Wandering around the desert again 🙂
Archive | Natural Wonders
They Have Us Surrounded!
Our yard is partially encircled by vacant lots. Before we moved here everything was graded flat for houses but some were never built. That’s cool with us. The whole area has become a well established prairie dog town and provided us with comic entertainment for over ten years!
These are different critters from the larger prairie dogs that live on the high plains and Midwestern U.S. Some folks call these ground squirrels. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum lists them as “Black Tailed Prairie Dog” …so there.
Sometimes they come over and nibble at our plants and birdseed but have otherwise been good neighbors. Seems they have the community concept well figured. The hawks and owls love them, too!
Little Desert Afternoon
Yesterday was Patty’s birthday. We picked up a coconut cream cake and scurried out to the back country for birthday ramblin’ and rockhounding.
The day was clear and gorgeous although a bit hot. The temperature was in the low 90s standing in the sun but there was an awesome desert breeze that made it feel o.k.
We bounced around taking pictures of cactus flowers for an hour or so, then ate some cake. After that we decided to go looking for pleasing rocks. That’s how Patty crossed paths with Mister Tortoise; featured in this video I captured:
On the way back to the house we startled this wild burro gang! I was able to catch a short clip as they fled into the bush. Sorry so shaky…
It was a pretty good adventure for one afternoon! If you’re ever in the area and want to hire a seasoned trail guide; I can get you out to the desert and back again, guaranteed …unless we’re attacked by bandits 🙂
Sonoran Safari
Wednesday: Going nowhere fast. Don’t expect a destination at the end of this epic; this is 20 minutes of jeeping around in the middle of nowhere. I’m a dirt trail demon: I did all the 4×4 driving (5 speed manual) while holding the camera in one hand. It’s packed with spectacular Sonoran Desert scenery so if you’ve ever been curious about the landscape out here, well here you go…
This footage is the entire loop (edited for time) depicted on the map in the previous post, Checkin’ Out The Back 20.
Backyard Mountaineering
As promised in the previous post (and no need for rangers), Wildcat Peak this morning. The Hidden Valley Of Awesome was as expected (awesome). There weren’t as many wildflowers as I hoped so I’ll have to look again next week. I rolled video for most of the 20 mile trip. I’ll edit it all down to a few minutes and post it here later so come back for an ogle. I didn’t take many pictures but I got a few nice ones. Click for enlargements and enjoy ☼
