Lost Dutchman State Park, AZ

March 9th, 2012- The wind rocked our camper all night long……Much more secure feeling, however, than when we were last here in the pop-up camper! Woke up this morning to 33 degrees and the wind still BLOWING! It seemed like a good morning to skip Jade’s walk (except for the ‘necessities’), and just hitch up and head on……

A shorter drive (280 miles) today, and really beautiful….through Silver City, and along Hwy 70/60…….Great scenery and the wildflowers carpeted the desert with yellow and gold and red and purple. By the time we arrived at Lost Dutchman State Park, the wind had quieted a bit, and temps were nicely warm.

Lost Dutchman SP was named for the Dutchman’s (actually a German miner) gold mine that was lost, not the Dutchman. The State park is just off Hwy 60, east of Chandler, AZ. It is about a 40 min drive into Sarah & Jason’s.

This is our 3rd time to stay at Lost Dutchman…….and we were able to get our favorite site. We are right in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains…….

With a nice picnic area, that backs up on an open expanse of desert.

This time of year, the desert is really lovely…….greener…and somehow, softer……

With birds (this is a  Phainopepla, a member of the fly-catcher family), quail, rabbits and more darting around the campsite.

We settled into our site….then drove on over to Sarah and Jason’s for the evening.