Scenes from the Superstition Mountains

This past Wednesday, I went 40 miles east of Phoenix to photograph in the area around Superior, Arizona. This town is situated in the Superstition Mountains, a rugged range rising out of the Sonoran Desert. Accompanied by friend and fellow photographer Bill McAdam, I spent a productive day, visiting a number of scenic locations and capturing a number of pleasing photographs. Today, I’m sharing pictures that feature the Queen Creek Canyon and the desert just west of the Superstition Mountains.

My first image for today was taken as we left the mountains toward the end of the day. This scene was captured looking east toward the Superstition Range from a location just off Highway 60. It features Picketpost Mountain and typical desert terrain in the foreground.

Looking to the northeast from this same area, I captured this scene displaying more of the Sonoran Desert. It is different from our usual perception of deserts as sandy and barren. The Sonoran Desert is carpeted with hardy species of brush, flowers and trees. The warm, late afternoon light brings out the colour of the Superstition Mountains in the background.

The remaining pictures for today were all taken earlier along Highway 60, as it winds its way west through the Queen Creek Canyon just east of Superior. That includes the photo of the Queen Creek Tunnel in the masthead at the top of the page.

This next image presents a good view of the canyon from the side of the highway, just before the entrance to the tunnel. You get a good sense of the canyon’s scale from the transmission tower atop the cliff on the right.

The creek bed in the bottom of the canyon is marked with trees who rely on its water for sustenance. This aspen, in the latter stages of losing its autumn colours is among the hardy plant species that thrive in the harsh environment of the Sonoran Desert.

I took this picture peering over the edge of the canyon. The striking plant to the left of the frame is a yucca, one of many variants of this species that thrive in the Sonoran Desert.

I spotted this interesting pile of rocks at one of the roadside pullouts where we stopped. I’m sure it has no name, but I think if it did it would be Turtle Rock. Am I the only one that sees an amphibian face among the boulders?

I like this scene, looking down from the highway. The old bridge at the bottom is no longer in use as the road it used to convey terminates just to its left. I’m pretty sure the rest of it goes nowhere either.

That wraps up the pictures for today. I’ll post some more in a few days from the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, another stop on our visit to the Superstition Mountains.