Saguaro Lake, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Always seems strange to see lakes in such a dry environment.

The normal high here this time of year is 77 degrees – this week it has been pushing records highs, with temperatures in the upper 80’s.  Unfortunately it is really cooking the wildflowers.  I have been concentrating entirely on scenics with flowers – the travel, city, recreation and wildlife stuff can wait until the wildflowers are gone, which may not be long.

We have traveled all the way to Globe, and I must say the best wildflowers in the Phoenix area are in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and out at Saguaro Lake.  Granted, there are a lot of areas left for us to explore, I’m sure there are other jewels, but you can’t go wrong with these two locations.

 I love the rich colors and textures in the landscape right now.  This photo is from McDowell.  I hope to post a photo from Saguaro Lake tomorrow.

Check out our Phoenix Photos.

Mountain biking on the Competitive Trails in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, near Phoenix, Arizona.

I have tried shooting from my bike while using a slow shutter speed before, with poor results.  I think having the trail lined with bright, colorful poppies really helped this attempt.  These trails are really fun!

Here are more mountain biking photos.

More McDowell wildflowers.  The bright colors in some of the hills are amazing for the desert.

Chuparosa or Hummingbird-Bush with a Saguaro Cactus, in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, near Phoenix, Arizona.

We had an exciting experience today – saw a Desert Tortoise while mountain biking!  The Desert Tortoise spends 95% of its life in a burrow, so it is really exciting to see one.  I rode back to my truck and grabbed my camera, but much to my surprise, we were unable to find it again!  How can a turtle disappear so fast – I guess that is how it beat the hare.  🙂  So unfortunately, you get a picture of wildflowers today instead of a tortoise – maybe we will find him tomorrow.

Wildflowers at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, not far from Phoenix, Arizona.

Petal peepers in the Phoenix area won’t be disappointed in this years wildflowers!  We were here last year – wow, this looks like an entirely different place!  All the green plant life alone is a shocker.  There are a wide variety of flowers colorful flowers to be found, a real treat!

The bright colored flowers in the foreground are Purple Owl’s Clover.  In the mid-ground is a great patch of poppies, unfortunately they closed up before sunset.  You can see the Four Peaks off in the distance, and way off in the distance is a near full moon.

This was another time that a graduated neutral density filter came in handy!

We now have a section of McDowell Mountain Regional Park photos.