January 11 Apach Junction AZ

Could it get better? I arrived here at 8:30 last night, well after dark. I was guided in by my friend Tom Short, from Washington, a horse driver himself. The horses went into a pen and I slept as usual in my trailer. When I awoke, I looked to the east to see Superstition Mountain (Iam close to adding photo, so will show that later. It is a high vertical face of basalt columns, reddish brown, towering over us. You look at it through the day as the light changes. A movie of it could hold your interest. I am looking forward to sunset to see that mountain image.

We are in another horse heaven. This is a park owned by a Vietnamese couple (she is a horsewoman) which has facilities for motorhomes and stalls for horses. People disappear for hours off riding their horses in the desert. Tom and I each hitched our horses and he introduced me to the trails. The ground is dry and gritty, with survivor plants that live on no water except during the brief rainy season. The sagauro cactus stand about like cliches of New Mexico. I have to say I saw the first ones just over the border in New Mexico. I saw not a single one on the California side, though I would have thought the climate to be the same. As we drove we also watched carefully for the choia (not sure of spelling) cactus. Those are the plant version of a porcupine. We carried a special comb and pliers in case they spiked into a horse's leg - or ours. I am advised to be careful to avoid them. It as good to travel on the trails here with my friends to learn the territory a bit. Snakes I am told do not emerge until some time in February.

At the park there are thirty or more motorhomes and trailers, plus me. Many have more than one horse, so that means quite a herd.

I'll keep this short today as I am borrowing computer time from friends who have wireless via ATT. I foolishly left my computer in Norco, and it is now in the mail to Apache Junction.