Lake Pleasant, that is.
Lake Pleasant is one of the Regional Parks in the annual pass we bought. It has been years since we've been there, so we decided to make a day-trip out of it with the van.
We stopped at Portillo's for lunch - Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs, and more. Then, on to Lake Pleasant. It is about 45 miles from our house... and just far enough north that it feels remote as you drive there...
The first views after getting into the Regional Park...
Those are a bit of a preview - it's a pretty lake in a desert setting, surrounded by mountains in the distance. And, proof we were there...
We drove to the Discovery Center - not really a Visitors Center in that you couldn't reserve a camp site there, but there were nice displays and great views...
The sign below gave you some perspective of what's in the distance - that diffused mountain just right of the upper center of the image is South Mountain...
A look at the dam...
More views...
We drove through a couple campgrounds to get an idea of what the sites are like, in case we come back for a night or two out. Some sites have a lake view, some have a mountain view, there are sites with water and electric and "primative" (no hook-ups) sites. The lady at the Discovery Center told us it can get "busy" as it transitions to summer... "the winter visitors are quieter and less rowdy than the people who come during the summer." This park is more about the boating, and we know what "weekenders" can be like. A look at one of the marinas...
We also learned that there are approximately 3,000 wild burros in the park ("Don't feed them.")...
She also told us, "With that many burros, you'd think they'd be everywhere, but many visitors never see one."
Us, out of the van...
Yes, we do get out of the van on these day trips. I think this park may be the "Crown Jewel" of the Regional Park system for Maricopa County. It was a pleasant outing (pun intended).
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