Mcdowell Regional Park | marianne skov jensen

I liked the idea of hiking past the East End Lovers on this Valentines day so that’s what we did. All in all, we hiked a loop which was just under 9 miles. We went up Toms Thumb; down East End; down to the Windmill on Windmill Trail; continued out Windmill to Coachwhip Trail; continued on Coachwhip to the Pemberton trail (McDowell Regional Park); took the Pemberton to a horse trail leading into the Rock Knob area of the Preserve and then followed a horse trail back over the parking lot.

Combseed flowers are now blanketing the ground almost everywhere. We also saw a Desert Hyacinth, Filaree and Wolfberry blooms. I also got a better shot of the Ragged Rock Flower located in a wash close to the Windmill. Desert Wishbone bush is getting taller and should be blooming any day. All in all….a fabulous day!

East End Lovers