Today we have time only for a short hike as we are preparing for a longer trip to Portland in just a few weeks. As such we decide to go close by at Blue Point Picnic Area and try a short hike while finding a few caches. There is no actual trail just an informal one likely created by horses and then enlarged by hikers and bikers but it is well defined and we follow it while finding the caches.
The trail is relatively parallel to the car road and is sandwiched between it and a rocky cliff. It sometimes follows washes and sometimes goes through washes but overall it is level and we can go quite fast when not searching for caches.
Other reasons to stop are of course the many birds in the area we see quite a few verdins and other birds and we can even take photos of some of them.
After a while the area opens up with some great views of the mountains in the distance. The views here are quite expansive and we stop a few times just to take in the beautiful desert scenery.
Other birds we see during our two hour hike are hummingbirds and thrashers, both are always fun to see as they can be quite active and loud.
As the sun starts to set the colors become quite beautiful with the mountains colored golden in the “golden hour” before sunset.
The caches as we reach the turnaround point are quite interesting, a few of them are located on or near objects cut from metal, we especially like the scary looking evil fish.
As we return we have encounters with all the many creepy crawlies that many are scared off. Tarantulas really don’t scare us but rattlesnakes especially those hidden in bushes that we are passing close by do.
The evening hiking in the setting sun is quite beautiful with the half moon being quite impressive. We arrive at the car in darkness using flashlights but are not the last car in the parking lot when we leave so that is something new compared to our usual hikes:).
