Brad & Kathleen's Visit (sister & brother-in-law)

Kathleen and Brad flew in to Sky Harbor Phoenix on March 29th and stayed with us till the following Saturday. The came at just the right time. The weather was beautiful and warm and Kathleen wanted a tan. The first thing we did was get the bathing suits on and get down to the pool!

 Brad looking pretty happy that he was in the pool and nice and cool!

 Kathleen of course has to find a way to tan while cooling off in the water

 Kath and I enjoying the sun and water - what more could you ask for other than a cool drink?

Kath & Brad had brought their golf clubs with them and wanted to golf at least 3 games so they headed off golfing the next day.

We then rented another ATV and took them for a desert ride with our friends Ann & Trent. It started out not too warm and then quickly warmed up as the day went on

 

 The Engelmann Prickly Pear is just starting to bloom and has pretty yellow flowers.

We took Kath & Brad out to see the owl's nest and we were so hoping we would finally see some babies!

This was the second nest we found and when we first arrived we could only see the mother but she had her wings all fluffed up so we wondered if there were new babies under her.We stayed quietly nearby but never heard any peeping or saw any baby owls so we went on to the other owl's nest.

When we first arrived at the second nest, Mom was sitting on the nest but once we got out of the ATV's, she suddenly flew away.  Low and behold, up pops this little fluffy head! Oh my gosh, I instantly fell in love. This baby was the cutest thing I have ever seen. There appears to only be the one owlet.

 I just couldn't take enough pictures of the baby, oh so cute

 We then went over to the Peralta Trails area to where the local Dons Club has there camping club area. Brad and Kathleen standing beside an old adobe building. They refused to go inside and have their picture taken hanging out the window. I can't imagine why they wouldn't go outside - maybe scorpions, snakes, Gila monsters.......

 This rather pretty looking beetle buzzed around us and then landed at our feet

 This is a commemorative plaque on the side in memory of Jacob Waltz.

 Looking out from one of the old buildings towards the hills

 A blooming Ocotilla against the blue skies and the red mountain side

 We had to sit right up against the brick wall surrounding the Dons Club site just to find some shade from the sun and protection from the dry wind blowing. From left: Brad, Kathleen, Sharon, Doug, Ann & Trent

 Kathleen looking pretty dapper

 Buckhorn Cholla starting to bloom. The flowers can range from pink to brick red or orange to yellow

 A closer look at the flower

 This is a yellow Buckhorn Cholla flower

 Engelmann Hedgehog next to the Desert Pincushion flowers

 My absolute favorite cactus by far. This is the Fish Hook Pincushion cactus. It has the most beautiful pink flowers that go all around the top of the cactus in a circle. I planted 2 of these in my yard this year but they are too young to flower yet. I was thrilled to see one out in the desert flowering as they are a rare cactus and not many are seen.

 Brad and Kathleen trying to look nasty

Still trying, not sure they can pull it off though

All in all, it was a fun ride. We all came back covered in dust and the first thing we did when we arrived home was put our bathing  suits, go down to the pool, have a shower and then a nice cooling swim!

Ridge Riding in the ATV

Our friends Connie & Bruce from Lethbridge area in Alberta wanted to go for one more ride before they packed up and headed for home. Connie and Bruce are farmers so needed to get home for the planting season. Bruce offered to take us ridge riding which we have never done before. We take trails that run along the top of the foothills below the Superstition Mountains. We go up one ridge and then onto the next till we were quite high in elevation. The wildflowers and blooming cacti were spectacular. The weather was gorgeous and very warm. Luckily, the higher we went the cooler it got till it was quite tolerable in temperature.

 Before we got up on the ridges, we stopped to explore a couple of open mines along the way. You have to be very careful as you just come right upon them and they are very dangerous as they are often very deep! We figure this was an old silver mine

 Doug and Gordon heading up the hill to look at another mine shaft

 These are Engelmann Hedgehog cactus. They grow at a higher elevation and are a deeper fuchsia colour and the petals are more rounded in shape instead of pointed.

 

 Bruce in the RZR and Doug in the Rhino

 This is a desert Mariposa (wild Lily) and it doesn't flower every year. We were so lucky to see it this year. There were many of them all along the ridges as they tend to grow at the higher elevations

 Yucca plants flowering. The individual flowers are so spectacular!

 Connie & Sharon among the wildflowers

 Doug placed a Yucca flower among the flowering hedgehog, quite a beautiful contrast!

 We are not quite high enough yet that we lose the saguaro cacti

 This is the Strawberry Hedgehog - not the more pointed flower petals compared to the rounded Engelmann Hedgehog petals

 Both sides of the ridge trails had flowering hedgehogs, Mariposa, Fairy Dusters, California Poppies - it was a sight to see!

 We are now up on the ridges and there are no more saguaro cacti at this height. You can see the trail ahead we are heading for.

 This is looking back from where we came and we can see the town of Superior way off in the distance. When it is very warm in the Phoenix valley, it gets very hazy with all the dust in the air.

 Again, you can see the trail ahead as we continue along the ridges

 I had to take this picture with the dead agave plant and flower stalk. It is called a Century plant as it only flowers once in its lifetime and then it dies which can be after a 100 years - hence its name

 Our riding group from left: Larry, Doug, Sharon, Connie, Bruce & Gordon

 We came down off the ridges via a wash and it was a very interesting ride scenery wise but very rough and lots of good size boulders to go over and tree branches to miss!

 Part way though the wash we went through this beautiful riparian area, with wild grasses growing, lots of birds and small trees and bushes, very beautiful. We have never seen anything like it out in the desert

 We came upon 2 fellows out for a ride in their new Can-Am side by side and I noticed they were driving with a flat back passenger side tire! We quickly let them know and if you can believe it, they were traveling with out tire plugs or an air compressor!! They were darn lucky we came upon them as they were a long way from home on a very hot day! All of us had both tire plugs and air compressors so we had them fixed up and on the road again in no time! You can see the fellows above talking to the guy before they fix his tire. He had a huge piece of barb wire fencing in the tire

 Looking off into the distance 

 We had to stand at the base of this saguaro just to emphasize the size of it. It was a pretty gnarly specimen and most likely 150 - 200 years old.

 

I was driving and we were almost home when I spotted this snake, it wasn't a rattle snake though, thank-goodness but just a harmless bull snake! All in all it was an excellent ride with spectacular scenery and a great way to end the season with our friends Bruce, Connie, Larry and Bill!

Mid-March Desert Ride

Hi everyone, been awhile again since I have done a blog insert but as usual, we have been busy with friends and company. The weather has also been so fantastic that we are never in the house and by the time we do come in, it is time for bed! As a result, my blog suffers. I am going to try to get my blog updated as we are heading back to Campbell River April 18th which is only 4 days from now!
These pictures were taken just after our friends Pam and Rich left and we went for or usual ride with any from our group who were ready and willing. We decided to just go out back of the RV park and explore some of the trails we have never taken before. I decided to take everyone back to see the owl's nest I had found when out ATVing with Pam & Rich. I was hoping the babies might have hatched and we would get to see them. No such luck. Mom was still sitting on them and giving us the evil eye. We also found another owl's nest so are watching that nest also.

 Great Horned Owl. They can lay 1 - 5 eggs but 2 is the usual number so we are anxious to see the babies and how many there are.

 We got the hint that she wanted us out of there!

 The strawberry hedgehog cacti are all in bloom and they are so beautiful. They come in many shades of pink through burgundy depending on the soil composition.

 Close up view of the flower

 These are the Miniature Woolly Star flower. They are so darn cute!

 We just started taking trails to see where they lead. Many were dead ends but still enjoyable to see new country.

 Another dead end as we came to a rancher's fence

 The desert marigolds are all in bloom

 Desert Hackleberry bush. This bush has a lovely white flower in February and the bees love it. Now it is covered in these red berries that are so striking in the brown and green desert!

 Sharon, Sharon & Ann glaring at the fellows below

Sharon & Bill coming down the hill watching carefully for rattlesnakes. They are out and about now as it has been so warm.

 Ann & I still up the hill looking for petrified wood and cacti while the others are waiting for us to return!

 We finally arrive back down the hill!

 A close up look at the hackle-berries. The birds love them. They get so big they almost look like cherry tomatoes!

 It was so hot on that ride that it took us awhile to find enough shade for the 8 of us to all be able to sit under to eat our lunch. There was no way we could have sat out in the sun!

 We took everyone to see an old saloon way out in the desert. It has been closed for a long time but interesting to explore

 We came for a dring but they wouldn't serve us! I guess we looked to "rough and tough"

 A better look at the whole building

Craig, Doug & Ann out and about as we stop for a leg stretch

That was our last ATV trip with Craig, Ann and Bill before they left for home back east.