We’ve been treated to a couple very spectacular sunsets here. The above are both from Christmas Day. Everyone we have talked to about Maricopa County parks told us we should visit this park but it has always been booked solid when we were in the area. The park does not disappoint.
There are a number of great desert trails like the North Trail below with Bob and Four Peaks in the background. Four Peaks is known for several things. The tallest of the four is Browns Peak (leftmost) at 7659 ft is the highest point in Maricopa County. Four Peaks has the only commercial amethyst mine in the US and its profile is on the Arizona license plate.
Perhaps the most obvious feature in the area, however, is the fountain in the nearby town of Fountain Hills. Every hour on the hour for fifteen minutes it shoots water more than 300 feet into the air. On special occasions they crank it up to its full capacity of about 560 feet. The fountain can be seen from the campground five miles away (see below). We walked around town for awhile poking in shops and finally made our way to the last stop of the day, Chocofin, for some wonderfully decadent truffles. They claim to be Arizona’s first bean-to-bar chocolatier. Works for us!
