SPRING IS COMING TO THE DESERT

THERE IS GREEN ON THEM THAR HILLS!

We are obsessed with water in Arizona and love to look at it. When we have a storm during the day my favorite place to be is on the patio to watch. There's usually lightning and if I'm lucky maybe some hail. If the desert gets a lot of rain during the winter we are all be able to see the results in spring. The first thing that happens is the desert floor and the hills turn green. After that the wildflowers make their appearance.

I read an article that a green kingfisher had been spotted for the first time at the Hassayampa River Preserve near Wickenburg. So off we went. I did not expect to spot this rarity but what an excuse for a day trip! Larry drove and I clicked pictures. All the green growth on the usually barren surface is so pretty.

After lunch in Wickenburg which is NW of Phoenix we drove through town and I could see spring beginning. At the old depot spring bulbs were in bloom and the trees were flowering for the residents.

Wickenburg looks like a western town. Henry Wickenburg came looking for gold in 1863. It is famous for lots of reasons. Merv Griffin had a dude ranch nearby. Vice President Dan Quail grew up there. There are well known medical facilities for addiction treatments. The town gets lots of traffic from people on the way to Vegas. So much traffic that a bypass has been completed and it's now possible to skip the historic western atmosphere at the newly created circle.

We met a couple at the depot who come every spring to get their airplane painted. Huh, I never would have guessed that reason for visiting Wickenburg. A train rumbled through beside the display train. By the time my brain processed what a great photo it would be I only had time to point and click.

Now, for the river preserve. The visitor center had several hummingbird feeders and the birds were busy. We wandered about on the trails and heard lots of bird calls. I did see one woodpecker. The river is running fast and furious right now but you can see debris at least another story high caught on branches and I can't imagine the power of that amount of water. Trails aside the river are all sand and I thought we were at the beach. Huge trees and undergrowth provide a lot of shade and viewing benches are plentiful. We had a long walk and Larry remarked that it would be a good place to take the grandchildren. We enjoyed our day trip to a place I had always intended to explore since moving here in 1987. I'll cross it off the list and go back again.