2016 Saguaro Flowers & Fruits

May 20, 2016

     In the Spring of 2015 we commented about how few of the saguaro cacti that grow around the Anthem, Arizona area had bloomed.  It was the fewest blooming saguaros that we had ever remembered seeing.  Why, we don't know but we do know that has not been true in the Spring 2016.  Saguaros everywhere were blooming this spring and here are a few of out most favorite 2016 pictures.  Hope you enjoy them...

May 6, 2016

May 20, 2016

May 2016

May 23, 2016 - two opened

May 24, 2016 - same two now closed

May 17, 2016

June 9, 2016

June 10, 2016

June 13, 2016

June 13, 2016

June 13, 2016

June 14, 2016

June 13, 2016

June 13, 2016

June 16, 2016

June 16, 2016

June 16, 2016

 

Bullock's Oriole

      On May 7, 2016 a beautiful Bullock's Oriole was sitting atop a giant saguaro probably looking for some nectar from the beautiful saguaro flower upon which to dine.  Beautiful bird/beautiful flowers.

Urban Trailhead - Desert Vista

    Over the many years we have lived, studied and taught about Arizona, the cities of the Valley of the Sun have done a tremendous jobs in preserving the amazing mountains and mountain foothills found here.  Each year more and more land in put into preservation and new trailheads are open to the general public.  Here is our story about one of the newest trailheads...  

      For those of us who live in the far North Valley the nearby Phoenix Sonoran Preserve continues to offer new opportunities to explore and enjoy the rugged beauty of our local Sonoran Desert.  And if you enjoy hiking, mountain biking and/or horseback riding, the newly opened Desert Vista Trailhead just might become your favorite local hangout. 
    The Desert Vista Trailhead is located just to the northeast of the Fireside at Norterra Community Center.  From here outdoor lovers can access 10 trails leading into the interior of this lush desert preserve and covering over 14  miles.   A new restroom facility and fresh water station are also found at this trailhead. 
     All 10 trails are wide and easy to follow but difficulty varies usually based on elevation change.  The Cactus Wren Trail is considered easy to moderate and has an elevation change of only 234 feet.  While the Dixie Mountain Summit Trail is a steep, 346 foot ascent to the mountain top with panoramic views of Camelback Mountain, Shaw Butte and Piestewa Peak.
    The 3.82 mile Dixie Mountain Loop Trail was the first trail built in the Sonoran Preserve opening in 2010.  It is rated “moderate” as the many small climbs throughout the trail results in an elevation change of 1,322 feet.
    Many desert washes cut through the desert landscape as the trails skirt along the hillsides.  Stunning views of undisturbed desert landscapes change at every turn and twist of the trails.
    When completed the Sonoran Preserve will encompass some 20,000 acres which will make it larger than both the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and South Mountain Park.  Since this new preserve is still not surrounded by housing developments, these trails are relatively uncrowded and hikers can often find themselves alone on the trail with only nature as a companion.
    The main protected land that is encompassed by the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve is bordered by the Carefree Highway to the north, North Valley Parkway to the west, Cave Creek Road  to the east and the Central Arizona Project Canal to the south.  The Desert Vista Trailhead is just the newest facility to open within the preserve with more trailhead and parks coming in the near future.
    So, if you are looking to quickly escape back into undisturbed nature, get out and discover for yourself the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve and the new Desert Vista Trailhead.  You will surely enjoy this nearby desert experience - just remember your sun screen, water and hat!

Amazing Vermilion Cliffs

    We have long been writing stories about the natural world for the web site, Live Science - http://www.livescience.com/54510-ocotillo-desert-plants-photos.html .  It is a great site for anyone interested in science and all the wonders of the world.  We have decided to also put those stories and pictures onto our Finding Arizona website.  Hope you enjoy our stories and the Live Science site.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher  
      1. The Vermilion Cliffs of southern Utah and northern
Arizona are one of the more isolated and undisturbed regions of the Colorado Plateau. It is the “second step” of the larger geological region found here and known as the Grand Staircase.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
2. The Vermilion Cliffs extend west from Paige, Arizona and is a classic high desert region of spectacular beauty and rugged wilderness. This arid region varies in elevation from 3100 (945 m) feet to 7300 (2225 m) feet.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
     3. The weather across the Vermilion Cliffs region
ranges from 100 degrees F. (37.7C) in the summer to freezing and snow covered mountain tops in the winter. Only the most rugged of flora and fauna are naturally found in this vast, inhospitable region.

Credit: BLM      
4. Flash flooding in many of the regions slot canyons
are caused by the violent summer thunderstorms and are a potential danger for any hiker who might be exploring in the narrow, canyon crevasses.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
     5. The reddish or “vermilion” cliffs that make up this
region are composed of layers of silt laid down by the ancient seas that covered this Colorado Plateau some 165 - 200 million years ago. Colored red by iron oxide and bluish by manganese the layers of silt and ancient desert sand dunes were cemented together over time by the penetration of carbonates.

Credit: Linda Buscher        
6. The Colorado River cuts through the Colorado
Plateau and the southern border of the Vermilion Cliffs to form what is known today as Marble Canyon.
A short distance from Marble Canyon in 1873 John D. Lee established the historic Lee Ferry. This is the only place for hundreds of miles where early Mormon settlers could cross the mighty Colorado River from both the east and west sides.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
       7. The Vermilion Cliffs are also the site of one of the
most successful reintroduction into the wild of an endangered species. In 1996 six captive-bred young California Condors were released back into the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs. This was the first time since 1924 that these majestic birds could be seen once again flying over the Grand Canyon.

Credit: Linda Buscher
         8. Today over seventy condors soar above the
Vermilion Cliff region of Utah and Arizona. At least seven of those birds wild-bred condors having been successfully raised in nesting caves found within the Vermilion Cliffs and along the Colorado River.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher     
9. Regions of the Vermilion Cliffs are covered with
green, grassy valleys and meadows making an ideal habitat for Desert Bighorn Sheep, dear, elks and Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana. The pronghorn’s scientific name translates to “American antelope goat.” But these Vermilion Cliffs inhabitants are neither antelope nor goat as they are the only surviving member of the ancient hoofed mammal family Antilocapridae (order Artiodactyla) dating back some 20 million years.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
     10. In 2000 the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
was established by presidential proclamation forever protecting some 280,000 unspoiled acres of geological treasures. This national monument is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and includes the spectacular Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area.

Credit: BLM
11. Three areas of this national monument are best known for their spectacular geological beauty. The Wave in Coyote Buttes (North) the Cottonwood Cove and the Teepees in Coyote Buttes (South) and the White Pocket region are all a special destination for both hikers and photographers. Shown here is the region known as Coyote Butte.

Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher
      12. The Vermilion Cliffs are one of the many
sensational geological locations found throughout the western United States. Their rugged beauty and remote wilderness still allows one to grasp, experience and enjoy the natural beauty and wilderness of the American West before the arrival of our modern civilization.

Looking For A Unique Vacation?

    In the far northern region of Arizona one of man’s most spectacular adjustments to the beauty of Mother Nature took place back in 1956 with the initial construction of a great concrete dam across the Colorado River at place known as Glen Canyon.  It was one of the most controversial of dam projects in the American West with legendary author Edward Abby becoming an environmental icon with the publishing of his anti-dam book, The Monkey Wrench Gang.
    Over a period of 17-years the great dam slowed the flow of river water and slowly created the second largest and arguably the most beautiful lake in the world - Lake Powell.  Lake Powell, named after the famous explorer John Wesley Powell, is 186 miles long and straddles the Arizona/Utah state lines.  The sapphire blue water creates over 1,960 miles of red sandstone shoreline for lake visitors to enjoy and explore.
    Maybe the most unique and wonderful ways to explore Lake Powell is by renting a state-of-the-arts houseboat complete with all the luxury and comfort of a home.  These houseboats can be equipped with flat screen TV with satellite reception, queen size beds, hot tubs, waterslides and more.  The houseboats of Lake Powell are very special and an exceptional experience for the whole family.
    There are a variety houseboat vendors on Lake Powell but the largest and our favorite is Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas.  These good folks will make your houseboat vacation a memory you will cherish for a lifetime.  - http://www.lakepowell.com/
    You don’t know how to drive a houseboat you say?  Well the captains of Lake Powell Resorts and Marina  will teach you during one of their 6-hour “Houseboat 101” classes.  In fact, they are preparing for a series of these houseboat training seminars beginning in mid-April.  These folks know their boats and they know this lake which will insure for you a fabulous experience.  -  http://www.lakepowell.com/special-offers/specials-packages/lodging-specials/introduction-to-houseboating-weekends-wahweap-marina/
    Lake Powell is another of those incredibly beautiful places that so bless all of Arizona.  The moonless night sky above Lake Powell is so dark and so full of stars that you can actually see star light reflecting off the calm surface of the lake. 
    So why not do something a little different but no less luxurious for a 2016 vacation by discovering Lake Powell on a houseboat?  Get out and enroll in that “Houseboat 101” class and let your whole family experience the “awe” in the grandeur that is Lake Powell.  



All Pictures belong to - Aramark

Spending Time With The Monarchs

    As your family’s winter vacation escape is being planned, let us suggest a destination that we think is quite special especially if you love the wonders of nature.  A one day drive to the California beach town of Pismo Beach will bring you to one of nature’s most unique animal winter migrations - the annual overwintering gathering of thousands of monarch butterflies.
    Monarch butterflies are some of the most beautiful and unique of nature’s creatures and the only species of butterflies known to migrate.  These vibrant black and orange tropical butterflies travel thousands of miles to escape the freezing temperatures so common across Canada and a good portion of the United States.
    Many folks know about the gathering of monarch butterflies in the central mountains of Mexico, but fewer seem to know that they can experience this same butterfly gathering much closer to home by simply visiting this beautiful central coastal California city.
    Pismo Beach is a classic beach town located half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the Pacific Coastal and 101 Highways.  Tourists seeking the surf, sun and fun are the common summer visitors.
    But from late October until late February monarch butterflies gather in a small grove of eucalyptus and Monterey Spruce trees at the southern end of town and literally hang-out on the tree branches enjoying the weather and breezes of the Pacific Ocean.  Last year’s count shows some 34,000 butterflies were over-wintering in these trees.  During the winter of 1990-91 that number was 230,000 beautiful butterflies.
    The home range of the monarch butterflies that come to Pismo Beach is those lands west of the Rocky Mountains extending into southern Canada.  Their close cousins who range east of the Rocky Mountains are the monarch butterflies who make the longer journey to the central mountains of Mexico.
    Some of the monarchs found at Pismo Beach will have traveled over 2000 miles, covering about 100 miles each day.  They have been seen flying toward the Pacific Ocean at an elevations up to  10,000 feet, slowly making their way to a climate that is not cold enough to kill them nor warm enough to waste their precious, stored energy.
    Once they arrive at the Pismo Beach Butterfly Grove, they arrange themselves into dense clusters, wings hanging down over the butterfly below them like the shingles on a roof.  This arrangement provides shelter from rain and wind and provides warmth for the entire group.
    Since the life span of the monarchs of Pismo Beach is only six months, the butterflies there this winter will leave their ocean retreat in March never to return again.    But their descendants will continue this thousand-year-old cycle and return to their Pismo Beach winter tree grove again in October 2016.  How this new generation of monarch butterflies know how to return to Pismo Beach each year is an unknown mystery of science.
    The Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove is closely monitored to keep the thousands of butterflies safe.  But the grove is easily accessible and open each day of the week. Trained docents provide free informational walks/talks at 10 am and 2pm daily weather permitting.  Be sure to check out the following website - www.monarchbutterfly.org/

Other Nearby Attractions:

    1.     Avilia Valley Barn is 2 miles north of Pismo Beach and is a fabulous family farm with a petting zoo with a wide variety of fresh fruits/vegetables and gifts - http://www.avilavalleybarn.com/


2.  Just 26 miles north of Pismo Beach is the community of Morro Bay whose Natural History Museum has a fabulous program about monarch butterflies and the most extensive collection of shells from around the world in the best shell shop that we have ever visited - http://ccspa.info/morrobay/ and http://www.theshellshop.net/


3.  San Simeon is just 55 miles north of Pismo 
Beach and home to both the Hearst Castle and 17,000 incredible elephant seals.  From mid-December thru mid-January hundreds of female elephant seals give birth to their pups.  Another amazing sight of the natural world - http://hearstcastle.org/ and http://www.elephantseal.org/

Monarchs of Pismo Beach

The beach of Pismo Beach

One of those California sunsets

A male elephant seal

A female elephant seal

A young beachmaster calls out his claim