Aravaipa Wilderness Area

The Aravaipa Wilderness Preserve is a federal Wilderness Area managed by BLM. Access into Aravaipa Canyon is by permit only and available only through BLM. Its elevation ranges from 2,800 feet at the west end of the canyon bottom to 6,150 feet on Table Mountain. The 10-mile long central gorge cuts through the northern end of the Galiuro Mountains. The pristine Aravaipa Creek flows perennially and is the heart of the preserve and canyon. The creek is a tributary of the San Pedro River and shelters the best remaining assemblage of desert fishes in Arizona, with seven native species.  Two of these species are federally listed as threatened—the spikedace and loach minnow. Among the more than 200 species of birds found at Aravaipa are black and zone-tailed hawks, peregrine falcon, yellow-billed cuckoo, Bell’s vireo, and beardless tyrannulet. Among the larger mammals that roam the canyon rim and bottomlands are mountain lion, coatimundi, ringtailed cats, black bear, and desert bighorn sheep. In the spring, colorful native wildflowers such as lupine, four o’clock, monkey flowers, columbine and other, more rare species can be seen along Aravaipa Creek. You can hike the ten miles from one side to the other. You'll need a full day for the entire hike as the going is slow in places. There are not only water crossings, but there are several places where simply walking in the creek is the easiest route. If this is the plan, you will need a driver to drop you off at one side and pick you up at the other. The drive from one side to the other is 250 miles and about five hours. Obviously, you can also walk into the canyon from one trail head or the other for a couple of miles and back to the same trailhead. This is what we have done (from both the east and west trailheads). The West Trailhead is about an hour and a half from us. The East Trailhead is about three and a half hours from us. As I have said, I am not a landscape photographer but here are a few of the photos of the canyon:

Entering the Canyon in Aravaipa Creek

Saguaros seem to grow out of the rock in the canyon walls.

One of many waterfalls. 

Devils Half Acre Canyon

Saguaro National Park

I thought I'd take a drive this morning at dawn around Saguaro National Park. I was hoping to maybe see a mountain lion or bobcat. And, although I drew a blank, I did find something to photograph:

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel

White Winged Dove eating the fruit of a Saguaro Cactus

Still More from Lake Cochise

The best time at Lake Cochise is early spring and fall. This is when the most birds migrate through Arizona. There are some who stay for the winter. Few, though, stay for the Summer. However, the surrounding are is year round home to a few species such as this Scaled Quail and this Western Kingbird:.

Scaled Quail

Western Kingbird

Lake Cochise - Part III

Lake Cochise is an excellent "bird watching" site. A dirt road circles the lake so you can use your car as a "blind." There are also some blinds built around the lake with telescopes to get a personal up-close view. Here are some of the shorebirds I have photographed there:

Killdeer

Spotted Sandpiper (breeding plumage)

Sanderling

Marbled Gotwit

Wilson's Phalarope (female breeding plumage)

Lake Cochise - Part II

Lake Cochise is a very shallow lake; I would guess about 30 acres situated in the middle of the desert. Although its size varies by season, there is always water. Here are some of the larger visitors:

Cattle Egret

Snowy Egret

Great Blue Heron

Black Crown Night Heron

White Pelican

(American Avocet & Black Neck Stilt)

Lake Cochise

After 18 years in the Seattle area, the move to Tucson was a startling contrast in just about every category. There aren't a lot of snakes and lizards in Western Washington. What there are a lot of is waterbirds (fresh & salt). There are spots to go at low tide and find hundreds of Great Blue Herons, thousands of sandpipers, and a whole host of other birds. Arizona, on the other hand, is not noted for its waterbirds. And yet, there are a couple of spots that provide water for migratory birds. One such spot is Lake Cochise which is near Willcox, Arizona, about 30 miles from the Chiricahua Mountains. Here are some of my favorite photos from Lake Cochise in Arizona:

Long Billed Curlew in foreground, American Avocet in background

Black Necked Stilt

White Faced Ibis

American Avocet

Thistles and Thistles

Yesterday, Christine and I hiked Sawmill Canyon, which is in the Huachuca Mountains. Access is through Garden Canyon on the US Military Base (Fort Huachuca). It would have been exciting to find a bear or a coatimundi, but we had to settle for thistles. "Settling" for thistles isn't quite as bad as it sounds. When in bloom, thistles are actually quite beautiful like these with a Cloudless Sulphur:

But, also we found a female Black Chin Hummingbird that liked the thistles too:

As well as this Pipevine Swallowtail:

This Giant Swallowtail:

This Anise Swallowtail:

And, finally these Cloudless and Southern Dogface Sulphurs:

So even though we didn't find any bears or coatimundi, we had a great hike and some very nice photos.