We are Home

 I'm very behind due to poor internet and more company to hang out with, but we got home on March 27.

We so enjoyed our last state park in St. George, Utah, that we intended to stay an extra two days but then we read the weather forecast - snow! So we decided we'd just head straight home. 

The first day we drove 729 km to Twin Falls, Idaho, and stayed in their Walmart parking lot.

There was snow on the windshield the next morning.

The next day we drove 550 km to Wildhorse Casino and stayed in their parking lot.  

It was a convenient place to stay right off the freeway.  The place was hopping.  The casino was huge with many many slot machines, but there was also a bowling alley, a cinema and a food court. We don't gamble but we did have a mediocre meal in their food court.

The next day we were were going to drive back into BC but the sun came out and we decided to stop early and spend the afternoon in beautiful Sun Lakes - Dry Falls State Park in Washington.

It's called called dry falls because when the ice age glaciers were melting, there was a 30-mile long waterfall over the cliffs that line either side of the coulee.

 It makes for a dramatic landscape.

Camped up at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park.

Leo and Mark pretending to dive into the lake.

We had such a good day we were no longer in a hurry to get home and planned to camp at Bear Creek Provincial Park in West Kelowna.

But the next morning it was cold, gray and snowing so we just drove all they way home, 719 km, which took us 12 hours.

Good to be home.  I'll work on the rest of the blog entries for this adventures.

But the next morning 

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

This is the first time we've stayed at Dead Horse State Park. It's in Cottonwood, Arizona, not far from the better known Sedona.

The park has three man-made ponds that are as popular with local fishers as they are with the local wildlife.

This eagle was flying overhead.

We saw a mourning dove,

Western bluebirds,

This heron was very obliging.

The oak trees were full of mistletoe.

We saw beaver and heard coyotes howling.

The park right near Cottonwood's downtown.

Cottonwood has become a wine centre and the old downtown was full of wine tasting rooms and tourists since we were last here in 2017.

We had a few meals at this former gas station turned retro diner.

Birds of Lost Dutchman State Park

Leo spotted this Harris's hawk sitting on a picnic shelter.  I'd never seen one before except as part of the raptor demonstration at the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson.  These hawks are unique because they hunt cooperatively in groups of up to seven and all members contribute to feed young.

We had Anna's hummingbirds come to our feeder.

Female Anna's Hummingbird

We had cactus wrens and curve-billed thrashers nesting next to our campsite.

Curve-billed thrasher

Both species nest in cholla cactus.

Mark admires a cholla cactus (centre of photo)

The cactus wren builds a nest of grasses deep inside the cholla. The cactus prickles and small entrance make it hard for predators to gain access.

The thrasher builds a nest of thorny twigs then weaves a fine lining of hay and down.

This nest had two chicks inside.

Here the thrasher protects its territory from the top of a saguaro.

Lost Dutchman State Park

Our friends Mark and Leah met us in Lost Dutchman State Park at the footof the Superstition mountains east of  Phoenix.

While most of us stuck to the trails leading to the base of the mountains

Leo climbed the steep trail up to the basin of the Syphon Drain.

The basin

View down fom the basin

We had several rainstorms which left snow on the distant Four Peaks range.

Last year we hike up to the other side of the Four Peaks Wilderness from Roosevelt Lake.

In response to the rain the flowers started to bloom, including the hummingbird flower the chuparosa

And the abundant brittlebush. 

Back in 2017 there was a super bloom of the brittlebush that played havoc with Leo's allergies.

The Superstitions during the golden hour

 

San Pedro House

San Pedro House is a former ranch house converted to a nature house located along the San Pedro River with the ranch converted to a nature sanctuary.

The fields are reverting to their natural habitat.

These fields are usually filled with Brewers and other sparrows but were strangely quiet on this day.

As always we love the giant Fremont cottonwoods growing along the river.

See, giant

We were lucky to see two great blue herons on their nest. Bird of the Day!

There are man-made ponds on the property where we saw some large turtles.

Always happy to see the poster bird for southeastern Arizona!

Vermilion Flycatcher

And we saw this canyon towhee at the feeders by the nature house.

Bisbee Art Town

 After our successful bird walk we met up with Mark and Patti in downtown Bisbee.

When we first drove into town we were greeted with a crazy detour around main street leading us up and down narrow alleys. Now we found out that two buildings on the main street had burned down and were cordoned off while they figured out if they were going to collapse (see above photo).

This led us to one of Bisbee's famous stairways.  This was was turned into an art gallery.

Here I am perusing some of the art:

Photo thanks to Patti

More art in the stairwell:

In another alley we found some graffiti.  

Patti wanted to pose with this image because a few days earlier she'd bought a package of Morton's salt out of nostalgia for her childhood.

More wall art;

This one has an inspirational message:

Patti posed next to these iron door that had pickaxe heads for handles. Behind the doorway was a leafy patio available for weddings and other events.

We walked between these two stately buildings.

Here's a desert themed piece that harmonizes with the Bisbee brick.

Further up the road we passed this brightly coloured restaurant.

Complete with giant fly.

We wound up at the art-deco courthouse.

With its cactus themed detailing.