Lakes and Canyons and Deer, Oh My!

If you're like I was, your mental image of Arizona was primarily based upon Road Runner cartoons. (What can I say... I was a sheltered child.) We spent the last couple days visiting with our friends who live about two hours south of us. If you think of Arizona as nothing but desert, you're sadly mistaken. The picture on the left was taken at Parker Lake, which is part of the Coronado National Memorial. (That sounds like a building, but it's really land.) It was a very blustery day, so the lake was choppy. I had one light jacket on, and felt like an idiot for not bringing something more substantial to wear. How cold was it? On the way back from the lake it started to rain. The rain tapered off, and turned to something we haven't seen in quite a while: snow! Not much, but it was certainly odd to see snow in southern Arizona in March!

We also visited the Ramsey Canyon Preserve. (Which sounds like a cousin of marmalade, but is really a big ol' park.) We took many, many more pictures than I could possibly post here. (Well, I could post them, but my dial-up family would never be able to see them.) A recent prevailing thought for me whenever I go outside is that we live in a postcard. Everywhere you look, there's something to make you say "Wow!" and mean it with all its exclamatory brevity.

Trees such as this Arizona sycamore just reinforce the feeling that we're not just in another state, but in another world. I mean, this is the kind of a tree you'd expect to meet in a fantasy story instead of on a hike. The twisted branches put so many story ideas in my head that I just have to stop and stare at the tree and try to sort them all out.

We also had some unexpected company along the way. (No, not rattlesnakes, bears, or mountain lions.) Two groups of deer (scientifically known as "deerses") were foraging along a couple trails. They were wary of us, but not afraid of us, which led to some surprisingly close shots. (Camera shots, that is. To any hunters who are reading this: stop whatever it is you are doing and go to directly to Hell. Thanks!) They still have their winter coat, and since it snowed a little the previous day they certainly needed it. In fact, my handy-dandy ForecastFox has informed me that there's an actual Winter Storm Watch in effect for Tucson for the weekend! Neat!