Our Thursday hike this week took us to Thunderbird Park in Glendale, Arizona. In the midst of the metropolitan Phoenix area, there are several mountains that rise above the Valley of the Sun. Generally, the mountains are not suitable for building homes on and they are an attraction for cities to build parks that can be used by neighborhood hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians.

The park has no fees and is open daily sunrise to sunset and features 15 miles (24 km) of hiking, horseback riding, biking, and jogging trails.

About the photo: The view to the northwest features some of the city of Glendale and other suburbs in the Phoenix metro. The many small mountains that ring the valley are visible in this view captured by my Samsung S6 cellphone. In most browsers, you can click on a link to enlarge it for a better view.

John Steiner