Superstition Mountain from the south

 

Looking over the valley of the Salt River

Four Peaks in the distance. 

Mountain lights

The mountain was lit up for just a minute before the clouds rolled in and the rain started. 

Westward toward the Valley

This shows the decent into the valley north of the Superstitions. It's a blast heading down this road on a bike. I had to brake hard on some of the curves since I was going so fast.

Four Peaks

A closer view of Four Peaks on the way to Canyon Lake. 

Apache Trail east of Apache Junction

One of the few downhill sections of the Trail before it climbs toward the Superstitions. On a bike, that sort of thing is noticed! 

Goldfield Ghost Town and Tourist Site

ON t The ride this morning I rode out toward Canyon Lake along the Apache Trail.

South end of the Superstitions

Clouds, shadows, desert. 

Sunrise

Heading out this morning I was greeted with a nice sunrise... 

The Loop 202 to be

This is right next to the CAP canal. The new highway is still a couple years from completion here, but they're already lowering the roadbed.

I hadn't seen bridge construction like the technique that's used on the bridges for this project. They dig down and rough contour the area where the bridge will go and then build the bridge supports more or less as I would expect from other construction I've seen. However, they then pack the dirt back in around the supports until it's to the level of the bridge. Then they construct the bridge supported on the dirt. When it's done, they remove the dirt again. Pretty cool. Maybe I've not seen it because this is new road and most of my experience is around existing bridges and highways... 

The CAP canal

This is taken on Brown, looking southeast. Not an inspired shot, but it's part of the story of the Valley that irrigation drives so much of its existance. This water came from the Colorado River and may wind up near Tucson. Pretty impressive project.

Other canals take water from the Salt River and flow through Mesa, Gilbert and other cities in the valley. People use the water for the orange groves, the cotton, and other crops, but they also use it to water their lawns. The lawns here are often recessed and rather than spraying water, which evaporates, they flood the lawns instead.

One of the more odd-looking things you see are the pipes that carry run-off water across the canal. I presume that they don't want the debris clogging up the canals, but it's still kind of funny to see.

The canals in Mesa were first built by the Hohokam, who built irrigation canals in much of the Salt and Gila River valleys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohokam). These were found and refurbished by the Mormons who settled in Mesa, and have been expanded and enhanced ever since.

Moon over South Mountain

Not the greatest of shots, but I liked it. 

Looking west from South Mountain

The sky was really hazy yesterday when we drove to the top of South Mountain. The Sierra Estrellas provided an outline to the west. 

Bird of Paradise

I've posted pictures of the Bird of Paradise before, but I thought this one was nice for the way the light hit it. 

Cactus Flowers

These are night-blooming flowers and only the ones in the shade are still open...