Spring Mountain Ranch

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is near Red Rocks (where we climb) but we'd never stopped there before this trip. It's small but it has some interesting history (past owners include Howard Hughes). We also enjoyed the short walk through the park.



One of the things that made the ranch sought after was that it has water from a number of springs. The lake is artificial but is still a treat in the desert.



A hawk circled overhead, too high for good photos but I tried with the lens I had.



Some of the trees were starting to flower. (Ones that flower before they get leaves.) I love spring time!



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Tucson Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is one of our favorite spots in Tucson. Although it does have some indoor exhibits, most of it is spread out over a large outdoor natural area. It is popular but because there are miles of trails people get spread out and it doesn't seem crowded. (They even have a small aquarium, which seems incongruous at a "desert" museum!)

Many of the animals are in large natural looking areas with no obvious bars or fences, like the coyotes.



A bit later they were sleeping in the sun. (The fence is just visible in the background.)



It wasn't the best time for bird watching, but I always enjoy the common cactus wrens.



The hummingbirds in the aviary were a little easier to photograph.



People here are always surprised that we have desert-like areas in Canada with some of the same wildlife, like Burrowing Owls and Prairie Dogs.







There were enough flowers out for the bees to be busy.







Of course, they have a lot more kinds of cactus here than we do in Canada.





And unlike most zoos, which only have crappy fast food, there is a nice restaurant where you can take a break from walking the trails.

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(Also photos from a previous visit)

White Sands National Monument

We drove by White Sands on the way to a couple of our paragliding sites and stopped for a quick visit. They are the largest gypsum dunes in the world. It is a striking place and I enjoyed trying to capture pieces of it in photographs.











There wasn't much wildlife visible but there were tracks across the sand.



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El Paso Desert Botanical Gardens

Keystone Heritage Park and the El Paso Desert Botanical Gardens is an archeological site, wetlands, and botanical garden. The wetlands are home to many species of birds and are a migratory stop for even more. Over 206 species of birds have been spotted there. We visited here on a day when conditions weren't good for paragliding.



I barely got the above shot before the Northern Shoveler (I think) took off. I managed to track it and catch it in flight. Even got reflections in both shots :-) Too bad the power pole was also reflected!



Most of the birds were too far away for my regular telephoto. I would have brought the long lens, but I was expecting botanical gardens, not birds.



There were quite a few Killdeer around but it was hard to get close to them.



We were warned it was getting warm enough for the rattlesnakes to come out. We haven't spotted any, but I did notice this shed snake skin which I'm guessing is from a rattlesnake, given what looks like the rattles.



Winter is a slow time in the botanical gardens, even in a warm climate like this. I still enjoy things like the seed pods. (Especially since I recently finished a whole book on Seeing Seeds. The others in the series - Seeing Trees  and Seeing Flowers are also great)  Easy to see why the one below is called Screwbean Mesquite.





And of course, the usual contingent of prickly stuff.



Cactus skeletons always fascinate me. They look a bit like the internal structure of bones. (convergent evolution)



We went to the nearby Magic Bistro (recommended) for lunch. (We'd already been there for supper and really enjoyed it.) It was even warm enough to sit outside, a treat we don't get in the winter in Saskatchewan! The sparrows also enjoy the patio, mostly as a place to scrounge food, but I enjoyed watching them and had to go and get my camera to take a few photos. (nice sharp shot for a change)



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