Wickenburg--Where Cowboys Go to Die

Today the parents took me out to the charming little town of Wickenburg Arizona. The highlight include the jail tree (back in the day they didn't have a jail, so they chained the detained to a tree), the museum (I find western art uninspiring and unchallenging, but the guns and history were really cool), and the Hassayampa River Preserve (beautiful, tranquil and well maintained Nature Conservancy site).

The rest of the day was spent arguing politics with my Pops (I don't know how two small government conservatives can be so far apart) and playing Scrabble with my Mom (I won, taking my life time record against her to 3-2931)

Tomorrow I am going to shop for some gear for my weekend camping trip. I am going to do a solo hike through the Bartlett and Horseshoe Lakes region of the Tonto National Forest. It's about 20 miles round trip along the western edge of the lakes. I can't think of a better way to start the year then watching the sun rise over the unspoiled desert.