Today we explore a different area that promises a nice blooming: Peralta Canyon, which is about 40 miles from here and east of Mesa.

Legend suggests that the Peralta family from Mexico established a gold mine in the vast and desolate Superstition Mountains in the mid-1800s. Though Apaches allegedly killed the family in the Peralta Massacre, a relative supposedly shared the location of the gold mine with Jacob Waltz, known as “the Dutchmen”, years later.

Thanks to these tales, the Peralta name goes hand in hand with the Superstition Mountains, as do the spectacular spring wild flowers that can bloom for months along the Peralta Road.

We find lots of blooming brittle bush (yellow flowers), at a closer look, we also find some other flowers and a blooming Ocotillo. To avoid the crowd we hike straight up the hill from the parking lot finding our way between rocks, shrubs and cacti.