mountains Archives

01/16/2017

Phoenix Hike: White Tank Mountains

When you have time in Phoenix, you’d be crazy to not spend some of it hiking. One beautiful area to consider visiting is the White Tank Mountains Regional Park. It’s about a 35-minute drive from central Phoenix in Waddell, but it’s worth the trek. It’s an expansive park with opportunities for horseback riding, hiking, picnics, mountain biking and exploring.

Last time I visited the park was when I lived in Phoenix. Graham and I had hiked the Waterfall Trail after a rainfall, one of the few times you’ll actually see water flowing. This time we chose the 1.3-mile Black Rock Trail, which connects with the Waterfall Trail. You can do either the short or long loop, and walked the long option. You’ll be surrounded by barrel cacti, saguaros, and more desert flora. The hike isn’t too difficult, so anyone can do it. The park is also large enough that even though you share the trails with families, baby boomers, mountain bikers and more, you don’t feel too crowded, as you do on other popular mountains. You could spend the entire day at the park and feel entertained, refreshed and energized, which makes the visit well worth the $6 per car entrance fee.

Of course, there are numerous options for trail hikes. You can hike 8 miles or half a mile; it’s up to you and your desired level of exercise. Some trails also have markers that show archaeological artifacts or areas, which you should admire but never touch. (Don’t deface or take them home, either!) Just enjoy being outdoors in gorgeous weather (assuming you are visiting in the winter).

Be on the lookout for wildlife, rock stacks and desert flora as well. You will see many varieties of cacti, including the barrel cactus. whose curved needles Native Americans used as fish hooks. (I learned that neat fact on a park sign.)

Learn a lesson from the towering saguaros at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Stand tall and shine!

Have you visited White Tank Mountain Regional Park or Phoenix in general?

Waterfall at White Tank Mountain Regional Park

01/09/2017

A Phoenix Hike

Dreamy Draw Recreation Area

The No. 1 activity I had planned during our weekend in Phoenix was a hike, even if it wasn’t too challenging or long. I longed for the Phoenix sunshine, especially as we made our way to the Chicago airport with a real feel in the negative digits. I didn’t pack any jackets or sweaters for Phoenix, which was wishful thinking considering it does get chilly in the mornings and evenings. I ended up wearing Graham’s Cubs hoodie or his jackets when I couldn’t take the desert “cold.” Victoria spent some time with her great-grandma while Graham and I took a quick trip to the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, our old stomping grounds. It’s not the most impressive mountain area to hike, like Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak, but it was our hiking spot. It’s also huge, you could spend all day or multiple days exploring the vast network of trails, which are shared among hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. We would hike here frequently when we lived in Phoenix, usually during summer storms. We called ourselves storm chasers, in fact.

We went to our old sunset-viewing area during the early afternoon to get a glimpse of the city. We were also treated to a coyote sighting.

I was quite comfortable and cool in my new workout gear, which was a Christmas gift from my older sister. She knows the way to a fitness lover’s heart! Plus, all I ever want for the holiday is athletic wear to help me reach my goals. She bought me an outfit from Fabletics** in my favorite color, purple.

Fabletics is offering a first outfit for $10 until Jan. 10, 2017. **

The tank has side band detail.

Took this photo of the back of the tank after the hike.

The top is the Theresa Tunic Tank, which covers your assets, if you know what I mean. I appreciate that because sometimes I feel self-conscious when I wear athleisure clothing out and about. This tank is a little longer on me because I have a short torso, but I think it would be flattering on many body types. Also, this would be ideal for yoga, because during certain poses your top tends to move about and expose your midriff, and this could help with that. It’s a racerback tank as well.

The print on the leggings is my favorite. It’s called the Metallic Pebble print, but it reminds me of my cosmic inspired Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 running shoes, which I wore for the hike. The size small leggings fit perfectly.

Shop my Fabletics outfit **

Shop this look through Fabletics**.

01/19/2016

Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River, Costa Rica

** This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission on purchases made through these links. Thanks for supporting Floradise!The most fun I had on our Costa Rica trip was during our whitewater rafting tour with Exploradores Outdoors. The company picked us up 6 a.m. Saturday from Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast for the 12-hour adventure. We picked up two new friends, one from France and one from Sweden, on the way to the company’s Exploration Center in Siquirres. We were free to use the changing rooms and restrooms, drop our luggage off in the lockers, and eat breakfast (eggs, toast, orange juice, coffee, yogurt and gallo pinto). Other shuttles carrying people from San Jose and Arenal arrived soon after. After about an hour, we were on our way to the river, which was another 45-minute drive from the Exploration Center on a bumpy, windy mountain road. The views were incredible: We could see the Talamanca Mountains and never-ending forest. Six rafts, six guides, several rescue kayaks and a photographer in a kayak were waiting for us at the river. I loved the humor that was used to explain the safety measures to us; it made me feel a lot more comfortable. It wasn’t long before we were on our way for the most amazing ride.

Pacuare River, rafting, Exploradores Outdoors

Photo by Exploradores Outdoors

Our raft was the last on the water, but we soon learned that our guide, Kenneth, was a talented guide. He got us to the lunch meeting spot first, our raft never got stuck and no one fell overboard, all pluses in my book. We rafted for two exhilarating hours before it was time to eat. Our buffet-style lunch was a spread of all the fixings necessary to make burritos or sandwiches: tortillas, bread, cheese, lettuce, red pepper, pickled jalapeños, salsa, tortilla chips, beans and ham. They also included pineapple, lemonade and crackers with jelly. We ate and chatted with our new friends: We met a firefighter from NYC, a woman from Paris, a young couple from Sweden, a solo traveler also from Sweden, and many more interesting people. After lunch, we rafted for about another hour, including time to swim at one of the waterfalls when we hit the second canyon. That moment was one I’ll never forget. The water was a perfect temperature as I jumped off the raft and let the current carry me. I looked ahead and saw towering cliffs covered by rainforest. I wondered what animals lay under the canopy. To my left was a canyon wall and a waterfall, and to my right was another huge wall covered in flora. I felt lucky to be able to raft in this special place and visit this gorgeous country. It was in that moment that everything leading up to the trip, all the work and saving and planning, was worth it. I hope to be back there again soon.

Pacuare River, rafting, Exploradores Outdoors, Costa Rica

Photo by Exploradores Outdoors

I highly recommend a rafting trip on the Pacuare river. For $99 we got transportation to the river, a guide, breakfast, lunch, use of the showers and changing areas, lockers to store our belongings, and transportation either back to your departure place or to a different destination, like Arenal in our case. For an extra $25 you can have a CD with your photos. Plus, you see views like this:

Photo by Exploradores Outdoors

As my raftmates and I shouted many times on our trip, “Pura vida!”

Travel planning books we used:

01/18/2016

Caribbean Costa Rica Itinerary

Punta Uva

I am sitting in the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, trying to wrap my head around flying home. These past nine days seemed to fly past us. This country has taught us so much in just a short time. We met some wonderful people from around the world. Several Costa Ricans and expats helped us when we needed it and showed us so much kindness. I will never forget it. I plan to share tons of photos in the coming days and weeks, but for now, here’s our itinerary. We explored the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and will leave the Pacific side for another trip in the future. There’s so much to do in Costa Rica that you could easily spend a full trip in each part of the country.

Land in San Jose and spend a night at the Wyndham.
Fly to Tortuguero on Nature Air and spend two nights at Tortuga Lodge.
Take a boat ride and car ride south to Cocles. Spend four nights there exploring Punta Uva, Puerto Viejo and Cahuita as well as ziplining in the Bribri area.
River rafting trip on the Pacuare river with shuttle transportation to La Fortuna.
Exploring La Fortuna for a day, including the Arenal Hanging Bridges.
Private shuttle to San Jose with a night at the Country Inn and Suites.

Looking back, we could have maybe cut down a night in Cocles and made it to Monteverde as well, but hopefully we can visit Costa Rica again in the next couple of years to see the other side of the country.

Have you been to Costa Rica? What did you think?

Pura vida!

12/23/2015

Christmastime at Camelback Mountain

If you live in Phoenix, or know anyone who does, you’ve probably heard of the Christmas tree atop Camelback Mountain. It seems to be what everyone’s talking about nowadays, besides the weather. You’ve probably also heard about the guy who dresses as Santa and poses for photos with hikers on weekends leading up to Christmas. While I didn’t get a photo with the big guy, I saw the Christmas tree for myself for the first time in a few years this week. As soon as I saw it, I kicked myself for not bringing an ornament to hang on it. (If you’re reading this and plan a hike soon, please hang one in my honor.) I did, however, pick up an ornament that had fallen and hung it back on the tree, which counts for something, right?
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
My friend Ashley and I planned a hiking date to reunite after months of not seeing each other. Ashley is a New Yorker and I am a wannabe Chicagoan (?) now, so we have missed the mountains. I researched Camelback parking online and asked Instagram friends about the parking situation, and what I read made me nervous. Everything I read said that you’d have to wait for parking to open up and that the mountain gets busy on holidays, and in the winter overall. I decided we should be dropped off so that we wouldn’t have to worry about finding parking. We awoke at 6 a.m., sipped on coffee courtesy of Ashley and made it to the mountain. What did we find? A nearly empty parking lot. We didn’t complain, though, because that means fewer people on the mountain.
I was out of breath almost immediately as we began the Echo Canyon hike. Those inclines are even more intense than my Orangetheory workouts! I had been proud of myself for being in better shape after three months of sessions, but now I see I still have work to do. The views are completely worth the effort though. See for yourself.

Have you hiked Camelback recently? Do you stick to the Cholla trail or the tough Echo Canyon side?

12/21/2015

Where to Hike in Phoenix (Besides Camelback Mountain)

One of the best things to do in Phoenix during the winter months is hike. If you’re not hiking, what are you doing with your life? Highs of 60 degrees mean that you’ll still feel cool even after you’ve worked up a sweat, which you’ll do on the inclines. My favorite time to hike is after a storm when the clouds are clearing. The most gorgeous sunsets happen on partly cloudy days, after the rain washes away the dust, leaving a clear view of the colorful sky.
The sky might look something like this.

Besides looking up, feast your eyes on what’s around you. OK. maybe I’m a little biased because I grew up in the desert, but I think it’s beautiful at any time of day.

Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, Phoenix, hiking

Where to go:

Five options for hiking in Phoenix:

Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, 2421 E. Northern Ave. The photos above are from the Dreamy Draw area. It’s seldom crowded and you can find miles of trails for mountain biking, hiking and running.
Piestewa Peak, 2701 E. Squaw Peak Drive. The first time I hiked this trail was in seventh grade. Our school went to the mountain on a field trip, and any student who made it to the summit was rewarded. That hike sparked my love of hiking.
Usery Mountain Regional Park, 3939 N. Usery Pass Road, Mesa. I’ve only hiked there once because it’s on the complete opposite side of town and I had many other options much closer to me when I lived in Phoenix. It offers a different viewpoint of the Valley that is worth the hike to see. Try Wind Cave trail for a shorter, not-too-difficult trek.
South Mountain, 10919 S. Central Ave., Phoenix. I love the view of the city lights after sunset. But the view is nice any time of day. I’ve tried running on the trails, and the workout was intense. I haven’t even made a dent on the list of trails to take at the park.

White Tank Mountain Regional Park, 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road
Waddell. Try the waterfall hike after a rainy day to actually see water flowing.

What are your favorite trails in the Phoenix area? Do you prefer morning, afternoon or evening hikes? Let me know in the comments. post signature

12/14/2015

Arches National Park

Arches National Park has been on my bucket list for years. Seeing those sunset-colored arches has been the cherry on top of a sweet 2015. You can take in the splendor of the park even if you don’t have time for much hiking, but schedule some time for exploring if you can. Now that I’ve had a taste, I need more. I plan to return to Arches for more hiking as soon as Graham and I can.
Arches is outside of Moab, Utah, a cute town with tons of dining options. It’s easy to incorporate Canyonlands and Newspaper Rock State Park into your Arches trip, too. The scenic drive starts at the visitor center, where you’ll pay a $25 entrance fee per car. You can see the impressive rock formations as soon as you drive into the park. The park map shows points of interest and trails, along with information about the length and difficulty level of each hike. We were pressed for time so we only went on the shortest hikes. If you look to the north, you can spot the snow-capped La Sal Mountains.

Give yourself time to stop often to look out and reflect on the age of the rocks your are seeing. It made me feel small, much like my recent trip to the planetarium. You could easily fill your camera memory card with photos. I tried to force myself to put down the camera at times and really look around, although I almost had no choice but to only take mental photos. When we started our drive through the park, I asked Graham to stop so we could take a picture of us with the beauty of the land behind us. I carefully set up my tripod, changed my lens, and set the self-timer. The screen read the last message I wanted to read: I didn’t have enough battery life to use the self-timer. I had forgotten to charge the battery the night before. After years of talking about Arches, I finally had made it, but my camera wouldn’t work. I could have cried. Instead, we went back to the visitor center so I could plug my camera charger in for a while and get at least some of the pictures I wanted. Sorry, Graham, for throwing a mini tantrum!

You can see many of the arches on the drive, but to see the more famous and large spans, you’ll need to hike. You could do some yoga, too! I couldn’t help myself.

I’m sure Arches is beautiful year-round, but we liked that the park wasn’t crowded in the late fall. Stay for sunset to capture amazing photos.

And here it is: my favorite photo taken with my tripod.

Graham and I checked out the campgrounds, too, and I definitely want to return. (We won’t be taking Taylor and Capone, though, because most of the park is off-limits to dogs.) I can only imagine what it’s like to wake up, climb out of the tent and see the morning light illuminating the rock formations. Sounds like a dream!
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12/11/2015

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

We almost didn’t make it to Mount Rushmore. It wasn’t part of our loosely pulled-together road-trip plans. But we had just left Badlands National Park, and I kept seeing signs for Mount Rushmore. It can’t be too far out of the way, I said. Graham wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. He wanted to get back on the road, but I insisted. This is what road trips are for, after all. Plus, who knows when we’ll ever go back to South Dakota. Graham wanted to take an alternate route to our next destination and I wanted to visit Mount Rushmore National Park. He thought I was agreeing to his alternate plans, but I actually thought I was agreeing to drive to the park. This miscommunication worked in my favor, because I typed in the park name in Google Maps and directed him there. We discovered we hadn’t been on the same page quickly but he came around to my way of thinking.
You drive through the Black Hill National Forest to get the Mount Rushmore. You also pass through a tourist destination town called Keystone that was nearly empty that December day. When we hit one of those switchbacks, I looked up to see Thomas Jefferson’s face. We drove to the parking entrance and stopped to get a better look. Admission to Mount Rushmore is free, but you have to pay to park there. It’s $11. We decided we got a good enough view from where we were so we kept driving. The surrounding area has campgrounds and plenty of places to picnic. You can get a profile view as well. I had no idea this type of terrain could be found in South Dakota. It’s a beautiful state. Even if you don’t have time to take a short walk toward the monument, add a stop at Mount Rushmore to your road trip list!

We pulled over for a look at a frozen lake, too. As an Arizonan, I haven’t seen much of this.

Have you been to Mount Rushmore? Was a stop along the way or the destination?

08/15/2015

Arizona Monsoon Storms

It may sound crazy, but I miss Phoenix’s monsoons. They were a respite from the monotony of sunshine and 110 degree heat. The storms didn’t last long, but they put on a colorful show.

Graham and I used to race to the mountain when we knew there would be a storm or when a storm had just passed through our neighborhood. Those storms always created the best sunsets.

We would run to a specific viewing spot at Dreamy Draw Recreation Area. The trick is to get to the parking lot before it closes.

Sometimes storms in the West Valley would be visible. The rainfall would created a silhouette. If you’re lucky, you might see some lightning. To the south would be downtown Phoenix’s skyline, clouded in the city’s dusty haze. We would wait long enough to see the colors change. Those evenings were always the best summer nights.

Sometimes I miss being able to hike those mountains in the middle of the city. But one thing I don’t miss? That feeling of just having opened an oven — all day, every day. If things work out as we’d like them to, we’ll find ourselves in Phoenix in the cooler months. I can’t wait to go back our spot.

03/04/2015

Free things to do in the Phoenix area

This blog began thanks to my desire to be a tourist in my own city. As a frugal explorer, I always appreciate advice on free or low-cost things to do. This post is an attempt to compile a list of such activities in my area. I hope to add to it regularly. Any more ideas on free things to do? Send them my way!

1. Check out the lawn games at the Yard.