Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Arizona”
The world's largest fountain, Fountain Hills, Arizona.
We are back in Arizona packing up gear and shipping it back to Alaska for our return home. It has been a great trip, but it will be nice to be home.
I knew before I returned to Fountain Hills that sunset and the fountain would correspond this time of year. When I saw clouds staring to form last night I knew I would have near perfect conditions.
Janine kayaking in a cave on the Colorado River, Arizona.
Thursday, after I wrapped up my time at the NAB Conference we brought couple of friends from back home kayaking on the Colorado River – one of my favorite things to do when staying in Las Vegas!
Since I had photographed this stretch of river a couple years ago, and because all my dry bags were back in Alaska – I decided not to bring my camera. Big mistake! This cave which had visited before looked spectacular – much, much better then before. So the following day (last Friday), Janine and I bought a dry bag at REI and drove back to Willow Beach, rented kayaks and repeated the trip. That was ok with me since it was so much fun paddling on such warm weather.
So why was the cave so much better? Since the temps were in the mid 90’s, the demand for electricity to power air conditioners in Las Vegas has increased substantially. To produce the extra electricity, they had to push far more water through the turbines at Hover Dam which increased the water level a fair amount over our previous visit during the cool month of November Evidently the extra water level is perfect for filling the cave, and that really increases the access to the amazing sight.
I have said this before, but I would really like to do a over night trip on this stretch of river, it is really beautiful. We even saw some desert bighorn along the banks!
Great Horned Owl on a nest, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, near Phoenix, Arizona.
What doesn’t show in photos but does in video are two little white puff balls that popped up from time to time – newborn chicks.
As I was driving to this nest before sunrise the past Saturday morning the radio DJ was joking about how he clearly didn’t win the giant Mega Lottery because if he had, he wouldn’t be at work on the radio that morning. I thought to myself that if I had won, I’m pretty sure I would have still be heading off in the morning with my camera to watch a nesting Great Horned Owl – I suppose that is a pretty good sign that you are doing what you love.
Superstition Mountains, Superstitions Mountain State Park, Arizona.
A few people have asked me about the wildflower conditions in Arizona this year. It is better then California, but it still isn’t very good. But there is a bit of good news, but more on that later.
As we drove across the desert areas of California a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t even see wildflowers along the edges of the highway – a place you can almost always count on some color thanks to the concentrated water run-off. Almost from the moment we past into Arizona we started seeing wildflowers, but unfortunately, they are largely found on the shoulder of the roadways.
There are a few flowers here and there especially in washes. But, in areas where some years you could find thick fields of poppies, you might see a few dozen. On hillsides that can be solid yellow with brittlebush, this year there are just a few patches. One of the best places I have seen for brittlebush is on the hillsides of the Superstition Mountains. Unfortunately even many of those blooms are cooked, and you have to really search to find some decent looking plants. So far I haven’t seen a place that I would say is a must visit.
So what is the good news? I have been seeing lots of cactus beginning to bloom and the large rainstorm that past through this area certainly can’t hurt – I think Fort McDowell received 3/4 of a inch about a week ago. For exercise I have been mountain biking in McDowell Mountain Regional Park and over the past week I have seen a increase in the number of blooming cactus. The same is true for areas of Tonto National Forest. I found the above bloom last night at the Superstition Mountains – here blooming cactus was harder to find, as this was the only one I spotted. But for flower fans, the beginning cactus bloom in some areas should be welcome news.
Sedona, Arizona.
A large winter storm passed through the West this past weekend hitting Arizona head on. The ski areas in Northern Arizona received almost 5 feet of snow – I’m always surprised at how snowy parts of Arizona can be.
The same storm dumped 4 or 5 inches of snow on Sedona – a rare treat! So, yesterday (Monday) morning we raced up there catching the end of the snow storm. We hung around until after sunset capturing lots of images, videos and time-lapses – it really was beautiful!
It looked very different then it did during warmer visits: Sedona, Arizona photos.
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