11/30/15. Monday. Whew, need to hike off some of that Thanksgiving dinner! Our Thanksgiving Day was quiet and restful. Tickets for the dinner here at the park were sold out before we got here. I had bought an oven stone for our gas stove and it sure has made a difference in our baking. So we bought a nice sized turkey so we would have leftovers. We had the usual trimmings and everything sure was good. Plenty for leftover turkey sandwiches with mayo and salt on white bread-Umm! Fattening but we’ve just got to sneak one day of cheating with something good besides lo-fat, no-fat, salt-free, no-taste health food! Yep, got our turkey sandwich fix.
Besides, I knew there was a good hike coming up on Monday. We returned to Pleasant Lake Regional Park to hike the 6 mile round trip Beardsley Trail. It was 35 degrees when I left the RV at 7:30 AM! Now, that was cold! But needed the exercise and the fresh air, and we had clear blue sky with some wind.
This trail took us down and close to the dam that created the pretty lake. Boy, we could really feel that wind up on the ridge that gave us views of the dam. Even blew my hat off several times! Thank goodness some of us also wore earmuffs. Brrr…… But old Joe had us warming up quickly with his fast pace! I was the “sweep”, meaning no one can hike behind me since the “sweep” makes sure everyone is accounted for. I think they did that to me since I like to stop and take pictures. But then I am the one that has to race to catch up!
This trail has the reputation of having thick growths of Saguaro Cactus and open views of the distant landscape.
We turned around at the 3 mile point to return the same way we hiked in. Break time! That hat sure did a good job of keeping my head warm.
On the way out, we noticed the nice view of Lake Pleasant that we saw the week before. There were even a few brave souls in the campgrounds even though it was cold. As the trail took us just behind the campground, we asked the campers if they had the hot chocolate and coffee ready! Man, that blazing campfire sure looked inviting! This was a good hike but a bit tough because much of the trail was on a steady incline in and then back out. I like the going down parts! Felt good to get warm on the way home.
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