian athletes make us proud! Way to go Canada!!
Desert landscapes
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Mesa, Arizona, United States
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Comments

2025-02-17
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Eva
2014-02-23
So the fun continues! Your campsite looks great - kind of solitary, which I would like :) Too bad about your bike - hope all get figured out. I have been on the Apache Trail - did you make it to the Roosevelt dam? I wonder if the road is still as dusty as when we were on it. Now on to enjoy the baseball training sessions - choose wisely :)
Lorr
2014-02-24
In don;'t know why, but I got itchy & scratching while reading this LOL I know the Sonora desert intimately. It was all around us when I had my winter stay in Alamos Sonora. I think you get home before me? I'm back on Mar 14th.
Ed
2014-02-24
Still enjoying your stories. Thanks! Wish we were there with you to watch the baseball games. We are in the final stages of planning our trip to Italy. We leave on March 24. Until then we continue to enjoy winter .... minus 32 overnight and high today of minus 25.