Desert hike

Today was our first desert hike. I think I may have mentioned before that the desert, at first glance, is a wasteland devoid of anything interesting or alive. Not true! Today Dana and I hiked to the "Wind Cave" in Usery Mountain Park. This was a relatively short hike (3 miles return) but it was 1 1/2 miles up a mountain, then back down. We arrived at the trail head at around 11:45. The folks in the car next to us in the parking lot said the temperature was 34 F, or about plus 1 C. The sky was clear and the sun felt warm. There was a light breeze blowing out of the north which did make it seem colder than it was. After a good lunch we headed up the trail.

I have included a couple of pictures in this post. Honestly, the scope of the vista did not allow many pictures with our tiny camera. I did however get a good shot of a giant Saguaro cactus as well as one that Dana was trying to hug. She loves Saguaro cactus almost as much as our friend Jo H, to whom we dedicate these 2 pictures.

As for flora and fauna, well, the desert was alive with bird and small 4 legged animals. We saw 13 species of birds including 3 Harris' hawks, many, many hummingbirds feasting on desert Chuparosa (like a honey suckle), gila woodpeckers, etc. We also saw many Harris' Ground Squirrel. One of the pictures is a Anna's hummingbird that came within 18 inches of my camera. We think he was guarding a nest that was in the Chuparosa bush that was next to the trail.

After the hike we headed for home. On the way home we stopped at a citrus stand and picked up 2 , 15 lb. bags of oranges to use for fresh juice. We also stopped at Trader Joe's for some beverage of the vino kind.

Tonight we at the computer room at the RV resort. There are probably 36 computer stations in the room. A nice amenity considering that the wireless network in the RV resort is very, very, very sllooowwww......

All for now. Tomorrow we ride our bikes. There is a dance tomorrow night. Dance lessons are offered before the dance. We may take advantage of the lessons as I (Barry) do not know how to dance, but want to learn. Madelyn, where are you???!!!!

Ciao!


Dana's big friend "Saguaro"


Jo H - This one's for you......


Our friend Anna.