Arizona – Page 4 – Paint Your Landscape

A Bird’s-Eye View

January 24, 2012July 5, 2012LuAnn

Advise from a Hawk: Soar to new heights/Be a keen observer/Swoop down on opportunities/Rise above it all/Spread your wings/Find a field that suits you/ The sky’s the limit! ~ (c) Ilan Shamir http://www.yourtruenature.com

We spent the bulk of the day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, founded in 1952, and part of the pristine Sonoran desert in Tucson. It encompasses 21 acres and is primarily a walking experience, with two miles of paths winding through its boundaries. It is very unique in that it is part zoo, museum, and botanical garden and is one of the most visited attractions in Tucson.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has garnered a worldwide reputation in the scientific community as a foundation dedicated to research and conservation efforts directed at the land, plants, and the animals of the Sonoran Desert Region. Their mission is to inspire others to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering an understanding and appreciation of the Sonoran desert. This facility was also the pioneer for the creation of naturalistic enclosures for its animals.

Although the desert this time of year does not have the brilliant color that springtime brings, there has always been something very appealing about the desert for me, and the cooler temperatures are a welcome respite from what is soon to come. With more than 300 species of animals and 1200 types of plants at the desert museum, you could certainly spend an entire day here and this is the perfect time of year to do so.

This facility is a wonderful haven for birds and there is a fabulous hummingbird exhibit on the grounds, giving visitors the opportunity to walk freely amongst these inquisitive, brilliantly colored little creatures. Granted, it is difficult to capture these smallest of birds in a photo as they are buzzing you in midflight, but Terry was able to snap a couple of good shots.

We had the opportunity to view a couple of wonderful programs at the desert museum, the most remarkable being the Raptor Free Flight program. We got an up close bird’s-eye view of a family of Harris’ hawks on a hunt. The narration was terrific and it was so thrilling to watch this family of four soaring overhead and alighting on saguaro cactus. How do they do that? Very carefully, of course! Many times their flight paths took them literally within inches of our heads. This program showcased how these magnificent hunters cooperatively work in their native environment and they were successful in the hunt!

Running Wild is another program that has been presented for four years running at the desert museum and one that we were lucky to see. A screen presentation regarding the history of the park, now in its 60th year, was recounted by curator George Carpenter. At various times throughout this screening, background music was the cue for live animals to scamper or waddle onto the stage, while the curator described the habits of these animals and the conservation efforts that came into play to develop this Desert Museum. It was amazing to see a hooded skunk, ringtail, Gambel’s quail, brown pelican, and porcupine sashay on stage and exit on cue. We learned that it takes several months to train these animals to walk across the stage.

Last, but certainly not least, was the cute and cuddly prairie dog exhibit, always entertaining to watch.

Time for us to move on as it is now siesta time at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. What a great day!

If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to my blog via feed reader or e-mail?

Wishing on a Star for a Hot Tub

January 21, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

This was my initial thought after the effects of our hike today settled in. Given the clouds moving into the Tucson area, seeing any stars tonight did not look promising and finding a hot tub in Catalina State Park was not going to happen. Settling for a nice hot shower seemed the most appealing alternative.

We enjoy staying at state parks when possible as they usually provide more wide open spaces and great views. Catalina State Park, located within Coronado National Forest, sits at the base of the majestic Santa Catalina Mountains.

Sitting at an elevation of 3000 feet, this 5500 acre park is a haven for desert plants, wildlife and nearly 5,000 saguaros. Miles of equestrian, birding, hiking, and biking trails wind through the park and on into the Coronado National Forest. Mount Lemmon is the highest peak in the Santa Catalinas, standing at 9157 feet.

We opted for the Romero Canyon Trail hike today, a moderately difficult hike. We did not make it out to Romero Pass at 7.2 miles, choosing instead to turn around at 5.5 miles. This round-trip 11 mile hike, with elevation gains of 2000 feet was enough for us.

Two Happy Hikers — Two happy hikers at the turn-around mark

It offered some stunning views, with lots of running water in the canyon. It would be interesting to see how fast the water is moving through the canyon after the spring run-offs.

Most of the hike out was up, so the good news was we could cruise downhill on the return trip, but admittedly a little harder on the knees, as I watch my husband gingerly walking around the rig tonight. If I am honest, my legs are protesting a bit tonight as well.

View towards Tucson hiking down off the Romero Canyon Trail

About 3/4 of the way back, we started to see paramedics and other rescue personnel hiking up past us. There were a total of eleven rescue workers pushing up the mountain, and two staged with a bucket/gurney nearby, as well as seven rescue vehicles standing by to assist. We never did learn what occurred, and watching the local news tonight did not provide any answers either. We can only hope that whatever happened in the canyon today, it was not serious.

As we crossed over the stream at the end of our hike, a little boy, clad only in a t-shire and Superman undies, came racing around the corner dragging a toy truck. He stopped abruptly right in front of us, dropped his undies, and proceeded to water the grass along the trail. Ah, the innocence of children!

Looking into the canyon from the Romero Canyon Trail

With some clouds rolling in, we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset over the Santa Catalinas tonight.

If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to my blog via feed reader or e-mail?

Kayaking on Saguaro Lake

January 20, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

One more day to kayak and the conditions are superb. Unlike our maiden voyage, the water was like glass, with temps hovering around the 70º mark. We had hoped to kayak the Salt River, but a quick check determined what we had suspected; the flow slows to a trickle in many spots and the thought of having to portage our boat over dry sections seemed to take the fun out of it for us. So on to Saguaro Lake we go.

Saguaro Lake is a large lake formed by the Stewart Mountain Dam just minutes from Mesa and was a favorite water-skiing lake for me several years ago. It was great to be out during the week, with little boating traffic and such great weather.

Other than the nearly perfect conditions we found ourselves in, the excitement of the day was watching a bald eagle on the hunt. This was a little stressful for me to watch as it was the playful coots that he was after! I know, survival of the fittest and all, but given how much entertainment we had gotten from watching their antics, I could bearly stand to watch (not literally stand you know, as I was still in the kayak). I found myself cheering for the coots while my husband admitted he was hoping for the eagle to score. Thankfully, we were not around to see this “bald-headed” beauty snatch his lunch, but were able to get a couple of good photos of him.

Eagle on Saguaro Lake — Resting but watchful after the hunt

It is time to say goodbye to the Phoenix area and head south to explore Tucson. We had some great adventures while here but my greatest joy was in reconnecting with my brother Richard. I am grateful for the short time we had together and hope for more while we are in Tucson. Here’s to experiences for each of us that will make our spirits soar!

If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to my blog via feed reader or e-mail?

Superstition Mountains

January 19, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

Oh, the mystique of the Superstition Mountains. Located just east of Apache Junction, the Superstitions precipitously rise 3000 feet above the desert floor to form some spectacular cliffs, cliffs born from volcanic eruptions of long ago. This is where we traveled to hike the Black Mesa Loop, a 10-mile loop that offers something for everyone, open desert, great views of Weaver’s Needle, rough, craggy cliffs, as well as forests of jumping cholla cacti, ocotillo and saguaro.

Once on the desert floor, a 360° view helps one to understand why so many have become lost for days out here and some have never returned from this wilderness area that comprises 160,000+ acres. Just this past November tragedy struck when a plane crash into the face of the mountain claimed 5 lives.

There is much mystery surrounding the Superstition Mountains and the most renown folklore is that of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. Legend has it that during the 1800’s the Peralta family of Mexico operated an incredibly rich gold mine within this wilderness area. A mining party returning gold ore to Mexico City was attacked by Apaches, with only one surviving the brutal attack. Many decades later this miner revealed the location of the Peralta family mine to Jacob Waltz, who came to be known as the Dutchman.

There is some truth to the tale, as Jacob Waltz was born in the 1800’s in Germany and immigrated to the United States, working as a miner in the Arizona Territory. Allegedly, on his deathbed Waltz told his caretakers about the mine and where it could be found. The mine, he said, had enough gold to make millionaires out of 20 men.

For the past 120 years many have searched for this mine in some of the most rugged wilderness area of the U.S. Forest Service and some have lost their lives trying to find it.

The Superstition Mountains offers some spectacular vistas and a multitude of hikes to choose from and respecting this rugged wilderness is key to staying safe.

View of Weaver's Needle in the distance as we approached Boulder Canyon

If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to my blog via feed reader or e-mail?

Maiden Voyage

January 15, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

Today was the maiden voyage for our Sea Eagle 385FT kayak. Yes, it has driven Terry crazy to have it sitting in our basement and not getting wet, as in out on a lake somewhere. It has been windy for the past couple of days and today was no exception, but the decision had been made and there was no turning back. Our kayak was going into the water today! My only hope was that we were not going in with her, as in over the side. Even though we are in one of the warmest climates in the country right about now, the lake is something I want to enjoy from inside the kayak, not learning how to get back in once you have fallen over the side.

There are many beautiful lakes in the Phoenix area; yeah I know, it is a desert, but really. We chose Canyon Lake as it was close by and has many coves suitable for kayakers. Terry had already selected our boating route, the only problem being that we would need to paddle across the main body of the lake to get to the cove and we were looking at whitecaps as we looked out over the water. No matter, we are going, so we will figure that out once we get us and the kayak in the water.

All the mental checklists have been completed and we have a fully inflated kayak with all the accompanying gear (hope she holds water). We put in, getting only our feet wet, as it should be. Within a matter of seconds I feel a smack on the back of my head. It seems that in his zealousness to push off he forgot that I was in the front of the kayak and whacked me in the head with the paddle! Either that or he just wanted to be sure that I was awake and fully prepared to help us cross the white-capped lake.

After a few minutes of paddling and not getting too far in crossing the lake (and me having visions of ending up in the drink!) I suggested that perhaps we should look at other coves on this side of the lake and come out again on a calmer day to take his planned route and thankfully Terry agreed.

Paddling to get into some of the coves provided us with a good arm workout but once inside, the boating was great. It was so peaceful and the American coot were so entertaining to watch. Unfortunately we were not able to get close enough for a good photo as they are so elusive.

I have read that the American coot must run across the water before taking off in flight due to the shape of their wings. Once in the air, they are great flyers. When you see their feet, you can see just how they manage to run on water!

One cove that we paddled down became a little disconcerting for us as the reflection of the boulders and cliffs in the water took on an otherworldly nature. We felt as if we were suspended between two worlds, not certain just where the shoreline ended and the surface of the water began. It was quite an interesting experience.