Miner's Needle

The hiking group from Queen Valley had a group hike planned so we joined Rolly & Jeannie and Claire for our first group adventure.  We all drove to the base of the Superstition Mountains and followed a trail up to a point where we could see the Miner's Needle, an arch, or hole, on the side of the mountain. The entire hike was about 6 miles with some good elevation gain on the hike to the turnaround point. Lots of ups and downs. It was a great hike with beautiful scenery. We got our name on the hiking group's email so we can explore more! We slept very well that night.

Arizona Mountain SHeep.

The Miner's Needle.

Note the burn area beyond Linda.

Butch and Michelle, folks from the resort.

Hiking out to the parking lot.

St. Andrew's Cross (Spanish Cross)

Rolly Jergens picked me up at 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning. I jumped in his Razor and we took off into the hills around the RV park.  His destination was an area where there was a petroglyph called the Spanish Cross and pictographs left by the native people of this area.

We had to hike about a mile down to an unused corral and then Rolly led us to the St, Andrew's Cross (Spanish Cross). He told me that they think the Spanish Conquistadors camped by Queen Creek and carved the cross in the rock in the 1500s. Not much else is known about the origin, but it was a pretty cool find if you ask me.

We hiked up the creek bed for a bit and crossed over to the west bank where he pointed out the Indian pictographs on the rocks. One rock had numerous pictos, and the rest were scattered upstream for quite a ways. 

This was a very nice little tour and I think I can actually take Linda to see this spot in the Jeep.

(Edited for More Information - 2/8/2022)

Marcos De Niza's Ladder

Rolly and his Razor.

Looking down on Queen Valley RV.

Our First Hike in the Valley

Birds nest in a cholla cactus.

Sunday was spent unloading, organizing, and setting up our Arizona home. Monday morning, after a good night's sleep, we went to our first official Queen Valley event. In the main activities center, they offered coffee and donuts for all who attended. It was an opportunity for the residents to hear news of the park and of Queen Valley and to check out the new members and give them the once over. When we said we were from Cd'A, Idaho there were definite sounds of approval and we could feel they were familiar with our area.  Many of the long-term residents still have good memories of our friends Earl and Loraine Anderson They have been mentioned many times as we got introduced to the community.

After the donuts and coffee, we changed into walking clothes and went for our first walk, south of the resort. Below are some photos from that walk. I was told that the first year down here I will take a million pictures of the Saguaro Cactus and then I will slow down as they become the "norm". So please bear with me!

That afternoon, we headed over to Rolly and Jeannie Jurgens' park model home for happy hour. They had invited two other couples, Claire & Pat and Joanne & Terry. The Jurgens' home is really nice, very open and airy. They have truly made a home here in Arizona. We gathered outside under their awning with a nice propane campfire to help keep us warm (it's been VERY chilly here). The visit was great and we loved meeting such nice people. We're planning to return the invitation. We're afraid that our offering won't be as fancy, but everyone will be welcome with open arms! 

Arizona selfie.

Our back door, in our little spot.