High point

It's not really all that high, though.

I wanted to get outside and take some pictures yesterday, and maybe see a nice sunset. I headed for Silly Mountain. It's easy to climb and I might be able to get some good sunset pictures from there. Also, it had cooled off and I wanted to enjoy the 75 degree weather before the scorching heat arrives.

This is what Silly Mountain looks like. Not real impressive.

This is what the sun looked like on the way up.

Silly Mountain is very easy to get to, so there are always people there. It isn't crowded, though, unless those other people happen to be exactly where you were going. I thought about taking a 360 panorama from the top but there were other people up there. Oh well, I need to do something like that earlier in the day anyway.

There's a sign to let you know you are at the top. I wonder how many people have trouble figuring that out. Well, maybe that's just the name of that spot on the mountain.

High point, trail ends.

The sunset wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped, but it was nice.

Click below to see all of the pictures.

2012_04_11

Dusty sunset from Silly Mountain

A couple of times this past week, I watched the sun shining on the Superstition Mountains as sunset neared and thought that I should be on Silly Mountain getting pictures. On Friday I did that. Clouds were moving in, though. It was still clear in the west, so I thought I might get a picture or two.

Even without clouds, it doesn't look like much sunshine will get through.

The weather was cooling off, which means we had strong winds from the south. (I still haven't figured that out.) It was only about 90. On the way out to Silly Mountain, I thought I could see rain to the east and the north. The air was hazy, but I think that was from dust and not moisture. It sure didn't feel humid.

Another guy and his pal were out there to get sunset pictures.

As I left the house, suns rays were streaming out from behind clouds. It looked really cool. I wasn't in a place that I could get a picture, though. By the time I got out to Silly Mountain, the sun was down in the dust layer and very dim.

It was very windy up there. I was trying to take HDRs. I sat on the ground and braced my arms on my knees, but still the wind bumped me around between shots. Most of the HDRs came out, anyway. Another guy was up there to get sunset pictures. He had a tripod. It looked pretty stout. I don't think my tripod would have held the camera still in that wind.

The sun never did shine on the Superstition Mountains.

The other guy went to the top of that rock on the right to get pictures.

The other two guys eventually came up near where I was to get some pictures. The one with the camera went up to the top of a rock and the other stayed in a saddle near me. The one in the saddle was yelling something to the other guy but I wasn't paying attention. After they left, I looked down toward the parking area and saw two vehicles with flashing lights. I thought back to the guy yelling and realized he had been saying something like, "Hey, Luis, they're here! They're here, man! We gotta go!". Was somebody chasing them?

I was absorbed in taking pictures and wasn't listening to the guys near me or looking down at the parking lot.

All I could see in the gloom was flashing lights. Couldn't tell if they were police cars, ambulances, or what.

On the way down to the truck, I could see that one of the vehicles with flashing lights was still there. It was parked across the street from my truck. I wondered if I was going to get a ticket for being in the park after sunset or something silly like that. They never said anything to me, though. Maybe a lot of people get stranded up there. It's right next to the highway, so any yahoo could stop to see what's there and start climbing and then realize that 20 years of being a couch potato had not prepared them to wander more than 100 feet from their vehicle.

Click below to see all of the pictures.

2010_06_11

View from Silly Mountain

I went for a short drive yesterday to get out of the house and maybe take some pictures. I liked the way the sun was shining on the Superstition Mountains and started looking for a good place to get a picture. Silly Mountain was up ahead so I decided to go there.

A bench along the trail at Silly Mountain.

I seemed to remember reading a few months ago that the Silly Mountain area was going to be developed into a bona fide park and not just a place that people stop and do whatever they want. I did a Google search and found out that I had read that article in October of 2007. Hmm. I spent yesterday morning going through a pile of papers that I thought I had dropped on the floor last fall. There was a lot of stuff in there from 2007. I wonder where I've been for the past 3 years.

A view of the Superstition Mountains from Silly Mountain.

There are several trails around the mountain now. The one I had used the last time I was out there (which goes straight up) is blocked off. Since it was close to sunset, I went to a saddle partway up the side of the mountain. I hurried, but I got there too late to get the pictures I wanted. That's OK. I didn't have a plan, and I got to see what's going on at Silly Mountain Park.

Superstition Mountains.

It's a good place to go to get pictures of the mountains now and then, but it isn't the kind of place I would like to hike. Too close to the highway, and surrounded by barking dogs. Click below to see all of the pictures.

2010_06_05