Butterfly Wonderland! and McDowell Sonoran Preserve

It doesn't rain often in Phoenix. Even if there are clouds with the possibility of creating precipitation; it either doesn't reach the ground, evaporating well before it gets there or the clouds skip over the Valley altogether. On a Monday, that wasn't the case. It rained and rained and rained. We took the opportunity to enjoy Butterfly Wonderland. 

Butterfly Wonderland is located in North Scottsdale and offers a short 3D movie of the Monarch butterfly migration to Mexico, a very large live butterfly exhibit, a small area featuring the stinging and venomous creatures of Arizona, and lastly a small room with fish and sting rays. 

The 3D movie was quite good and explained the Monarch migration using an analogy of a family and the daughter laying eggs and traveling north until she arrived in the Great Lakes region. The Monarchs that hatch in the Great Lakes Region in August/September are the butterflys that make the arduous migration back to Mexico to winter in the oyamel trees. It was a short 15 minute video and provided the average person with basic knowledge about Monarchs. 

We both really enjoyed the large butterfly room. There was a certain species that kept landing on Nate. The butterflies fly freely in this open greenhouse environment with plenty of opportunities to drink nectar from the flowers, water from the koi pond, and the fruit and sugar bowls set out for them. One man had a few butterflies land on his cheeks and he happily walked around displaying them. You are not allowed to touch the butterflies at all, if you want them off you just simply shake your clothing. There were also a few birds in the area to add some melodies. 

It's not the greatest picture, but you can see the butterfly's probiscus out drinking the nectar from these pink flowers.

The stinging creatures room was interesting and not the place I would ever want to be stuck; bees, scorpions, black widows...

As we exited the museum, it was still raining, however we were just in time for happy hour. We chose a place close to home that we haven't tried yet, Brathaus. It was a nice place to grab a beer (great selection), a Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese sauce, and Belgian frites with dipping sauces! The wings were pretty good too!

After the rain stopped and things began to dry quickly the next day, we were on to another adventure.

We have been exploring all the natural benefits of living in the Greater Phoenix area. Most recently, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is the latest checked off our bucket list of things to do while in Arizona. We were lucky to have waited until a relatively cool day (think 60s) after a day of rain.

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is a large area in Scottsdale that is free and offers many trails to hike, bike, and ride horses on. We began at the Bajada Nature Trail. It is a short interpretive loop, handicap accessible and pet friendly. It teaches people about the flora and fauna in the area as well as the geology of the area. The geology marker was interactive with samples of rocks one might find in the area. I learned many things about the desert ecosystem in this .5 mile loop. 

We started hiking on the Gateway Loop Trail and eventually broke off and ended up at Inspiration Point. It even rained on us up there, I guess a little added inspiration :)! We ended up hiking about 7.5 miles here! It was a great workout and the trails were not too difficult. There were a lot of ups and downs instead of a continuous incline, which I prefer. It was also a bit cloudy, which helped ease the intensity of the sun. 

I saw a little lizard and many beautiful wildflowers starting to change a brown/green landscape to a quite colorful with pops of yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and whites. In the coming weeks the cacti will begin to bloom as well, we saw evidence in many buds forming on prickly pears and ocotillo. 

Yesterday, I saw the prickly pear blossoms for the first time. The only ones with the true magenta flowers were the prickly pears in the median strip of Scottsdale Road. This however, does not detract from their beauty and only serves as an indicator for what we have to look forward to in our last month here. 

Until then...

Hanging out in Scottsdale

We have been living in Scottsdale for a little over a month now, however we haven't spent too much time here. Last night we visited Four Peaks Brewing Company, the largest microbrew in Arizona. Just to make sure we covered out bases, we shared a flight of their 8 mainstay beers. The bartenders were quite helpful, very friendly, and knowledgeable in their beers! To top off a wonderful beer experience, the food was very good as well!

This morning, we hiked Camelback Mountain. Every day we see it, as Camelback Mountain is visible from our balcony. This morning was cloudy and cool (60s) with a nice breeze. This made great weather for climbing ~3 miles and 1230ft. There are two trails that take you up and down this mountain, one is pet friendly and the other is not. We chose to take Kobi, therefore we settled on the Cholla Trail. 

The Cholla Trail has a difficult trail rating, we didn't think it was too bad. There is a nice crushed granite trail a majority of the way. Toward the top there is a bit more scrambling up rocks, large leaps, and tricky footing. I managed to scrape my lower left calf on one rock, but it was minor. Kobi and Nate came out unscathed. I would say the most difficult part of the experience was dodging other people. 

From the top, you could see the entire valley including many ballparks, Downtown Phoenix, many many golf courses, and some very nice homes with pools. You can also trace the valley by the surrounding mountains that seem to encircle Camelback Mountain.

I would do this one again in a heartbeat! Bring water!

Lost Dutchman State Park, Goldfield, and Apace Trail

One of the most wonderful things about this whole travel nursing gig, is that on any given day we can just go explore. Sometimes we have a rough sketch of what we would like to do and other days we just drive in a direction to see what we find. Generally, we haven't had too many plans and absolutely no time constraints which has made it all that more enjoyable. 

Wednesday proved to be another one of those days. I had been reading that the wildflowers are really starting to pop and hoped to catch some. When deciding where to go several things were thrown out on the table: Torilla Flat, Apache Trail, Lost Dutchman, Superstition Mountains, and Globe to recant a few. Coincidentally, we hit all of these in some capacity. 

Our first stop, Lost Dutchman. We were met at the state park gate by a friendly man with map in hand. He directed us to the Treasure Loop trail at 2.4 miles round trip. We decided that was the way to go and headed toward the Cholla Parking Lot. We have learned the important lesson to bring as much water as you can carry! 

The trail was crushed rock and was wide enough we could all walk together. There were a lot of people hiking too! We saw a lot of wildflowers starting to come out in shades of yellows, oranges, purples, and pinks. I'm not quite as familiar with these wildflowers, however I did recognize Mexican poppy and lupine. I learned a few more on the news this morning; brittlebush.

The trail was great and we decided to do an extra 1.5 because the weather was warm with a nice cool breeze. We headed down Prospectors Trail and headed back to the parking lot on the Crosscut Trail. Kobi was completely immersed in his new surroundings, paying close attention to anything that moved. Right paw up, tail erect, frozen! Just as we took note of his behavior a group of quails quickly scampered across the trail into a nearby shrub. What neat looking birds with the little curly on their heads!

After our descent from the trail, we doubled back a short distance to the Goldfield ghost town. Everything is just as they left it. We were greeted by the horn of train and an older couple singing. We walked about to see the bank, church, jail, saloon, and mine entrance. Even though we didn't stay long, it was well worth the stop. 

Right outside of Lost Dutchman State Park, the Apache Trail begins. Most of this scenic drive is paved however there are segments that are not. The road winds up and down through the Superstition Mountains, past three large lakes that were dammed up; Canyon Lake, Apache Lake, and Roosevelt Lake. These lakes are on the other side of Saguaro Lake that we recently visited. All lakes are welcome to recreation of all sorts and look like a hot spot when the temperature in the area soar above 100F. I'm glad we will not be around to experience these high temperatures.

Each lake was beautiful and expansive in it's own way. There were many places to stop and take a short hike, read some educational signage, and take a break at a restroom if needed. The wildflowers were starting to pop on this route too!

I really enjoying this route and if the temperature do get toasty while we are here, we will know where we can take a quick dip.