Cactus League ball players, and other interesting creatures....

We attended our first Major league Baseball Cactus League game yesterday. Mike and Darlene, and their good friends Wayne and Lois also attended. Coincidently, it was the inaugural game at the new multi-million dollar baseball complex called Salt River Field at Talking Stick (First Nations land). This ballpark is the springtime home to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. The game yesterday featured the D-Backs and our own Seattle Mariners.

The game was okay, I mean it is spring training, but Seattle fans might well be in for another long, long season. Regardless, it was fun to sit in the stands behind 3rd base and cheer on our Mariners. Interestingly there was no shortage of M fans on the park. Aside from the Mariner t-shirts and caps the Seattle fans were easy to spot. They were the people with untanned skin.....

A couple of days ago, Monday I think, we explored a park on the Salt River. It was mid-afternoon when we visited the park so there was not a lot of bird activity. Regardless, it was a nice location and we had a nice walk on one of the trails along the Salt River. We did spot an interesting lizard. I captured it on film. I cropped the picture using the Apple iPhoto program and have included it in the blog. We believe the little guy, or gal, is a Spiny Tree Lizard, very common around here.

Tuesday was "get back on the bike day" for Barry. We did the Usery Mountain Pass Loop. Well, Dana did it once and I did it twice. I logged 2:40 on the bike, around 70km. Most of the ride was into a stiff wind so I was pretty cooked by the time I got home. Also, the temperature reached 84 F at one point. Dana rode the furthest she has ridden in quite awhile. "Epic" was how she described the ride.

Today Dana and I went for another ride on Usery Pass. My training plan called for 2 sessions of 3 x 3 minute hard intervals. While I was doing my repeats on the Usery Pass hill Dana cycled up the hill to the Usery Mtn Park visitors centre. Once inside the building she was greeted by a park attendant. Dana initially thought the gal was wearing a large "clunky" necklace of some kind. Turned out to be a black and bright green King Snake. Apparently the snake was raised in the centre and was very used to the staff. Yikes!

This afternoon Dana, Mike, Darlene and I went for a birding hike at Usery Mtn Park, which is bar-none our favorite park. We saw lots of wildlife including birds, rabbits (including the large Black Tailed Jack Rabbit) coyote, Road Runner, Spiny Tree Lizard and our favorite Western Screech Owl. Pretty good for a short 2 hour hike in the desert. The hike was followed by beer and cocktails at Mike and Darlene's then we returned home for dinner and an early bedtime. What will tomorrow bring...??

Enjoy the photos.

Salt River Field - D-Backs vs Seattle Mariners