The calendar may have said it was still winter, but spring was already in full affect during our recent road trip to Arizona in mid-March. With temps in the 80s and an abundance of warm sunshine it was a nice escape from the cooler winter temps that had recently descended upon Southern California.
Day one had us on the road by 7:30 am after dropping off our pup Indy at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. He usually goes with us everywhere, but with two sporting events on the agenda during this quick trip it made sense to leave him home this time around.
After four hours on the road, our first stop was Spring Training for a little preseason baseball. A trip to Phoenix in March pretty much requires at least one baseball game! We visited Camelback Ranch for the Milwaukee Brewers v LA Dodgers game and had the pleasure to watch Kershaw pitch the first three innings. Even though we aren’t Dodger’s fans, it was exciting to see such a great pitcher live in action. The game was a shut out while he was in, but luckily for the Brewers he didn’t play long!
On day two we were bound for a morning hike in the Superstition Mountains. Arriving before most of the crowds we explored the Superstition Mountain – Lost Dutchman Museum and the Goldfield Ghost Town before making our way to Lost Dutchman State Park for our hike.
The museum grounds where like a trip to the old west with remnants of nearby Apacheland, which had burned down 14 years ago. One of the volunteers told us how Apacheland was the filming site for many Hollywood movies, including the 1969 Elvis western Charro!, which he said that the church on the grounds played a prominent part in. My favorite part of the whole museum was the stagecoach you could get inside of, I always dreamed of riding in a stagecoach!
Next up was the Goldfield Ghost Town, which you may have seen before on Ghost Adventures. It was quite when we arrived and some of the shops were not yet open. We explored the grounds and were unable to find any paranormal activity, much to our disappointment.
Up next was Lost Dutchman State Park where we enjoyed a relaxing 2.4 mile hike on the Treasure Loop Trail. We weren’t the only people out enjoying a morning hike before the afternoon sun warmed things up. This popular trail is frequented by hikers of all ages and we meet some lovely people along the way. The hike takes you back towards the Superstition Mountains to a nice look out point not too far up, but high enough to take into some incredible views of the Phoenix Valley and Arizona desert laid out before us.
Jeremy discovered a new found love for the Saguaro cactus on the hike! We later learned that they take a very long time to grow and don’t produce their first flower for 35 years. The tall ones on our hike would have been 150 to 200 years old based on their size.
Of course, we had to sneak in a few product photos on the hike, including two new Bohemian Fiesta Blanket colors coming soon! These cozy Mexican blankets are perfect for a hike and having a picnic lunch along the way.
After our hike we made our way further down Hwy 88 towards Tortilla Flat, the last surviving stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail, as well as the last stop before the highway turns into a dirt road. We had hopes to stop at the bar for a beer and sarsaparilla, but being the lunch hour the place was absolutely packed, so we settled for an ice cream cone and decided to head back towards Phoenix.
Our last stop on day two was the LA Kings v Arizona Coyotes game in Phoenix. We scored cheap tickets in the all you can eat section and ate enough to make it well worth the money! It was a good game going into a shootout overtime, but our Kings were not able to clinch the win. Guess that’s what we get for cheering for the other team on someone else’s home turf!
Our quick road trip wrapped up on day three when we head back to California in the morning. We were in Arizona for less than 48 hours, but we sure made the most of it!
Do you have any spring road trips planned as the weather warms up? Tell us about your plans in the comments below.
Peace, love, and freedom,
Melissa & Jeremy
