A ride toward Phoenix covers new territory for us. There's much to see, but very little able to be shot at 65mph. At Apache Junction, we start the loop back along Apache Trail. Not too far along the Trail, we start seeing an odd yellow hue to the stone. Unable to contain our curiosity, we stop to examine it and find that the yellow is caused by some kind of lichen. Who'da thunk that lichen could grow in such arid conditions?

Sit where??? In your dreams! -- This is as close to the edge as I'm getting!

Due to symptoms of migraine onset, I don't see as well as I otherwise would, and need to take to the passenger's seat. I do manage to catch a few glimpses of some beautiful magenta flowers, and we finally spy one when we have no traffic up our tailpipe. This is the same flower from different angles... strange how the camera exposes the shots differently, even moreso than you see here, since I "touched them up" a bit to bring both closer to a middle ground.

(continue...)