The weather...it's getting hotter! Yesterday and today the temps rose into the 90sF.
Catalina SP is located adjacent to Coronado National Forest on the western slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The park has an average elevation of 3,000 but varies dramatically with high ridges and low creek beds or washes.
The first trail we took was the Nature Trail...it's a 1 mile loop.
The wildflowers were almost gone, but I did get a few pretty photos.
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| Couldn't find this one...any ideas? |
The bees and butterflies were busy too!
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| a hedgehog cactus |
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| I think that's a grasshopper... |
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| Beautiful views to enjoy! |
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| Larkspur |
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| Bristle Bush |
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| Blackfoot daisy |
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| Lots more prickly pear blooms. |
These not so little grasshoppers were jumping everywhere...the most frequently observed insect of the day!
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| Wire Lettuce/ Desert Straw |
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| Spiny Lizard |
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| Nice trails...Joe searching for a rattlesnake! |
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| A dead saguaro...a bird's home. |
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| A pretty view from the top of the loop. |
They usually blend in with the color of their surroundings.
They have pointed scales on their back.
Desert horned lizards eat ants, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and some plant parts.
Joe found a neat little tri-pod. It can sit on a rock, table, etc...the legs are flexible and bend so it's easy to adjust on an uneven surface...like the rock in the picture on the left. Or you can strap the closed tri-pod to a post, small tree, etc. 
The picture on the right is the one he took of us...pretty neat!
The nature trail was fun! No, Joe did not find a rattlesnake, but the hiker in the picture below, who we passed on the trail, saw one just after he passed us up on the loop. EEKS!
We also did 2 other trails after our picnic. I will post those pictures next.
Hope you had a wonderful Wednesday! Thanks for checking our blog!
Y'all come back!
love the photos of the desert horned lizard! What a neat find. The purple "flower" is a Thistle.
ReplyDeleteLove the lizard!
ReplyDeleteThanks for so many beautiful wildflowers! The horned lizard is adorable...super ending! Glad you didn't find a rattlesnake!! Stay cool!
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful day you had, great pictures. We sure missed the desert this past winter. Not quite making it that far, next year!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the horned lizard had plenty of grasshoppers to snack on. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat lizard pics -- especially the last one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me on a desert safari. I love that little tripod; glad you showed it too. I didn't realize you would find larkspur in the desert. Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you didn't run into the rattlesnake, I would have retreated very fast, eeewww. Love the flowers. The lizard looks mad and doesn't seem to enjoy his picture being taken. :)
ReplyDeleteLoved all of the pictures! So happy you did not see a rattlesnake--my sister ran into one in Alabama last week--Thankfully, all went on their separate ways! Can't wait to see where you go next!!
ReplyDelete