Wetlands Preserve with Sue and Dave

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
April 21, 2016




If you are ever in Moab and want to enjoy a quiet, peaceful walk among the reeds, Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve is just the spot.    











From Main Street/Hwy 191 turn west onto Kane Creek Rd. at the McDonalds.  The preserve parking lot will be about .81 of a mile on the right.  It is well marked.



Joe and I had the pleasure of spending time with Sue and Dave (belugasexcellentadventure.blogspot.com) at this magical place where water meets earth...a stark contrast from the red rock cliffs that surround it. 

As we rounded a corner, we stopped dead in our tracks.  


It seems turkeys have the right of way.  Sue and Dave identified these as Rio Grande Wild Turkeys.

Rio Turkeys thrive in cottonwood river bottoms.  They eat pine nuts, acorns, juniper berries, grasses, weed seeds, and leafy green vegetation.  Benjamin Franklin called the wild turkey "a bird of courage" and if he had had his way, the wild turkey would be our country's national symbol.  These are the largest of all Utah's game birds.  

These handsome fellows were quite noisy and it's no wonder...courtship begins in early spring.  Miss turkey was headed the other way!

Sue also identified this Spotted Towhee.  What a beauty! They spend most of their time in leaf litter.  But I did read that spring is a good time to catch an unobstructed view of them as the males climb into the shrubs/trees to sing their buzzy songs. 

We also walked down to the Colorado river.

These Cinnamon Teals were having fun riding the current and then swimming back.  

Such a delightful day...

Until next time, happy days and...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Peavine and Lakeshore Trails

Distant Drums RV Resort
Camp Verde, AZ
April 4, 2016


Our first hike in Prescott left us wanting more so our next hiking day took us to Watson Lake.  We enjoyed a very pleasant day on the Peavine and Lakeshore trails.  Parking is off Sundog Ranch Road and there is a $3 fee for parking.  Peavine is a rails to trails project with great views of Watson Lake as well as a great place for birding.

















What was originally built by the Santa Fe Railway in 1893, today is open for hiking, biking and horseback riding. 

A pair of Northern Shovelers...It's elongated, spoon-like bill has comblike projections along the edges which filter out food from water.

After a mile on Peavine, we turned left on Lakeshore Trail and headed toward Watson Lake.  Watson Lake was created as a reservoir by the Chino Valley Irrigation project in 1916 when Granite Creek was damed.  The City of Prescott purchased both Watson and Willow Lakes and surrounding areas in 1998.  

I sure am glad! 

The Dells owe their distinctive forms to long-term weathering of natural cracks in granite.  Their cracks originated during the cooling and stressing of a deeply buried molten mass.  Geologist estimate that the granite here is about 1.4 billion years old.  

A pair of Ring-necked ducks

Cinnamon Teals...

It was a great day of birding and hiking...  two of my favorite things to do.  Joe and I enjoyed both days we spent in Granite Dells very much.  We hope to visit this area again...there are so many hikes on the map.  I do believe you could hike there everyday for several months and never do the same hike twice.  There are also lots of biking trails. 



Until next time, 

happy days and happy trails!