Happy hiking!

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Out in the Superstitions, we haven’t seen too much blooming action.   Some thistle are blooming and the hedgehogs are blooming there as well. Still not many brittlebush with color yet and the Sumac still has a ways to go before we see any color there. But, we will be heading out there again soon, so we’ll see if anything has changed.

That’s the update for now.  Stay tuned as we head further into Spring!

The Phoenix Mountains Preserve (Piestewa Peak Park) seems to have the most variety of blooming flowers as of today.  There are plenty of beautiful blooming Hedgehogs cacti to see as well as blooming Pincushions. The trick is to wait until the sun warms them up a bit and they will open up and show off their gorgeous colors! Other plants starting to bloom in earnest in the Piestewa area are the Creosote bushes and the Brittlebush plants.  I also saw plenty of Scorpion Weed and Fiddlenecks as well as some Poppies here and there. Oh and the Ocotillo look outstanding!  The Buckhorn chollas are producing tons of buds so once they start blooming it will be fantastic!

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve – depending on which trail you take has different flowers blooming as well. Today along the Gateway Loop, I saw plenty of blooming bright fushia pink flowers on a number of Hedgehogs, didn’t see any Pincushions, some Brittlebush are starting to show their color and the Creosote are not too far behind. No Ironwood trees are showing anything yet, nor are the Palo Verdes. The remaining cacti, including Prickly-pear, Teddy Bear chollas, Chain-fruit chollas and Saguaros are still some time off from showing anything. The Saguaros are some of the last to bloom, so don’t hold your breath there.

We will be heading out to the Superstitions this week, we’ll let you know how the blooms look there as soon as we get a report back in!  If you have seen anything in any other areas, let us know. We’d love to keep everyone up to date on the season. It only comes around once a year!

Call or email us with your updates!! Or just comment below and let us know what you’ve been seeing this week!

The Great Horned Owl

         The Great Horned Owl is one of twenty types of owls living in North America.  This report will tell about what the owl looks like, where it lives, what it eats and drinks, and will also give you some interesting facts about it. I found this bird to be fascinating and I hope you will too.

          The Great Horned Owl is brown and gray. It has big yellow eyes, a white throat, two feathery horns on top of its head called tufts, and gold colored disks made from feathers that frame its face. The owl has four powerful toes with very sharp claws called talons. The Great Horned Owl is one of the biggest types of owls and grows to be as big as two feet tall with a 3 ½ foot wingspan.

          Like many animals, the Great Horned Owl drinks only water. It eats small mammals, birds, small reptiles, and insects. It does not eat plants. It is purely a meat eater, in other words, a carnivore. The owl eats its prey whole.  However, the owl cannot digest all of the parts of its prey such as the fur, bones, feathers and teeth.  So it ends up spitting these parts it cannot digest back out. These parts that are spit back out are owl pellets.

          Great Horned Owls are common in both North and South America. You can find them in deserts, mountains, woodlands, canyons, near water, and in cities and suburbs. Usually these owls use the old nests of hawks, crows, ravens and other birds.  It will also use existing holes found in cactus, trees and rock cliffs as its home.

          The Great Horned Owl has excellent hearing. It is able to hear a mouse moving beneath a foot of snow!  The owl is sometimes called a cat owl because of the tufts on its head. But, the tufts on its head are not ears at all!  Its ears are actually holes found on the side of its head.  What’s really interesting is that one of the owl’s ears is set higher than the other.  By moving its head to equalize sound, the owl can align the source of the sound with its line of vision.

          It also has excellent eye sight. However, its eyes do not move, they are fixed in place in its head. The owl has to move its head to see what is around it. Even though it looks like it can turn its head in a complete circle, the owl cannot turn its head all the way around. It can turn its head 180 degrees each way. The owl does not see in color, it only sees black, white and shades of gray. An owl’s eyes do not work as well during the day as they do at night.  They can see when there is hardly any light at all.

          A few more interesting facts about the owl is that it can fly silently. This helps it to hunt at night. Also, the Great Horned Owl is one of the very few animals in the world that will kill skunks and porcupines. This owl is so fearless that it is sometimes called the flying tiger.  Owls do not form flocks. They always hunt alone. Also, did you know that they rarely fly in rain because their feathers are not waterproof?

          There  are many more facts to learn about the Great Horned Owl.  This report provided some information on what the owl looks like, where it lives, and what it eats and drinks. I hope you enjoyed my report about the owl as much as I enjoyed learning about it myself.

Bibliography

Tekiela, Stan. Birds of Arizona. Adventure Publications, Inc., 2003

Bessesen, Brooke. Look Who Lives in the Desert!. Arizona Highways, 2004

Jackson, Tom. Owls. Grolier, 2008

Gray, Mary Taylor. Watchable Birds of the Southwest. Mountain Press Publishing  

          Company,1998

With that said, we want to be able to share this beautiful landscape with more people. So, for this Spring (2011), we are offering great pricing for our guests. Furthermore, to encourage more families to experience, explore and enjoy the desert we are offering a great price that we have never been able to offer in the past.  Now, with each paying adult, a child (12 and under) hikes FREE.  If you happen to have more children hiking than you do paying adults, those extra kids get to hike at 50% off!  Also, kids ages 13-17 hike for 50% off as well regardless of the number of adults. 

Hiking is truly one of the most memorable ways to see the desert. You have the opportunity to see things up close that you may not discover otherwise, especially since our guides know where to look for you!  So, take advantage of this great pricing this Spring and join us for a fantastic hike in the Sonoran Desert.  Just call us at 480-634-8488 and we can help you pick out the excursion that is right for you!! Happy hiking!

Quinoa is a great source of protein with a protein content ranging between 12-18%. It provides a balanced set of essential amino acids and is a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free!  So there’s a little background for you on quinoa. The recipe below can be served warm or at room temperature. Some may prefer it chilled, but I found room temperature to be very good.  So try out this recipe (a little bit lengthy but well worth the effort) and let us know what you think!

Couscous/Quinoa Salad with Cucumber, Peppers and Tomatoes

• 1 cup (8 fl oz) water
• 1 cup (6 oz) couscous/quinoa mix – use Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend for the couscous and prepare it as directed on thepackage. Because the Harvest Blend contains couscous, quinoa, tri-colored orzo and garbanzo beans, this adds color and protein to the recipe.
• ½ tsp sale, plus salt to taste
• 1-2 green bell peppers
• ½ lb cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into ½-inch dice
• 1 small fresh red or green jalapeño or serrano chili pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/3 cup (½ oz) chopped fresh cilantro
• 3-4 Tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 4-5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• freshly ground pepper

Preheat a broiler.

Prepare couscous as directed on package. After stirring, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Uncover and transfer the couscous to a large, shallow baking dish, fluffing with a fork and spreading it evenly. Let cool completely. 

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stems, seeds and ribs. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet. Broil until the skins blacken and blister. Remove the baking sheet from the broiler, drape the peppers loosely with aluminum foil and let cool for 10 minutes. Using your fingers or a small knife, remove the pepper skins. Cut the peppers into ½-inch squares. 

Transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Scatter the bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, chili pepper and cilantro over the top. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add to the couscous and toss together well. Before serving, taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

I personally do not like green peppers in this salad so I leave those out (and it saves the extra broiler work involved). Feel free to be creative and add whatever veggies you prefer to have!  As always, we would love to hear from you …. tell us about your favorite healthy recipes! We would love to share them with our followers. You can comment below on this posting or just send us an email at info@takeahikearizona.com.  Enjoy the quinoa salad!

¨

 
Over the past four or so years, I’ve taken to hiking or snowshoeing each and
every week. Unfortunately, most of my friends are not up for the kind of
hiking I like to do. This means I end up going on many of my hikes alone.

Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoy spending a little time on my own. I’m
able to push the pace to where I get the perfect workout. Besides, I always
take my German Shepherd Dog, Suki. So I’m not really alone.

Still, I prefer to hike with others at least some of the time. Also, I’m
keenly aware that the inherent risks involved in hiking and snowshoeing can
be greatly amplified when you are on your own, and there is no one else to
assist in the unlikely event that trouble arises.

As a result, I’ve put a lot of energy into finding like-minded outdoor
enthusiasts that I can join on some of my outdoor activities. But it’s not
quite as easy as I’d have guessed. The better your conditioning, the harder
it is to find people who would enjoy your pace. Also, everyone has their own
ideas about what sort of activity is best.

So I set out to find ways to promote communities of outdoor enthusiasts,
which would allow people to connect with others that enjoyed the same types
of activities. And I thought the Internet was the best place to build these
communities.

There are already large sites where outdoor enthusiasts can hookup, but I
wanted a free community site that was dedicated to people planning and
discussing outdoor activities, and nothing else. The site also needed to be
simple: users should be able to instantly see any activities in their area
without logging in, or even having an account.

The result of this effort is the Trail Calendar website. This site is
divided into different locations so that when you visit the site, you’ll see
only those activities scheduled in your area. (The only exception is on your
very first visit, when you must tell the site where you are located.)
Although the site could potentially grow to be very big, users only see
nearby activities, which makes the site feel smaller and more intimate.

I’ve added the ability to RSVP activities so you can see who plans to join.
The site also rates people according to the number of activities they’ve
posted. I’m currently working on discussion forums and I’m looking at
implementing private groups, with a long list of cool ideas for features in
the longer term.

The site is still new. Some locations are picking up activity, while other
locations are waiting for people to post their first activity. So the next
phase is to get the word out and get more people using the site so that it
becomes more useful for those who do.

If anyone else feels this is a worthwhile cause, please post your next
activity on the site and tell your friends to do the same. Only with the
help of outdoor enthusiasts like you will the site grow the sort of online
communities, which I’d love to be part of.

Jonathan Wood
Trail Calendar
http://www.trailcalendar.com

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz) of black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup whole kernel corn
1/4 cup thick and chunky salsa
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro or parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Mash beans in a bowl. Add finely chopped onion, corn, salsa, pressed garlic, cilantro or parsley, salt and black pepper to beans. Mix well. Add bread crumbs and egg whites to bean mixture. Mix well. Form bean mixture into round hamburger patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Lightly spray pan with nonstick cooking spray; cook patties 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once. Cooking on a grill is not recommended as the burgers will not hold together over a grill and will fall apart when you try to flip them.

Serve burgers on whole wheat buns with optional toppings such as sour cream and salsa. This recipe is so delicious that even the kids ate the burgers!! If you have some great, healthy recipes that are family favorites, we would love to hear from you. We’d even be happy to share your recipe on our blog! In the meantime, enjoy these black bean burgers!

Starting out on our night hike!

Take a night off and tell your kids to
TAKE A HIKE!
(with Take A Hike Arizona)

The kids will love this night hiking camp made just for them! We will take the kids out on a night hike and look for the stars and the small desert critters that come out at night and we will get them actively involved in lots of fun activities and games including our version of the popular “Minute to Win It” gameshow!

ONLY $25 ($20 for each additional sibling) the Camp Adventure includes:  Guided hike, pizza, water, dessert, refreshments, use of backpack, an arts & crafts project, and lots of FUN!!!

Ages: 5 and up
Date: Friday, September 24, 2010
Time: 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: The McDowell Center, 16116 N. McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd, Scottsdale (southwest corner of McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd and Paradise Lane)

Space is limited! To reserve a spot for your child, just give us a call at 480-634-8488. We look forward to speaking with you!