Last year’s October trip to Arizona meant dealing with way too much heat, so I pushed the trip out a bit later this year into November. As usual, I stayed for the first half of my trip in Apache Junction, and the second half in Chino Valley. I spent my days with two of my very closest friends, organizing this and that, and working on many projects.
I don’t know what this says about me, but one of the highlights of this trip was that my friend in Apache Junction bought us a giant bucket of Chicago popcorn to feast on. Including the charge for shipping she spent $100 on it, and every delicious bite was worth it! Aside from the bummer that I came home with a case of Covid to share with my partner, it was a great trip, and I look forward to visiting again next year.
Below are some of my favorite photos from the trip. While I took many photos in Chino Valley, none were particularly inspiring, so I’ll just post the Apache Junction pics this time.
Apache Junction (yellow star on the map) is east of Phoenix (the red-outlined area with the blue star on the map). The Phoenix metro area is a considerable sprawl on the desert floor, so getting to Apache Junction feels like you’ve reached the edge of a megalopolis.
Just as with my other trips to the area, I stayed in a B&B that overlooks the amazing Superstition Mountains — which was the subject of most of my photos.
I was there during the full moon, which was spectacular. Sadly, as much as I adore photography, I really don’t have the skill to adequately capture the night sky in a photo. The below unfortunate photo of the moon is unedited: it was so bright!
The sky practically looked like daytime. In this next photo of the bright sky, you can see the the stars behind the clouds.
The next morning’s sunrise was beautiful, now that we finally had a cloudy sky.
Those were the best photos of the trip. Next spring when I return, hopefully I will be able to do a better job of capturing the beauty in Chino Valley.