Small Home – Big Yard

We’re back in Apache Junction, at the base of the beautiful Superstition Mountains at Campground USA.  This is one of the newest parks in AJ with nice big sites, a beautiful pool/hot tub area and a very nice clubhouse.  We were last here a few years ago and ended up with a park credit after cancelling our reservation last year.  This year we’re in a premium spot, a private back-in along the north wall of the park.  Apache Junction is a great “home base” for excursions into the desert to the east, or the Gilbert entertainment district, or even downtown Phoenix and many of the east side ballparks.

Campground USA, Apache Junction, AZ

On Wednesday we met friends at Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.  We started our evening at Gertrude’s by Tarbell’s, from PBS television host and James Beard-nominated chef Mark Tarbell.  Focused on ingredients directly from growers in Arizona, Gertrudes offers a wonderful menu including southwest favorites of elevated tacos, pastas, green chili pork, ribs, seafood, and other tasty options. After a delicious dinner, we wandered through the presentation of Framerate:Desert Pulse.  This multi-sensory art exhibit is scattered throughout the 135 acres of the garden and is appreciated best after dark.  Huge screens show time lapse scenes of various Arizona desert ecosystems such as cactus reacting to rain and dry and hot conditions, expansion of a housing development at the edge of the desert and the night sky over Phoenix.  This was a great evening!

ScanLAB Projects, FRAMERATE: Desert Pulse, artist installation rendering, Desert Botanical Garden, 2025. Courtesy the artists.

Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, AZ

Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix metro area

On Saturday we joined friends on an ATV ride into the desert north of Apache Junction.  We viewed the Phoenix area from high atop a peak near Snail Rock and drove out towards Bulldog Canyon – a fun afternoon, thanks D&J!    On Monday we returned to Salt River Fields for an additional spring baseball game with the Diamondback and Seattle Mariners.  After only 11 nights in AJ, we’re headed to Tucson.  More from there…