Below are a bunch of captioned pictures from our recent trip to Phoenix and Parker, Arizona.

Arliss, Mike and yours truly–we were hiking in a wash out past Shea Road.  Mike and Arliss are fun to wander with–they know all about the geology and flora and fauna of the desert.

Every rock and every plant is a new treasure.

Desert plant patterns are spectacular.

The color of the cliffs is fascinating, too.

Water only fills the wash once or twice a year, but the force has created canyons all over the desert and it forces shrubs to marry stones, as seen here.

Mike called these elk horn cactus.  The flowers came in various colors, from reddish orange to pure greenish yellow.

There are some giant bees in Arizona, but they were tough for me to photograph.  You can see one in the first photo here just to the right of the Ocotillo blossoms.  It is that giant shiny black bug.  The bees were just a bit smaller than hummingbirds, and probably heavier.

Ocotillos were blooming beautifully all over the desert.

Mesquite trees were blooming everywhere, as well.

The Colorado River runs very close to Arliss and Mike’s place and there were people out enjoying the water on hot days.

A dwarf form of Oenothera added a bright spot in the sand.

I haven’t identified this shrub with tubular flowers yet–it was in  a neighbor’s yard.

Opuntias take on a different kind of look in the spring.

Some other neighbors had a wonderful garden full of hybrid tea roses.  I couldn’t help but think of the water and chemicals they probably have to use to keep these beautiful flowers coming in the desert.

I’ve yet to identify this berry-sporting prickly shrub found in the washes near Parker.

I can’t imagine the berries last long if they are at all edible.

This hillside was regurgitating calcite in thin, translucent sheets.  I found several other hills like this in my hikes.

These shrubs turn lavender in the hot sun…and they blend in with the sand and rocks around them.

A smaller version of the above–its shadow gives it away.

Opuntias are hardcore survivors in the rocky desert.  Some have a lavender hue.

Close up of the same.

There isn’t a lot of wildlife out during the hot days, but these fence lizards scurried away frequently on my hikes.

This little guy had set up home right next to Arliss and Mike’s driveway.

Boat-tailed grackles take the place of crows in this environment.  Their vocalizations are more varied, but they have a similar sense of curiosity and boisterous charm.

Agave offsets–so tempting!

Lantana thrives in dooryards.

I found this boat in one of the washes.  The washes are used as garbage dumps by some and the water steals in own garbage when it really gets flowing, as well.

You can see the lines of different types of sediment/stone up the hillsides.

Views on some of my desert hikes.

Palos verde trees were in full bloom–this one was a  beacon at the top of a wash.

A large opuntia that had recently bloomed with fruit setting.

Barely hanging on a cliff.

This giant limestone-looking flat boulder was in the middle of a wash, having been excavated by recent floods.  It was probably six feet across, at least.

More views from a wash.  The sun and shadows are very different when you are walking in a canyon and I had to be very aware of the time so as not to get stuck trying to find my way out in the dark.

Much of the land looks like this.  It isn’t really dirt or sand–it is an aggregate of stone and sand pushed up from the earth.

Creosote bushes are amazing survivors.  They were the first and sometimes only settlers on barren ground.  They have a defense mechanism where they exude toxic chemicals that won’t let other plants grow nearby, including other creosote bushes.  So, they are spaced out quite a distance and the desert never really looks like a shrubbery.  It looks more like the bushes were planted by a machine on 12 foot axes.

Bougainvillea grow well in the desert, as well, but have to be watered.  I’m not fond of this, the most predominant hue, but it certainly stood out in a world where almost every flower is yellow.

I saw this hummer in a Mesquite–we were watching each other.

I’ve heard these called Mexican petunias–they are ruellias.

Very drought tolerant, apparently.

This beautiful Bauhinia tree is in the same garden as the tea roses mentioned earlier.  This yard is an oasis–lots of green plants and bright flowers and birds (they have multitudinous feeders).

You can see the great Orchid Tree leaves here, along with the graceful flowers.

I’ll post more pictures in the next day or two.