A Pleasant Sight in the Valley

(rhythmic xylophone) - [Isaac] It's one of the most iconic sites in the Valley of the Sun.

The famous Hole-in-the-Rock.

That magnificent holey red beaut, created millions of years ago, that was shaped and carved out by eons of erosion, at the center of Papago Park.

If you're looking for great outdoor recreation, just minutes from downtown, then look no further.

There are several acres of stock fishing lagoons, surrounded by dozens of species of wildlife.

There's also some highly rated climbing, hiking, and biking trails for all skill levels.

35 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, is a recreation-lover's dream come true.

With more than 23,000 acres of beautiful Sonoran desert, and clear blue waters, Lake Pleasant Regional Park is a sportsman, and women's, paradise.

(birds chirp) (air whooshes) (rocks tumble) (country guitar strumming) - [Spokesperson] "Trail Mix'd" is made possible, in part, by a gift from Sue and Bill Ahearn.

Additional support provided by.

- [Spokesperson 2] SRP is staying ahead of the valley's growing energy needs.

We're investing in one of the country's largest solar battery storage projects, to deliver power that's as reliable as it is sustainable.

- [Spokesperson 3] Albertson's, Safeway Pharmacies, and Valley nonprofit, Mission of Mercy, are proud to support cancer awareness.

They encourage you to talk to your doctor, get recommended screenings, and don't forget your flu vaccine.

More information at Albertson's or Safeway.com.

- [Spokesperson 4] Whitfield Nursery, proud to support 8 Arizona PBS, a valley tradition since 1946.

Over 200 acres of Arizona-grown tree, citrus, and palms, complete custom design and installation, and Whitfill Nursery still does the digging.

Whitfillnursery.com.

- [Spokesperson] And by contributions to your PBS station, from viewers like you.

Thank you.

- What's up everybody?

I'm Isaac Easley, and on this episode of Trail Mix'd, all roads lead to my hometown.

Welcome to Phoenix!

(upbeat music) Here at Papago Park.

We'll take a look at the short, but beautiful, hike that will lead you to one of the very best views of the city's skyline, in the Valley of the Sun.

(jazz music) Plus, hiking along the Wild Borough Trail at Lake Pleasant, where we'll meet some of our four-legged creatures who've been here since the Spanish and came into Arizona.

Later, sailing in the desert?

Believe it or not, it does exist, and it's pretty spectacular.

We'll show you where to get your sail on.

You ready?

Oh, you know I'm ready.

"Trail Mix'd" starts right now.

(upbeat instrumentals) - [Isaac] For a lot of hikers and explorers, not familiar with our urban desert, getting to the infamous Hole-in-the-Rock is like being in a strange new world.

- Oh my God, it's awesome.

- [Isaac] It's a short, fairly easy trail, perfect for families, or for those who want to impress out of town visitors.

A trip here is special.

You can spend the entire day in the Arizona sunshine.

Just in awe of this sandstone spectacle, straddling two big cities.

- We were actually here visiting the zoo, and as we looked up and pulled into the parking lot, we looked up and we saw the mountain, and we saw people that were inside of the mountain, and said, "hey, that's, it looks like an awesome thing to do once we finish the zoo."

So, we just drove over, and this was a pretty nice experience for us.

(mellow strumming) - And, once you get to the base right here, you're really not that far from the top.

(running on sand) Phoenix is jam-packed, full of epic views, gorgeous hikes, and striking landscapes, that are just minutes from our homes.

But, this inner city wonder is unrivaled.

- To me, I think it's like you're facing your fears over heights.

Like, some people are afraid of heights.

And, - Me.

- Me, I was, myself, so was my mom.

And, I'm like, "come on, it's not that scary.

It's like really, really cool."

And, I went there, and I took, like, pictures, and put on Instagram, Facebook, all that stuff, and like, "yeah, I'm in a rock."

(all giggle) - All right, y'all.

We finally made it around the butte.

Now, from here we're gonna go up the back entrance of Hole-in-the-Rock.

The views are only gonna get better from here.

Thousands of hikers, from here, and around the world, walk where ancient Hohokam Indians used to walk.

They lived all around this area thousands of years ago.

And a lot of history has come to pass here.

- There's been a lot of research done.

This whole area, in and around Papago Park, was clearly a site for indigenous peoples over the years.

On the top of Hole-in-Rock, there's a hole.

So, we see the hole right here going this way, but at the very top, there's a hole as well.

And, on the solstice days, the sun shines in, and casts shadows down in certain areas.

It ended up being a solar observatory.

- It's a beautiful topography and landscape, right when we got outta the airport, and we were driving through, it kind of takes your breath away, just like, cactus.

I've never seen a cactus before, and everything is just so pretty.

I love it here.

It looks like another planet.

When we were biking over here, I, kind of, just came outta nowhere.

And, then you get up there, and you're looking over the whole city, and the whole view of everything, and it's gorgeous.

- [Isaac] Here, the round mounts of terracotta-colored sandstone, which are all over the park, are pock marked with Swiss cheese-like holes.

The appearance alone can bring out the kid explorer in every hiker that comes here, because a lot of them want to keep climbing to see what's over the next Holy Hill.

(rhythmic electronic music) - I was terrified once I got up there.

I was, like, shaking.

Someone asked if they can, if they needed to hold their arm.

I am afraid of heights.

But, you know, once we got up there, I was like, "oh my God, this is so beautiful."

So, I'm glad I did it.

I'm glad we did it.

- Once you get to the top, you have to take in this incredible view, especially on a sunny, warm day in Phoenix.

This is the moment you have been waiting for.

The views of the city are just amazing.

And, overall, the hike isn't too tough.

It's truly a great way to either start or end a day.

- [Tourist] It's a hole in the rock.

- [Isaac] I can see why this is a point of pride for Phoenix.

I'm proud I made it up here.

I'm a proud Arizonan, and I can say, nowhere else are you gonna find something like Hole-in-the-Rock in the middle of the city.

- Today we are here at the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve.

It's located in northwest Phoenix, and we're known for having petroglyphs on over 500 boulders here at the preserve, on a visitor trail that gives access to view these petroglyphs.

- [Ike] More than 1500 Native American petroglyphs have been found on this hillside, the largest concentration in Phoenix.

This rock art is as old as 6,000 years, and as young as 200, and is the star attraction.

- We don't know what the petroglyphs mean, but there have been many interpretations over the years from different archeologists.

Some are kind of notable.

We have the spiral image here.

We have squiggles as well.

Some of the interpretations for that is they could mean water, it could be an indication of water.

We also have a lot of animal images here, so we have deer, big horn sheep images, and that could possibly be indicative of, you know, game that could have been hunted here for food.

- [Ike] While their meaning may not be fully understood, we do know that this was a major corridor to the north.

- In a sense, they would travel waterways a lot.

So, like I said, Skunk Creek at the time was a waterway.

It had water in it.

So, they would've been following these resources as a means of either living, or gathering resources for food, for tools.

And so, yeah, a lot of our waterways do run, you know, north to south, and so they would've traveled along those.

- Bailey, what do we have going on over here?

Are these, like, tools, like, what's happening?

- That's exactly what they are.

These are manos and metates.

They were used by cultural traditions, and they're actually still used by cultures today, for grinding food.

- Okay.

- So, the Hohokam, back when they were here, you know, about a thousand years ago, they would've grinded mesquite beans, corn, into a nice fine flour, and then you can make it into any, sort of, cakes, patties, probably more notable today, is tortillas.

- Oh!

- And, yeah, these are used in many cultures today.

It's, you know, they're not just an old tool, they're still very prominent and present, and the cultures that were here, actually would've made manos and metates from our boulders that we have here.

- So you said manos and metates?

- Yes.

- Which one is which?

I want to know.

Yeah, can you show me real quick?

- Yeah, so this is a mano.

- Okay.

- And mano means "hand" in Spanish.

- So.

- Hand.

- Pretty, yep.

- Okay.

- Pretty, you know simple to know.

- Mhm.

- And pretty identifiable.

Use it in your hand.

And, this is the metate.

- Metate, okay.

- Which means large flat stone.

And, what you would do, is you would break up your mesquite beans, for example, and you'd place them on the metate, and at first you would actually crush them with the mano.

- Okay.

- Get them, break them up into smaller pieces.

- Okay, we're grinding a little bit.

- Yeah, we're doing some, doing some mashing, yep.

- Okay.

- And then, once you get them them broken up into smaller pieces, then what you would do, is you'd take the mano, and then you'd really start grinding it back and forth, and that's how you'd get your fine powder.

- [Ike] The preserve is just two miles off I-17.

and could be considered the firs through this area - There really wasn't anything here.

- [Ike] Arizona State Universities, School of Human Evolution and Social Change has protected and preserved this site for nearly 30 years.

Celeste Scott is the museum's assistant director.

- I believe, when they did the walkthrough, and actually started doing the site for the dam, they were found.

Back in 1994, when this was all being created.

This was the result of research that was done by Dr. J Simon Bruder, back in 1980 when the Petroglyphs were discovered, and the Adobe Dam was being built on the Army Corps of Engineers, and the flood control district of Maricopa County were building the Adobe Dam project.

So, from that research and her work in discovering, documenting, and interpreting the petroglyphs here, they went ahead and built the museum and the trail to, basically, talk about and present this to the public, to just give them information and the experience of seeing something like this that was made, you know, so many years ago.

- [Ike] Archeologists have concluded that three groups were here.

- The Western Archaic, Hohokam, and Patayan, and they were various distinct from each other.

The Western Archaic being the oldest, the Hohokam, they're the most notable here in the Phoenix area, and the Patayan, who kind of lived around the same time as the Hohokam.

It's a cultural site because each group of people that lived here, and still live here, they have a culture, they have a way of life, they have, you know, tools that they made.

They have pottery, jewelry, and it's so distinct to who they were as a group.

And so, we wanna identify those people as their way of life, who they are as as people, and as a group.

- There's certain restrictions that we have out of respect for the petroglyphs and the the cultures that, from the past that made the petroglyphs, it's a little more protected.

This has been here for a very long time, and what we attempt to do here at the Preserve, when we talk about protect is to just keep it clean, and safe, and free from vandalism and damage.

And, many times there are a lot of petroglyph sites in Arizona that are open to the public.

We try and encourage folks that when they do go out to other areas in the state, to just be mindful of where they are, to be careful, and to keep it clean, and to be respectful on these types of spaces, that they do have meaning, and they've meant something, and they still mean something today.

(country guitar strumming) Lake Pleasant is the largest man-man lake in Phoenix, and Scottsdale.

Now, I'm a little bit biased, I grew up around here, so I love the lake.

People visiting the lake for the first time might do a double take of sorts when they first arrived.

It is a lake in the middle of the desert, full of fun activities for everyone to enjoy.

Back in 1927, the Carl Pleasant Dam was built, hence the creation of the lake.

It was filled by the Agua Fria river, and it was about a quarter of the size it is today.

In 1935, the dam underwent a retrofit, and in 1964, it was renamed the Waddell Dam.

Central Arizona Project build an aqueduct to divert Colorado River water to the lake.

And, that's when Lake Pleasant became a reservoir.

In the early 1990s, construction of the new Waddell Dam, quadrupled the surface area of the lake, and submerged the old dam beneath its waters.

Today, Central Arizona Projects stores water at Lake Buzzard during low demand period, like during the wintertime.. Then it releases water to municipal and tribal customers, during the summer when demand is high.

- When most people from back east think of Phoenix, images of cactus and desert, most likely come to mind.

I bet the idea of marinas navigating sailboats across blue water, doesn't really add up in their imagination.

That is, until you meet Tom.

Tom?

Hey.

- Hey, how you doing?

- Good, good.

All right, I'm ready.

- Let's do some sail, you ready?

We've been teaching sailing to people for over 30 years, here in the middle of the desert.

- [Isaac] In the middle of the desert, is of course Lake Pleasant.

Tom Erickson owns the sailboat shop at the Scorpion Bay Marina there, and has helped a lot of desert dwellers, like me, earn they're sea, I mean, (laughs) lake legs.

- Learning the parts of the boat are really important, and then learning the points of sail is another very important part of understanding how to make the boat take you across the lake, or around the world.

A sailboat only does four things.

You can either head up, sail closer to the wind, bear away, sail away from the wind, or it can tack through the wind, or can drive through the wind.

- [Isaac] Tom's been sailing ever since he was a kid, growing up in, wait for it.

- I grew up right here in the Phoenix area, went to high school here, and actually when we were in high school, we used to come up here to Lake Pleasant, and go sailing.

- As we make our way towards the open water, I start to get those big white sales ready to go.

(upbeat instrumentals) Wee!

(laughs) - [Tom] Wind gets on the other side of the sail, it fills it up, and now we're going in the other direction on the same wind.

- Oh, I get it.

Okay.

Wind power.

- Well, we're balancing the forces of the wind in the sails, against the forces of the water on the hull, and the rudder.

And, if you think about an airplane, it's got two wings.

Well, we've got an airplane with one wing underwater, and it has control surfaces, and one wing up in the air.

That's the sails, main and jib.

And, the force of the wind against the differential pressure of the water, actually makes the boat go forward.

This handle goes in here.

- Okay.

(handle cranks) - Yeah - See how it closed the sail up?

That you, you're gonna be doing that a lot.

(upbeat instrumentals) - [Isaac] After hoisting the sales and catching some wind for a while, Tom actually lets me steer the boat.

- There you go, man.

- Well, I'll figure it out.

I'll take that, I'll take that.

(laughs) - The wind is invisible.

So, it's a challenge to figure out how to make the boat go.

And, you've got to understand what the wind is doing.

You've gotta understand how it interacts with your sails, and once you get it in there, it'll just fill your whole day up with fun and enjoyment.

- [Isaac] It's hard to concentrate when gliding across the water is so much fun.

- Some people think it's unusual, but then, people who have experienced sailing, know that you're just harnessing the wind.

Right now, the Valley of the Sun is about 80% people from outta state, and a lot of those people sailed wherever they came from, whether it was Minnesota or somewhere, someplace.

They move out here, and they don't realize that there is sailing in the desert.

There's a couple of very active sailing clubs.

- [Isaac] There's a pure rush when I realize I'm harnessing the wind, there's power in it.

- There blowing in the other side, quick, quick, quick, quick.

- Hold on, pull it in.

(sail cranks) Got it, got it, yeah.

And, then it occurs to me, sometimes, a lot of the times, the wind wins, but when it calms down, and I'm breathing in the air, looking up at the full sails, coasting across the blue, I begin to see and understand why Tom spent so many years on the water, striving always to keep the wind at his back.

- A sailboat works in harmony with Mother Nature, because you're balancing those forces.

A powerboat is trying to overcome the forces of Mother Nature, and that's why it pounds so much.

That's why it's so rough, and it's so noisy.

I really prefer working with Mother Nature, and having her just rocking gently.

Some people will almost feel like it's meditation when you're out there on the water.

It can take you across the lake, or it can take you around the world.

It's up to you how far you want to go.

(ukulele strumming) - If ever there was a season to hike the desert near Lake Pleasant, Spring would have to be it.

Bright yellow, brittle bush, and other colorful wildflowers grow alongside the giant saguaros on hills up and down the trails here, this time of year - There are some beautiful vistas here.

Really beautiful view.

The flowers are out right now, so yeah, I would urge people to consider coming up here even if they don't have a boat, or a kayak, or something like that.

- But, we're not here for the desert flowers, although they are plentiful and amazing.

Lake Pleasant is known for having amazing hiking trails.

This trail, in particular, is known as Prime Burro Country.

Today, we are hiking the Wild Burro Trail, and if we're lucky, we might even spot a few pesky mules.

Hikers and bikers can start at the trail head by going up a slight worn incline, and up a lush desert hill.

Then you wind around the hill, and across a road to get towards the sparkly blue Lake.

In the first couple miles, you'll zigzag around a few coves, and then take in some views of the lake, and the people who find their zen there.

- Probably the combination of the water activities, and the activities you can do on shore, sets Lake Pleasant apart, certainly from the other regional parks in the Maricopa County system.

It's the only one that has a substantial body of water.

So, I like to think of it as the best of both worlds.

- [Isaac] As you make your way up and down the trail, you can look out over some lovely views of this shiny crystal lake, with the desert, mountains, and Saguaros in the foreground, and background.

The colors are just stunning blues, greens, and lots of yellows this time of year.

And then, (Donkey brays) maybe you might hear them before you see them.

The rogue, thick, little donkeys roam around in little packs or alone, but if you do happen to run into them, it's best to remember, they are wild.

- Ranger DeCosta, I've seen a lot of burrows out here today, what are the history of the burrows here at Lake Pleasant?

- Yeah, the North American continent had a lot of equines during the last ice age.

And, after the ice age came to an end, the equines went extinct in North America, and the Spanish reintroduced them here, beginning in the 16th century with the arrival of Coronado, and Cortez, and others.

And, that was mostly horses, but burros came into the mix, as well.

And, the species that we see out here, are mostly ones that originated in North Africa.

They were brought here, from about the 1860s onward, as pack animals for the mines in the area, mostly gold, copper, silver, lead.

And, as the mines began to close down, the burros were just let go.

And, they've been out here in the mountains reproducing.

And, the ones that are here today are their descendants, of the original pack animals.

- [Isaac] How many burros do you estimate are out here?

- [Ranger] I would estimate in this immediate area, I was told about 800.

- [Isaac] Whether you run into some burros, or not, along the wild burro trail, lake views alone, and desert scenery are enough to draw you in.

- Close to our campsite, we're a little north from here, and we wanted to do some hiking, and Googled it, and found this, and it's beautiful.

- We looked at the lake, and we figured it'd be nice place to hike, and look at the scenery, and see Saguaro Cactus.

- [Isaac] There's lots of desert, sky, and water to see here at Lake Pleasant Regional Park, if you choose to hike here.

But, perhaps the best thing about coming here to hike, is that you can always come back for more, or try to venture out to play on the water.

Either way, it's gonna be a very good day at the Lake.

(country guitar strumming) - [Spokesperson] "Trail Mix'd" is made possible, in part, by a gift from Sue and Bill Ahearn.

Additional support provided by.

- [Spokesperson] SRP is staying ahead of the valley's growing energy needs.

We're investing in one of the country's largest solar battery storage projects, to deliver power that's as reliable as it is sustainable.

- [Spokesperson 2] Albertson's, Safeway Pharmacies, and Valley nonprofit Mission of Mercy, are proud to support cancer awareness.

They encourage you to talk to your doctor, get recommended screenings, and don't forget your flu vaccine.

More information at Albertson's or Safeway.com.

- [Spokesperson 3] Whitfill nursery, proud to support 8 Arizona PBS, a Valley tradition since 1946.

Over 200 acres of Arizona-grown tree, citrus and palms, complete custom design and installation.

And, Whitfill Nursery still does the digging.

Whitfillnursery.com - [Spokesperson] And by contributions to your PBS station, from viewers like you.

Thank you.