After Tucson, I headed to Phoenix but on the way I stopped by the Superstitions east of Phoenix in hope of some good photo ops. Although the time of day and lighting were less than optimal, it was still really fun hiking around the area and taking in the desert terrain.
An Ocatillo bloom close up with the Superstitions in the background.
A nice cactus flower.
Some short cacti in the front and a classic Saguaro in the back.
Saguaro cactus close up. Pretty tough plants!
Looking down from the top of Lookout Mountain in north central Phoenix. Our friends Greg and Felicia live in the development closest in the picture.
Another view from the top of Lookout Mountain.
Hanging out in Greg & Felicia's back yard, Lookout mountain in the background.
Greg, Felicia and Callie on the front porch.
Another Ocatillo bloom. I really enjoy the color and textures of these desert beauties.
A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher in the open space behind G&F's house, pretty cool!
On our way north towards Sedona, we stopped to do some birding at Hassayampa River preserve outside of Wickenburg.
The preserve has a pretty good mix of terrain along the riparian corridor and the partial shade of the trees was nice.
Anna's Hummingbird at the preserve.
Callie looking for birds :-)
Onward to Sedona for a little sight seeing etc. Nice afternoon lighting following a storm.
Another Sedona view in the afternoon light.
We decided to go deluxe and stay in a motel since the weather was a bit unsettled - this was a nice place to stay and a fine location for exploring Oak Creek etc.
We love the real estate in the area south of Sedona proper :-)
Callie looking for birds at Red Rock state park in Sedona. Oak Creek passes through this park, so there is some nice birding terrain.
After a day in Sedona, we started the drive home to CO. Here in the 4 corners area you can see the mass of Shiprock in northern New Mexico.
There were some pretty cool formations along with a lot of nothing in between Flagstaff AZ and Cortez CO on the drive.
After spending the night in Cortez, we spent the morning at Mesa Verde National Park checking out the views and ruins. Nice weather this day!
Looking back west towards Cortez from up high on the mesa.
The lovely Callie displaying the park high point sign after a short walk to the view area.
The main ruins at Mesa Verde. Pretty amazing building skills!
Close up of the main ruins. You can't get close without being on an official tour, so this was as close as we got...
Callie and the canyon on top of the mesa.
Arty tree/ruins shot...
Checking out the ruins.
Another set of ruins on the other side of the canyon, pretty cool. After this we did the 7 hour drive back to Boulder, a very fun trip!
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