Quite a distance from my house, a part of the wild west that once existed before Phoenix remains, encroached upon and surrounded, but still protected. South Mountain is, as the name implies, a mountain located at the southern edge of the Valley (which, now that I think of it, I don't know what the valley's name is; I've seen "Salt River Valley" and "Valley of the Sun" before, but I don't know if any of those are official). While there may be hiking trails running through it, roads running up it, and scattered litter throughout, it's a nice place to go to in order to escape the city and experience the desert scenery. Plus, because of its location, it's a great place to go to in order to see the entire city as well as watch the sunset. Now that I know what I've been missing, I'll definitely be back for more.