Our final month of living in Green Valley AZ. Our temps are beginning to rise, 80's the first week of March! We do get some windy days (very high winds). We are finding new parks to walk around and some new hiking paths.
Phoenix lowered the age for the Covid vaccine to 55. It took us 45 minutes on two computers to get Eric scheduled for a shot. There was 50,000 doses and it took 2 hours to schedule all of them.
March 5 When we left the house the temp was 50 deg. by the time we arrived at the hiking trail up the mountain it was 35!
of course we both had shorts on, but I did have a winter coat, scarf etc.. The first 1/3 of a mile was a bit windy but we turned left and the mountain protected us from the wind. The trail is not too wide and pretty rocky and of course all up hill. We began our hike at 5400 ft.
to the top of Mt Wrightson is a 5 mile hike ending at over 9000 feet. We did not see any bears but one lady hiker had a bear bell attached to her back pack.
We only went about 1 mile up to 6000 ft. the sun was out and by the time we got back down the temp was 55! We were hoping to see a few new birds but no luck. We will have to try again before we leave.
Our neighbor (Mary Lou) says "If the mountains are Pink, its time for a drink! If the mountains are Gray, have one anyway"!
Oh Look the Mountains are Pink!!
March 6: As we were making our breakfast. There was a Bobcat walking thru our yard. Of course he chased away all of the birds, except one Mourning Dove. the dove sat very still on the wall, the cat slowly walked along the wall until he was right under the dove. Suddenly he jumped up and grabbed the dove. We all had breakfast at the same time!
March 9: We head to Phoenix (Glendale) this morning in order for Eric to get his first Pfizer shot. Its about 6 hours for us to get to State Farm Arena.
Waiting in line
Oh he is excited!
and here it is!
then it took another 45 minutes in line etc before we left the area. Not too bad, they had 10 lines open and it really moved pretty quickly. Next appointment at 3:30 AM on March 31st.
We stayed in Tempe for the night at a Doubletree. After checking into our room we went to "downtown" for a wonderful walk by the river and for a great dinner at Pedal Haus Brewery and Pub. Lots of outdoor dining, and although a bit windy the temp was about 80 deg.
Our weather is roller coaster style, Last weekend it was 85 deg, this weekend 55 with rain and winds, next weekend we will back in the mid to upper 80's. We appreciate the rain as it is badly needed. It is so dry here that the rain actually felt and smelled good. The weather does dictate where we go for our walks but doesn't stop us from walking. The plants and trees have been blooming, making for very sneezy mornings.
We began to work on our journey home. We should be there between April 14-18, depending on the weather. We will leave here on March 30 to go to Phoenix area so Eric can get his second dose of Pfizer. April 1 we will head to Sierra Vista, April 4 to Rodeo NM (Portal AZ was all booked up) and April 7 to Truth or Consequences NM for 3 nights. After that we will more than likely stay close to the freeways for one or two nights. Its about 1500 miles from Truth or Con to Birchwood, so we could make 300 miles a day and make it home in 5 days, but.... unlikely.
March 18: we went back to Old Baldy trail. Our goal was to find the Olive Warbler and to go 2.5 miles to Josephine Saddle at 7200 ft. We did find the bird along with a Painted Redstart! But we did not make it to the Saddle. We took about 1 hour to go 1 mile, we got to 6600 feet above sea level.
We found snow at 6000 feet
A bit on the trail
yes I made a snowball! waiting for Eric to take the picture, my hand froze!
We probably won't be back this year to get to the saddle but... maybe next year we will get there.
We did go 2 miles, 1200 ft up hill and 100 floors on the Fitbit, thinking that should have been 120 floors!
March 22: We went to Patagonia State Park for our final visit of the season. Beautiful day to be out hiking and birding. We went to Madera Canyon for a nighttime Owl hunt. The temp cooled down quite a bit when the sun went down and of course we were higher in elevation. But did hear the Whiskered Screech Owl. Was hoping for one more but... We have one week left to get up there.
More rain! We don't get too much not even a .10 of an inch but the winds get ferocious. We hung by the house for our walk, not sure if it was going to rain more. Lots of trails through the desert right behind us. We found a corral! with water running! Lots of Cow poop and birds in the water. While we were walking we found cows, they said hello and went back to browsing. We did find this sign by the mine.
All I can say is HMMM... OK we won't trespass.
Less than a week to go before we leave our little piece of paradise. We are ready to move on.
Found this little beauty on one of our walks.. no words needed!
One final nighttime look for the Northern Pygmy-Owl. No luck but maybe when we get to Sierra Vista or Portal we will get it.. All in all we did pretty good, not as many species as in South Texas but quite a few. Of course we do have our nemesis birds. Last year we could not find the Wood Duck in Cameron County, this year we can not find the Wood Duck in Pima county! People are there at exactly the same time as we are and yet they find the bird and we don't! Not a big deal as we have them by us at home but... We do have a few other elusive birds but so far they are all at home except for the little Owl.
Our final hike on the De Anza Trail by Tubac.
We so enjoyed our time here in Green Valley. The weather was cold, cool, warm and hot. Only a few days where we could not enjoy our patio. We really like the house and location. No complaints.
final night on the patio
March 30: After finishing up packing and putting the furniture back to where we think we found it, we left today for Chandler, Homewood Suites. Eric's appointment is at 3:30 AM (tonight/tomorrow). Pretty uneventful trip to Chandler. We did stop a few times, Sweetwater Preserve in Tucson, One or two more stops for birds. We got to the hotel by 2:00 pm and was able to get into the room. We found the business center so I could print out my application for my passport. We found a post office so that I could mail my renewal for my passport. Some times things work out A O K! We took a walk around our hotel area, found a wonderful BBQ place, We Can't Stop Smoking BBQ. We got meals to go, and boy were they Good! Carnitas for me, Brisket for Eric.
March 31: Short nights sleep as we got up at 2:30 to get to State Farm Arena in Glendale for Eric's 2nd Pfizer vaccine. Took us 25 minutes from the time we drove into the site to departure! Not too many people at that hour. The traffic to and back was pretty light, although Phoenix drivers do like to drive very very fast. So happy that is done...
After a nap and breakfast we headed out, going west to look for LeConte's Thrasher. Another stop to look for the Least Bittern before heading back to the hotel for nap #2. we did not find the bittern but did find a Barn Owl! such a cute face
We found the bird by finding the pellets (
Indigestible material left in the gizzard such as teeth, skulls, claws, and feathers are too dangerous to pass through the rest of the owl's digestive tract. To safely excrete this material, the owl's gizzard compacts it into a tight pellet that the owl regurgitates.) first! pretty big for such a small bird!
The weather is very conducive to naps! 88 degs and sunny. A dip in the pool before a good dinner at Copper Mine Moonshine Grill, right by our hotel. Beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy a cold one with good food.
We lost a friend today. Fred lost his battle with pneumonia early this afternoon. He fought hard. He loved adventures, being with friends, roaming the country that he loved, finding good food was almost a job, laughed at his own jokes, and loved a good campfire with a cold Miller Lite!
Keep the fire burning my friend..
Always entertaining. Great job Eric, your shot pic was inspiring 😷💉
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