Crismon TH to Wind Cave

[cactuscat]

It was a good day for animals at Wind Cave today. Aside from the usual gang of antelope squirrels begging for food (which I never give them even though they're almost too cute to resist), there was one unlike any I've seen before. It looked like a cross between an antelope and a round-tailed ground squirrel - slightly bigger than the antelope, with more oval shaped eyes and a white stripe on the side of his body, but none on his face - anybody ever seen one like that? There were more bees than usual, much to the delight of a curved-bill thrasher and a cactus wren, who were snatching them right out of the air and eating them like popcorn - amazing! There were also a pair of hummingbirds (Anna's, I think) sipping the nectar of the hanging plants in the cave. On my way down I saw a guy heading up with a fully loaded backpack - obviously training for something - it wasn't one of you guys was it? Finally, when I was almost back to Crismon Rd. I was treated to a chorus of crazy coyote songs.

[Daddee]

Sounds wonderful. By the way - the little dude you saw that was a little plumper with a white stripe - I think those are called Three Lined Ground Squirels. Not totally positive, but it's something like that. Very common around these parts. We used to call them "Mini-bears" - due to their predilection for chewing through your pack from the bottom up to get at any food or smellables.
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"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

[Arizonaheat]

Glad you had a nice hike. Looking forward to Friday.
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Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.

[ck1]

Hey! You were at my park and didn't call me!

What route did you take from Crismon? Just curious.

As for the wildlife...I've seen more at Usery than at any other place in the Phx area. Those coyotes you heard den up near the service road/levee trail...Buffett(our wonderdog) and I see them on our twilight walks up there...
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-Colin

"The Journey is the Destination"

[cactuscat]

ck1 - I'm at that park all the time! When I enter at Crismon Rd. I usually just take the Levee to the NoSo trail, which gets me to the horse staging area in about 15-20 minutes. I've seen more wildlife there than anyplace else as well - deer, coyotes, even a gila monster.
Thanks for the info, Daddee - never heard of them before.

[Nighthiker]

The squirrel was probable the Harris Antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisil). I came in from Crismon one time and I received a parking ticket. I was also checked by a park ranger for a permit.

[cactuscat]

Really - I've never actually seen a park ranger on a trail there! I always buy the permit, anyhow. They now have "no parking" signs on the north side of McKellips (at Crismon) but I haven't seen anyone getting ticketed for parking on the south side.

[ck1]

The south side isn't park property, so most park over there...though I think the city could issue tickets if it wanted to...

I have a park pass, so I just toss it on the dash and go....
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-Colin

"The Journey is the Destination"