Saturday, November 7, 2015

Zanjero Park's burrowing owls and Petroglyphh Trail

In all of my years as a traveling nurse, this is the first time I have returned to the same hospital, other than those in Colorado Springs. I wasn't sure how I would feel going to the same place again but we both are enjoying the desert again. There are so many trails we haven't been on before and places we would like to visit now that the temps are in the 70 and 80s.
 
Zanjero Park is along the 202 on Lindsey Road in Gilbert. We were on the way to the farmer's marketin Gilbert and decided to stop and check out the burrowing owls here.
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXuJ3zVtUTg is a great video to learn about the burrowing  owls in Arizona. I liked that they make a sound like rattlesnakes while underground when they feel threatened. That would make a predator think twice before reaching in the hole.
 
 
The tubes are placed in the ground for the burrowing owls before they are relocated. A multiuse path runs through the park but doesn't seem to bother the owls. Most people riding by don't even notice them even though they keep an eye out just in case.
 


The roadrunner was darting around so fast, I was surprised I actually got a picture of him.
 

Some petrified wood along the way.

Got to love a farmer's market on Halloween.

Had to get some Anaheim chiles since we were all out. This little girl was just too cute picking out her pumpkin.


Of course, there are always lots of good treats and samples. I opted for the pie.

The water park under the water tower was a nice place to cool down.

Gold Canyon and has so many trailheads in the Superstition Mountains. I would rather stay in Gold Canyon rather than Mesa except for the drive to the hospitals and we have met so many nice people here. 
We decided to try a short 3 mile hike to see the petroglyphs.
 

As we were finishing our hike, we ran into some mountain bikers that gave us the low down on the trails to ride on. Guess we will be returning once it gets a bit cooler or get up early for a ride.





During the monsoons, the area has waterfalls through here.


I have a feeling that the ladies would wait until the shade was overhead to do their grinding.

I wonder how long until the rock tumbles.
 





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