Rainbow during a monsoon storm

One of my favorite things about the summer here in the desert is our monsoon thunderstorms! Yes, believe it or not, we have moonsoon storms here. Many people associate “monsoon” with the storms that blow through India and wreak havoc with flooding and high winds. The word monsoon is actually derived from the Arabic word “mausim” which means season or wind-shift. The monsoon thunderstorms created here in the Sonoran Desert are a result of that shifting of wind that takes place as we move into the summer season.

During our winter, the wind flows primarily from the west or northwest from California and Nevada. As summer approaches, the winds shift to a southerly or southeasterly direction and moisture is brought up from the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico and dropped right in our lap! This seasonal shift generally occurs (on average) around the beginning of July (average date is July 7th to be exact) and generally ends mid-September (September 13th on average). In the past, the start of the season was defined as 3 consecutive days of dew points averaging 55 degrees or higher. It was always fun taking bets on when that was going to happen! In 2008, however, the National Weather Service actually established a set season starting June 15th and ending September 30th (similar to how a hurricane season is defined-although I believe the hurricane season goes through October 15th).

The thing I find unique and quite spectacular about the monsoon storms we get are the dust storms that precede the actual rain. The thunderstorms are not always accompanied by a dust storm but when they are, it is quite an impressive sight. The way the dust storm is created is that the typical monsoon thunderstorm has a front that pushes air downward quite forcefully. This air then hits the ground and is forced out and upward before the storm cell. This creates a gusty front which in turn kicks up large quantities of dust and sand that then creates a wall of dust. This wall of dust is actually called a haboob. Yes, we do chuckle everytime we hear that word. It’s just one of those funny words I guess. Well these haboobs, or walls of dust, can exceed over 3,000 feet in height!  Can you say “airport delays”?

Anyway (airport delays or not), once the excitement of the initial winds and haboob pass, the rain starts. These storms are often accompanied by heavy rains. We sometimes receive over 2.5 inches of rain in one storm! That is over 1/3 of our annual rainfall average. Wow! Now the flip side of this coin is the fact that rains that fall that fast cannot be absorbed by the desert quickly. So we do run the risk of flash floods and since most of our roads weave in and out of washes, drivers do have to use caution when out and about during and shortly after one of these storms. The washes are the area of the desert floor that siphon off the excess water and no, we cannot avoid having our roads run through them.  Most of the year it is not a problem.  During the monsoon storms you cannot drive through these washes if you see water running through them. Even if the water appears shallow, you cannot tell if a wall of water is, in fact, making its way down to your location that very minute.  If the road has caution signs up or is blocked, don’t try to save time by going around the signs even if it appears there is no water in the wash at the moment.  They are there for your safety.

Here in Arizona, we actually have a Stupid Motorist Law in place here for those individuals who put themselves at risk by entering these flash flood areas and subsequently getting stuck in the wash. This law means the motorist that requires rescue can then be charged for the cost of that rescue service due to placing him or herself in harm’s way (not to mention risking the safety of the rescue team!). The other safety measure worth knowing when it comes to driving in a dust storm, is if visibility becomes too poor to see and you must pull off the road, be sure to shut off all of your car’s lights and do not rest your foot on the brake. Motorists behind you will see your tailights and may think you are in a travel lane and proceed to follow you and hit your parked vehicle. They typically cannot see any better than you!

If you happen to be out hiking when one of these storms approach, be sure to separate yourself from your trekking poles (you know those metal lightning rods you hold in your hands?) and be sure that your group does not huddle together. Try to keep at least 50 feet apart from each other and if no shelter can be found, assume the lightning position (sitting on a backpack or some other object to separate you from direct contact with the ground). Do not sit under or near a tree, wire fencing, in an open field, by poles or bodies of water. Also, do not enter any nearby washes as these may become quickly flooded. The best safety precaution you can take is to check the weather forecast before going out on a hike at all!  With a little bit of planning ahead and knowing what safety measures to take, you too can enjoy the amazing show that our monsoon thunderstorms provide us each season!

I remember years ago when we first moved here to the valley (from New England) how funny it was to hear everyone get sooooo excited about the rain. It could be a slight drizzle and the evening headline on the news was STORM HITS THE VALLEY! Really? Well after all these years of living here, wouldn’t you know, I now get excited to hear that we have a “storm” coming. The storms don’t always pan out, but when they do, it is a spectacular sight to see!  And we are often given the opportunity to witness beautiful rainbows during our summers here in the desert such as the one shown in the photo with this posting.  We saw this rainbow just yesterday during our most recent “weather event” as the news stations like to say.  So if you are new to the Arizona desert, put aside the fact that it is sweltering here during the summer and know that with that summer heat comes some of the most beautiful and amazing feats of nature that you may not have the opportunity to see in any other part of the world!

If you would like to learn more about this beautiful desert we call home, just call us at Take A Hike Arizona   (480-634-8488) and we will be more than happy to take you out on a hike to experience, explore and enjoy this great area we live in!

I am not a Gila Monster!

Now I'm a Gila Monster!

Inside the tunnel under the bridge

Just spent the weekend up in Payson camping with the kids and enjoying the somewhat cooler weather.  One of the main activities we planned for our trip was a visit to the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  The park itself is located 12 miles north of Payson right off Highway 87.  It is very easy to find.  Due to state budget cuts,  the park is currently open 5 days a week – Thursday through Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday) and is scheduled to close as of September 27th!  Hopefully, a resolution (other than actually closing the park) can be found before September so we can continue to enjoy this beautiful area.

The natural bridge itself is thought to be the world’s largest natural travertine bridge.  Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs.  The precipiation of the mineral springs forms a coating on nearby surfaces such as plants, roots, rocks, etc and forms very interesting formations including stalactites and stalagmites in limestone caves.  Another great example of travertine forming over plants and roots are the Havasu Falls in the western part of the Grand Canyon on the Havasupai reservation. But, back to the Tonto Natural Bridge.  The bridge itself sits 183 feet up above the ground.  The tunnel below the bridge is 400 feet long and as wide as 150 feet in some places.  Both the views from above and looking up from below are amazing! 

Our favorite part of the trip was hiking down the Gowan Trail and entering the tunnel itself below the bridge.  We spent quite a bit of time inside the tunnel climbing around and hiking to the other end.  Some spots were a bit hazardous due to the slippery, wet surfaces.  With that said, keep in mind that it is a lot easier to climb up some of these slippery slopes than it is to come back down them.  So be sure to take a look at what you are contemplating climbing up and see if it is something you can manuever back down. 

heading down some slickrock

In addition to the beautiful scenery the bridge provides, the other great thing about the tunnel is the cool air and refreshing water constantly dripping down from the ceiling above.  It is a great way to cool off on a hot day!

Also, you are allowed to enter the water to swim as long as you are not within the tunnel.  So as you come down the Gowan Trail, right before you step onto the man-made bridge that takes you to the entrance of the tunnel, veer off to the right and you can swim right there.  The water is very refreshing (meaning down right cold) and there are quite a few little critters that the kids will enjoy looking for around the swimming hole.  We found monster size crayfish (seriously, they looked like lobsters!), lots of fish and some interesting frogs.  There’s also a large number of swallows that nest in the tunnel and many other colorful birds flying in and out of the area.  So there is a lot to see.  We spent the better part of our day enjoying the park and we look forward to going back up again later this summer before the park closes in September.  For more information about the park visit the state park website and check out our photo gallery on our Facebook Fan page to see our photos from the trip.

As many of you may already know, the State of Arizona is starting to close 13 state parks in the coming weeks.  Many of us are contacting our representatives about this issue, but in addition to the state closures I also wanted to provide you with some information about the planned closure of a number of our beautiful Phoenix parks.  These closures are not getting the same amount of press as the state park closures, but to those of us who love these areas and use them regularly these closures will have a significant impact on us and visitors to our area!  As of right now, it appears that the City of Phoenix is planning to lay off 14 park rangers and reduce public access to our local parks in the area.  The city plans to reduce public access to the parks by closing them on Mondays and Tuesdays.  The anticipated closures include:

• Camelback Mountain
• Piestewa Peak Park
• North Mountain Park
• South Mountain Park
• Shaw Butte
• Lookout Mountain
• Papago Park and
• Shadow Mountain

If this concerns you as it does us, please email one or all of the City of Phoenix Councilman listed at the links below and tell them to keep our parks open and save the jobs of 14 Phoenix Park Rangers: 

Councilman Thelda Williams at: http://phoenix.gov/district1/emdist1/index.html

Councilman Peggy Neely at: http://phoenix.gov/district2/emdist2/index.html

Councilman Bill Gates: http://phoenix.gov/district3/emdist3/index.html

Councilman Tom Simplot at: http://phoenix.gov/district4/emdist4/index.html

Councilman Claude Maddox at: http://phoenix.gov/district5/emdist5/index.html

Councilman Sal DiCiccio at: http://phoenix.gov/district6/index.html

Councilman Michael Nowakowski at:http://phoenix.gov/district7/emdist7/index.html

Councilman Michael Johnson at: http://phoenix.gov/district8/emdist8/index.html

Mayor Phil Gordon at: http://phoenix.gov/mayor/emmayor/index.html

Help us save our Phoenix Mountain Parks from closure!

Saguaro flower awaiting pollination

Well, I would have to say it is finally here…….the summer. It’s not official by the calendar yet, but anytime it consistently reaches 90 – 100 degrees everyday and the kids are on “summer vacation”, that’s good enough for me! One of the things that we (at Take A Hike Arizona) really like to see as the weather warms up during this time of year, is the ripening of the Saguaro fruit on the Saguaro cactus.

The Saguaro is the largest cactus found in the United States and can only be found in elevation ranging from sea level up to 4,000 feet.  But, that is another blog post entirely. So back to the fruit. Typically, the cactus will bloom in late May to early June with the fruit appearing and ripening about one month after that. This year, the flowers appeared a bit earlier than usual and you can now see the fruit starting to ripen at the top of the cactus.

The Saguaro flower requires pollination before it will produce any fruit. The flowers are most often pollinated by bats, White-winged Doves, Mourning Doves, bees, and other types of birds. Once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a 3 inch long fruit that contains as many as 2,000 seeds! The seeds are very tiny and and kind of remind me of the small poppy seeds you find on bagels – except the saguaro seeds are even smaller. The fruit is a very important seasonal food as it ripens during the driest part of the year right before the summer rainy (moonsoon) season. Many desert animals depend on this fruit for sustenance during this time of year.

The fruit itself has many uses for us humans as well. After being plucked (i.e., harvested) from the cactus with long saguaro rib poles, the seeds are meticuously separated from the pulp. This is a very time consuming, painstaking process done by hand. The seeds are then dried and can be ground down into a flour or even eaten as is.  The pulp can be consumed as a juice or can be boiled down to make a syrup. Some of the syrup, in turn, can be used to produce a wine that the Tohono O’odham Indians use as a ceremonial drink to usher in the rainy season. The fruit is actually quite nutritious. The seeds are 30% fat and the pulp contains about 10% protein and 70% carbohydrates (which is why it makes such great wine!).

If you are interested in finding out more about harvesting and eating saguaro fruit, check out some southwest ethnobotany books at your local library, attend an ethnobotany lecture offered by Desert Botanical Gardens  in Phoenix, or travel down to the Tohono O’odham reservation just south of Tucson. The Tohono O’odham offer food products harvested from the desert including Saguaro juice and syrup. If you live in the Phoenix metro area, you may also be lucky enough to find these items at a local farmer’s market in your area. If you do come across the opportunity to try a taste of Saguaro fruit, the juice, syrup or wine, I would highly recommend trying it. It has a unique flavor all its own and you may find the natural desert flavors grow on you pretty quickly! Let me know if you try it and what you think! Happy harvesting!

Kadija

 There is a special lady named Kadija who is near and dear to many hearts including ours at Take A Hike Arizona. Kadija, a single mom with 2 young boys, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  Kadija is known to be a dynamo (with an attitude) driving people to do their very best in their fitness regimes and their lives. Her loyal followers are always inspired by her unswerving support in their efforts. She always exudes confidence and a great enthusiasm toward life. She will be no different in her fight against cancer. But she does need our support.

Being a single mom with 2 young children, Kadija supports her family through her coaching as a fitness trainer. Unfortunately, she cannot continue to work at this time and her friends want to help. We, at Take A Hike Arizona, are hoping to raise funds to lend a helping hand. Join us on May 30th at 6:00am at the new Gateway Trailhead in Scottsdale for a sunrise hike.  We are not charging  for this guided hike, but will instead gladly accept donations to be contributed to Kadija’s fund. We will provide water, snacks, use of backpacks and trekking poles for those who need them. The hike will also be accompanied by 2 knowledgeable guides (June and Tracey) who can tell you all kinds of neat things about the desert flora and fauna.

If you’d like to join us for this hike and support a great cause, please RSVP to Andrea Hood at AHood4@cox.net or call June and Tracey (Take A Hike Arizona) at 480-634-8488 to reserve a spot on the hike. Donations will be accepted at the time of the hike.  Checks can be made payable to The Kadija Support Fund (an account that has been set up to accept donations for Kadija). To learn more about Kadija and the fund that has been set up, please visit the website that has been created by iBloom Interactive Marketing at http://www.aboutkadija.com.

We hope you can join us for this beautiful sunrise hike on Saturday, May 30th!

Saguaro cacti silhouttes

I am somewhat sad to report that Spring here in the desert is just about behind us. Now that we are heading into May, I expect that things will warm up pretty quickly here. Luckily, we still have many cactus still in the process of blooming or beginning to bloom!

The saguaros are just now starting to grow their buds and a number of them are already blooming those gorgeous large white flowers, which are our state flower by the way. The saguaro blooms do seem to be a bit early this year. Typically, the flowers on these cacti bloom in mid- May to early June with the fruit harvest then falling into late June early July. We also have many cholla cacti starting to show their colors as well as the Little Leaf Palo Verde trees and the Ironwood trees. So, there is still a lot of color to see out there.

But, there is no denying that the warmer, no….hot, okay, the really hot weather is on its way. With that in mind, we (Take A Hike Arizona) are offering  our guests the option of hiking during the cooler parts of the day. From May through September, we will have sunrise, sunset, moonlight, and night hikes. Check out the following descriptions to see what you can expect from each hike:

Sunrise: We begin our sunrise hikes in the pre-dawn hours as the sky begins to lighten. Many desert dwellers are nocturnal and these early morning hours provide a great opportunity to see the desert animals, such as coyote, bobcat, and javelina, as they begin to retire for the day. Sunrise hikes are a great option for those visiting the Valley of the Sun during our warmer months.

Sunset:  We begin our sunset hikes about one hour before sunset to ensure our guests have an unforgettable view of the sun setting over the valley from the peak of the hike. As the sun sets, the sky provides a fantastic display of rich color and provides a beautiful backdrop for photography. As we watch the sun set, the city lights begin to flicker on and as we hike back down the trail, we are provided with gorgeous views of these lights around each corner of the trail. During the mid to later months of the summer, we will oftentimes be fortunate enough to witness the stunning desert rainbows that hang over the valley right before evening sets in.

Moonlight:  Our moonlight hikes start right at sunset. This allows our eyes to adjust naturally to the darker sky as we hike.  During our moonlight hikes, we like to point out various plants that bloom only at night during the summer. We look for bats pollinating the saguaro cacti, we look for javelina rummaging in the undergrowth for food, and we listen for the howl of the coyote and the calling of the Great Horned Owls. We take some time to listen to the “quiet” of the desert night and stargaze at the numerous stars that are so visible in our dark desert skies. This is a great excursion that gets you outdoors while escaping the heat of the day.

Scorpion and Tarantula Hunts:  Similar to our moonlight hikes, we start our “hunts” shortly before dark to let our eyes adjust naturally to the lack of daylight. We provide flashlights and ultra-violet (black) lights to our guests to help them “hunt” for the scorpions and tarantulas. Scorpions will actually appear iridescent in the glow of the black lights, which helps us locate them. The flashlights will help us find tarantulas and a number of other desert dwellers that are out and about during the evening hours as well. These excursions are referred to as “hunts”, but none of the animals located are ever touched or harmed in any way. It is a memorable excursion that allows you to see these animals in their natural habitat.

So that is it in a nutshell! Come see for yourself why the Sonoran Desert is considered to be the most diverse desert in the world. You will be amazed at how alive the desert really is. Check out a couple of our summer packages now and book your tour today! Space is limited on our night hikes. Stay tuned for more fun facts about the desert and the latest happenings in our future postings. Thanks for checking out our blog!