Montana Mountain ride with Rich and Pam

We went on an ATV ride this past Wednesday to Montana Mountain. Our friends Pam and Rich from Port Coquitlam BC went with us along with friends Craig and Sharon Keyes. Pam and Rich rented an ATV from the Arizonian RV Park so we rode right out of the park and headed for the hills. It was a beautiful warm day and we had to wear shirts to  try and protect ourselves from all the dust and also protect from sunburn!

 As we headed out into the desert, I was on the lookout for flowering cacti. You would think with our above average temperatures all winter, the cacti would be blooming early but I guess because we have had so little rain this season, a lot of cacti may not bloom. There are the occasional hedgehog cacti blooming their beautiful magenta colored blooms

 We are heading up the valley through the hills to the base of Montana Mountain. The views are gorgeous. It continually amazes me how green the desert remains with next to no rain for months!

 Pam and Rich in their rented ATV

 Doug taking a coffee break

 There are a few wild flowers in bloom but nothing like previous years. The brittle bush are the yellow flowers with a hedgehog flowering behind it

 We are up nearly 7000ft at the top of Montana Mountain looking down over Roger's Trough - a watering hole for the cattle out in the desert

 You can see for miles in every direction - you can also see the dust in the air on the horizon - with no rain it stays in the air and is causing many of us to experience severe allergy reactions this year as a result!

 Lunch time! Out come the chairs and the picnic lunch and we all enjoy the view - Rich, Pam, Sharon, Doug, Craig and Sharon

 We spent a good hour just enjoying the warmth of the sun and the splendid views!

 We headed back down the mountain and of course you see the views differently from another direction

 The mountains just go on forever it seems

 I found one flowering Woolly Indian Paintbrush when usually we see so many more!

 The views remain amazing no matter what direction you are going in

 Desert mallow blooming on the side of the road

 The saguaro cacti are so healthy back in the mountains and grow so huge

 I thought this picture with the barrel cacti was neat. The sun was shining on them and they took on a red colour

 There was Arizona thistle blooming along the road

 The deep blue sky just makes the desert look even more beautiful, considering we are going to have to head home in three weeks, we really are going to miss this!

 The different mountain peaks are so neat - they are all so different looking

 Lots of saguaro to look at

 A clump of brittle bush 

 Taking a break on the way home, Craig, Doug behind and Sharon K

 Sun shining on a blooming ocotillo bush

On our way home we decided to go check out our nesting great horned owl but still no babies to see - starting to get worried that her eggs didn't fertilize as the chicks were a good size by this time last year! We had a wonderful ride, probably the last one for Pam and Rich as they are starting the trek home at the end of the month!

 A few blogs back I posted pictures of us harvesting a dead saguaro cactus skeleton - well here are the results! This is my bird bath with a glass dish on top - I love it!

 This is the remaining piece that we cleaned and urethaned and I plan to buy a Mexican pot (they are such bright beautiful colours) next fall when we arrive and I will set it on top and either plant a cactus or more flowers in it. I just love both pieces

Doug doesn't know I took his picture but this is his afternoon siesta site!