Rich and I were dropped off at **a road** (a ‘concerned citizen’ has asked that I change names of places) at about 7:30 in the morning yesterday, and hiked home. It was a long day, involving a few twisted ankles, a scraped shin, a little sunburn, some hot and tired paws, and a great time! Below is a view from the top, looking down toward **our town** from the top of the canyon we hiked. **Our town** rim is the highest thing on the right-side horizon.
We saw lots of lizards (but nothing exciting like a collared lizard), lots of birds, a cute little toad (which I think is a Great Basin Spadefoot toad), but no furry wildlife. Also, there was lots of evidence of others who had been there.
The wildflowers are still beautiful out there in the desert. Below are a Sand Verbena (Abronia fragrans), some yellow beeplants (Cleome lutea) with globe mallows (Sphaeralcea coccinea), an unidentified purple flower (in the hope that someone out there will know what it is…sorry for the bad photo!), and Anderson’s larkspur (Delphinium andersonii) with a Yucca.
Some Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius), Sand Dock (Rumex something), and a Penstemon I can’t identify. The Penstemon was the most true shade of blue you can imagine!:
A woolly locoweed (Astragalus mollissimus), and some Skyrockets (Gilia aggregata):
Opuntia erinacea v. ursina times 2, and I am embarrassed to admit how bad I am with the names of our native Opuntias, but here is one with a Silvery Townsendia (Townsendia incana):
These are painted milk vetch (Astragalus ceramicus) pods. The plants themselves aren’t much to look at, but the pods are spectacular!
Here’s some of the MASS of poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii) we walked through (without any casualties, mind you):
Mindy did very well, for someone with legs only 8 inches long. If we walked 10 miles, I can’t even imagine what that equals for 8″ legs. She loves the water, and gets in at every possible chance. In the end, Rich ended up carrying her for about the last 3/4 of a mile home.
I love the view from above the canyon. Any way you look, it’s beautiful! I particularly liked this view, because if you look closely, you’ll see a nice big patch of Opuntia (prickly pears) hanging over the sandy edge of the wash in the foreground:
Here are some more views from the hike:
Down in the canyon is beautiful, too.
Well, that’s about all for this hike report.
P.S. Did you all enjoy the action shot of Mindy shaking the water off after her swim? A whirl of black fur!
P.P.S. Oh, and the name ‘Toxicodendron‘ for poison ivy makes me laugh! Not to be confused with a Rhododendron, this is a TOXICodendron!
God’s country indeed! Those are some great shots. Yesterday it hailed here and today might be more of the same. Thanks for the photos – it makes me remember what late spring is like elsewhere.
You seem to have the gift of seeing wonderful shots, especially the next to last one of the pool with reflection from above. That’s incredible. Even though the wildflowers are close to home, it’s amazing how many we don’t see. Have to get with the hiking program. Audubon has let me down again. Can’t ID that flower
That shot of the reflecting pool is AWESOME! Good eye and thanks for sharing these Kate!
It’s so beautiful! I miss the desert.
But my boyfriend is a true northwesterner & needs his huge trees and lots of green. We may settle in Bend, though. We’ll see!
Love your updates & photos! I’m still keeping too busy at school, but let’s catch up in the summer!
Hi Katie. What a beautiful hike. I never knew that the desert could support poison ivy. What a tough plant that is. i guess it is found all over continental US. I used to be impervious to it but after turning 35 i suddenly began being affected and now have to watch out for it. It sneaks into the garden every once in a while along the fence line.
What wonderful and beautiful sites – Made just for photographers – Hope everyone and all ia/are well
I miss hiking with you in the rocks. I’m glad you get to do it though.
I love the pictures. I miss the desert so much. Thanks for the wonderful reminder of home.
Haaay Katie!
Looking forward to a visit! Nice pix…Thanks for the fix.
Thanks, everyone!
Jeff – I am sorry about your bad weather! Spend more time in Arizona!
Sonja (AKA ‘mom’) – I guess they can’t put EVERY wildflower in the books…sure wish they could, though.
Mark – No problem! I am happy to be able to share these photos with everyone. Not everyone lives in such a lovely place.
Melissa – I would LOVE to catch up with you this summer! I will keep in touch, and let you know what’s going on!
Lorraine – Actually – I think I may have gotten a touch of poison ivy on my legs. UGH. Never happened before.
Uncle Roger – Glad to hear from you! Everything and everyone is fine in these parts. Hope you’re well, too!
Janet – I miss you, too. Come to Moab! We have room – even a bed for you guys!
Jessie – Moab is lovely in the spring…a good place for a vacation! I am sorry I missed your reception. I hope everything is going great for you, and married life is treating you well!
Zhayn – You’re welcome. Anything I can do! I am so glad you’re coming HOME soon, so we can play!
Thank you for sharing your hike near **your town**
and all of the fabulous photographs. I love getting the reminder of spring beauty in the desert! Like everyone else, I really love the reflecting pool/pothole shot. Wow.
Whoa! You have some incredible shots and I was surprised to see Mindy being carried; we never had to worry about that for a very long time. In fact I don’t think we’ve worried about that since she was a puppy.
Oh God, I miss Moab! Oops–sorry for revealing the secret place