Hit the Trails in Support of Phoenix Desert Mountain Parks and Preserves



Photo by Loren Worthington

 These trails don't just maintain themselves!  So come out in support of the Phoenix Parks Trails Fund - established to to maintain and preserve over 200 miles of trails throughout the City of Phoenix desert mountain parks and preserves.  Sign up for the Phoenix Summit Challenge - a non-competitive hiking event that embraces various ages, abilities, and fitness levels to challenge an individual's mind and body while enhancing the quality of life and promoting healthy outdoor recreation. Participants are challenged on barrier-free and summit trails in the mountain preserves and parks of Phoenix. Register HERE for All-Access-Paved Challenge. Hike four wheelchair/stroller friendly trails of the Phoenix Parks! One Day - 4.5 miles -  10 hours

• Papago Park
• South Mountain
• Rio Salado
• North Mountain

Saturday, Nov. 6th, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Check-in begins at 7 a.m. At the conclusion of the event, join everyone from 5-8 pm on Sunday for a celebratory dinner at the Phoenix Zoo and free admission to Zoo Lights. Additional dinner tickets can be purchased for guests at the door for $10. All participants will receive a commemorative tee-shirt and dinner pass.

Birds Watching the 202

Great Egrets in the Tempe Marsh watching traffic on the 202

I wonder if any of those evening rush hour drivers whizzing by on the 202 have any idea of the hidden beauty just to their right, or even realize they are being watched.

McDowell Mountain Park Bird Walk

Phainopepla and Northern Mockingbird sharing the mistletoe berries.

I finally made it out to McDowell Mountain Park for one of their Bird Walks led by Ranger Amy Ford (a long time birder with a great ear for identifying bird calls).   To my surprise, no one else showed up for the walk, so it was just the two of us on the ADA accessible Nursery Tank Trail.  It was a great opportunity for me to really listen to the bird calls, with Amy there telling me who was talking to who. 

Park Ranger Amy Ford

I was amazed that someone could differentiate between so many similar calls!  (Don't tell anyone, but I think she might be part-bird, I think I saw what looked like a flight feather poking out of one sleeve.)  The highlight of the walk was when a Cooper's Hawk swooped down in front of us when we reached the tank, which was quite full from all the recent storms.  Birds seen included: Phainopepla, Northern mockingbird, Black-throated sparrow, Canyon towhee, Cooper’s hawk, Gambel’s quail, Common Raven, Mourning Dove, House finch, Turkey vulture, and Curve-billed thrasher.  Birds heard included:  Verdin, White-throated sparrow, Northern Flicker, Gila Woodpecker, Cardinal, Black-tailed gnatcatcher, and Ladder-backed woodpecker.  Critters seen:  Lesser Earless lizard, Spiny lizard, Whiptail lizard, and Harris’ antelope ground squirrel.

Scarlett chowing down on a strawberry.

If you go to McDowell Mountain Park, be sure to check out the Nature Center, and the great new Desert Tortoise Habitat out back and meet the three dames of the desert - Lady, Scarlett, and Lily.  The Phoenix Herpetological Society has over 300 Arizona Desert Tortoises that need homes and are up for adoption.  If you're interested, carefully read their Arizona Desert Tortoise Adoption Packet and see what the requirements are.

Yours truly on the ADA accessible Nursery Tank Trail

 

The next ADA accessible walk at McDowell Mountain Park is Friday, October 29th, 9 AM to 10 AM, and will meet at Nursery Tank Trailhead.  Ranger Amy will be showing us which desert plants are edible, and I'm sure you'll see a few birds along the way!

 

Northern Cardinal checking out
the new Desert Tortoise Habitat



Lady, the habitat's Grand Dame, is rumored to be over 50 years
old, but shhhhh!  A Lady never tells her true age!



For more photos and details about Nursery Tank Trail's wheelchair accessibility, see my July 16th. 2010 post .

Check Out the New Fall Color Page

Its the first day of Autumn though at 97 degrees it hardly feels like it here in the Valley.  For a taste of true fall weather, head north and take in the views of Arizona's beautiful fall foliage.  Check out our new FALL COLOR page!  You'll find:

• Links to Arizona Fall Foliage Updates
• Wheelchair Accessible Fall Hikes
• Fall Color Railroad Tours
• Fun Fall Events
• Fall Native Plants Sales (The best way to attract wildlife to your yard is to landscape with native plants!)

Don't forget, its Bye Bye Buzzards Day this Saturday at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, and Verde River Days this Saturday and Sunday at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood.  Both parks have great wheelchair accessible trails.

For more details on the accessibility of these 2 beautiful state parks, see AccessingArizona.com :

Dead Horse Ranch

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Desert Tortoise Habitat Grand Opening

Desert Tortoise poster above is available from AZ Game and Fish in limited quantities.

So maybe they don't fly, but you just can't help but love this great denizen of the desert.  On October 1st at McDowell Mountain Regional Park it is the Grand Opening of the Tortoise Habitat along with a Tortoise Adoption Awareness Event. Join other tortoise lovers in celebrating the opening of this beautiful, huge tortoise exhibit and meet Scarlett, Lady, and Lily who will move into their brand new ‘digs’ at McDowell Mountain Park. Due to the many foreclosures and people moving in Phoenix, there are many tortoises in the care of the Phoenix Herpetological Society that need new homes. Find out how you could adopt a tortoise into your family—a lifelong commitment.  10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Friday, October 1st at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park Visitor Center. No registration required, park entry fee is $6 per car.  For more info Contact: amyford@mail.maricopa.gov 480-471-0173 x201.

Oak Leaf Owl

Oak leaves form an eerie cock-eyed owl.

Hairy Woodpecker

On a recent trip to Show Low, Arizona, I was hard pressed to get a good long look at any birds. Most were high overhead flitting from tree top to tree top, steering clear of the big gnarly Ravens.that seem to have taken over the area.  I had expected to sit back on my parents porch and blissfully watch Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches and Hummingbirds whizzing by.  Instead, I watched huge black Ravens walking around the neighborhood like free-range chickens!  It took days to accumulate just a few far-off photos of my wish-list of birds. 

Pygmy Nuthatch

Rufous Hummingbird

Steller's Jay

Free Access Pass

Save money on National Park entry fees by getting a free lifetime access pass for citizens with permanent disabilities.  The pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by four Department of the Interior agencies – the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.

The interagency pass is good at vehicle-based entry sites for all occupants in a single, non-commercial vehicle. At walk-up sites, the pass is good for the pass holder and three adults (total of four adults). There is no charge for children under 16.

Documentation is required to obtain the pass. Acceptable documentation includes: statement by a licensed physician; document issued by a Federal agency such as the Veteran’s Administration, Social Security Disability Income or Supplemental Security Income; or document issued by a State agency such as a vocational rehabilitation agency.
 
Unfortunately, the Access Pass is not valid at State Parks or local city/county recreation sites.
 
An Access Pass can be obtained in person from a participating Federal recreation site or office.

• Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/
• Bureau of Reclamation http://www.usbr.gov/
• Fish & Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov/
• USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/
• National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/

For more information about the America the Beautiful Access Pass go to http://store.usgs.gov/pass/access.html .