This past week didn’t hold as many adventures as previous weeks, and while we did make our bimonthly trip into Silver, we didn’t do anything besides our shopping. We didn’t explore or have lunch out this time, which I worried would leave me a bit thin on blog material. I have, however, been squirreling away other things that I want to remember and share. Also, we rounded out the week with one big hike, and some of that, combined with my storehouse of other treasures, should be enough to keep us entertained for a while. Let’s find out!
We are not in an area particularly known for its spectacular birding or wildflower displays, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer a decent amount of both if you keep your eyes open and exercise patience.
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| A New Mexico icon, the Blanketflower brightens the landscape in small clusters. |
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| Acorn Woodpeckers love to slurp up the hummy food, and if they break my feeder, there will be woodpecker stew on the menu. |
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| Golden Columbine lights up the shady banks of the river and the canyon walls. |
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| The second-most frequent visitor to my feeder, the broad-tailed hummingbird’s fuchsia gorget appears maroon when shaded. |
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| The Pricklepoppy is blooming everywhere and is the one I am most frequently asked to identify. |
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| A female Black-headed Grosbeak who was keeping a sharp eye on… |
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| this friendly fellow, a Spotted Towhee. This pretty boy comes to call daily when I am working at the trailhead. |
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| Deer’s Ears Gentian, masquerading as leaves. |
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| What it lacks in coloration, the House Wren more than makes up for with its mellifluous serenade. |
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| New Mexico thistle peppers the landscape with its purple pompoms. |
We have seen many, many more birds and flowers than I have shared in this post but haven’t yet been able to capture in decent photos. Now that summer has officially arrived, more species will be showing up and blooming, and no doubt I will eventually be able to cobble together another post highlighting those.
I’d rather not have a repeat of our last hike, though.
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| West Fork Loop |
The guide shows it to be an 11-mile loop, but we clocked it at 12.5 when all was said and done. We also did it on a very hot day. “Very” for here was 96°. I think 96° is very hot anywhere, but folks who come in from the surrounding areas are experiencing temps in the 100s, so I guess we’re…still hot. If you’d like to seriously annoy me, tell me I shouldn’t be hot because somewhere else is hotter. It’s not a competition, people, although there are most definitely losers.
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| Cicadas. Also seriously annoying. |
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| Does this trail make me look hot? |
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| My favorite part of the first half was the espying of several adorable little prickle frogs. |
About halfway in, TBG asked me what I would or would not recommend to visitors about this trail. All I could come up with is that it climbs the highest of the park’s paths, offering the most panoramic views of the area. Not necessarily the best views, but the most expansive. The short answer was that I probably would not be recommending this hike at all.
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| West Fork in 3, Pain in 2 |
It was a very rocky trail in some sections, most often on the inclines/declines, which probably accounts for the blisters I got on the bottom of my right foot. Same boots as always, same sort of socks as always, not the most mileage we’ve ever done in either, but suddenly blisters. I’m no stoop, and I do carry stuff in my pack for such situations, but we had a few water crossings to complete at the end of the hike, and anything I would’ve put on my feet to provide blister-relief would have been rendered useless by the water. Maddening for the last couple miles, to say the least, but fortunately, not nearly as bad as they felt once I peeled my socks off.
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| At least the views were nice as we descended to the river. |
This hike completed the park’s suggested day hikes for us, and now we will be even better able to guide visitors for their explorations. We have by no means exhausted our hiking options – that couldn’t be done in a lifetime here – but now we will need to rely more on our map-reading skills, the GPS, and, mostly, the valuable advice from our local resident hikers. We will also have to keep a keen eye on the weather over the next two months.
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| Well, hello, Monsoon Season. You’re right on time. |
COMMENTS
Chasing Dirt Getting hit by lightning would totally suck. We are waiting for — eagerly anticipating? dreading? I can’t decide — the day when we have to shelter in the dwellings while a storm passes. I’ll be glad if I am back in one of those caves rather than on the down trail, though, which is totally exposed (because of a fire in 2012!) I should practice the squat-on-your-tiptoes position. The choice between being struck by lightning or stuck permanently in a tippy-toe squat — our sacrifices for the public good know no bounds! 😀
Ugh. Thanks for bringing up those horrifying memories. I’m gonna go have a good cry now.
Pretty photos though! I’ll try to keep them in mind while I cry myself to sleep.
Chasing Dirt Sorry for the terrorizing! My next post has nothing scary in it. I don’t think. A YouTube Pilates instructor I used to watch was terrified of butterflies. Butterflies! So, I guess I can’t guarantee anything. No spiders or insects, though. ❤
Sometimes its not in the in your face beauty that makes a hike
worthwhile, its the little things below like that prickle frog or the
whistle of the Towhee. And my favorite tune among them is the melodious
note of the Canyon Wren. And oh keep an eyes on those House Wrens, they
are cute but they build their nests under your slides or somewhere
there is a dark hole under Essie.
And speaking of monsoon, now might be a good time to check out White Water Canyon before it gets flooded 🙂
Chasing Dirt Yay, I knew you’d like birds! I’m excited for some more of the summer residents to show up. The rufous hummies and the blue grosbeak have been spotted down the road, so it’s only a matter of time until I espy them up here. Our VC video starts with the Canyon Wren’s song which is how we know it’s started properly, and then we go up to the dwellings where the real thing is filling the caves with its melody. We will definitely watch for those little wrens trying to make our home their home. Thanks for the heads-up! I don’t know if we’ll make the drive around to Whitewater from here, but I keep forgetting to tell you that Doc’s Outpost carries a bunch of the stuff from Udder Delight! 🙂
Lowe's Travels Oh. i thought the Whitewater is closer to you than from Silver 😦 Anyhow, yeah I loved those Udder Delight stuff, especially Midnight Cowgirl soap and lotion. Their lip balms/gloss are my fave too and I can only buy those at Natural stores. The melodious song of Canyon Wren is my ringtone, ooops, I think I already told you that 🙂
I love your little House Wren photo. It looks even better full size than in a text. :-)) And that Acorn Woodpecker! I didn’t realize that they’ll go for hummingbird nectar. I knew the Gila Woodpeckers do, so it makes sense. Very cool capture.
Chasing Dirt I know, 96 is way too hot. We both emptied our water bladders on that one. The cicadas seem to be ending their reign of terror for this year. Loud as hell, and more than one person reported that their sound drowned out that of a rattlesnake’s warning. Isn’t that fun?
It is a true hardship to have to do all of this hiking for the public good, but we are givers! LOL Like you, though, we also rely heavily on park workers and rangers to guide us to the best hikes, and we are so happy to be able to repay that service.
My little House Wren wouldn’t be properly identified without you! 🙂 I didn’t know about the woodpeckers, either, but we’ve had two hanging off that feeder at one time. Buggers!