Looking down Deep Canyon~Nature Notes~030112

It isn't every day that I can get views like this down into Deep Canyon.  I often have cars right behind me when I come down the mountain and I can't stop to take photos.  However, a couple of weeks ago, there weren't any cars behind me and I was able to just stop the click away!  There are so few turnouts that even if there wasn't any traffic, I would be able to get decent photos.  I'm glad I had this opportunity to take pictures of the drive down next to Deep Canyon.  I saw vultures up by Coyote Canyon, which intersects Deep Canyon this same trip, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for them from now on.  Nature Notes for March 1, 2012.  To stop by Nature Notes, please go to this link:    http://ramblingwoods.com/

Looking down the canyon~Santa Rosa mountains visitor center

I wanted to get out for a walk this morning so I headed up toward the Santa Rosa mountain visitor center, which is at the base of Deep Canyon.  There were a lot of cars parked across the street and people were out hiking, but the visitor center was deserted.  GOOD!  I saw finches, quail, and a cactus wren feeding on their feeders.  I had the whole place to myself.  At 8:00 a.m., it wasn't even open yet, so I walked around the trails there.  It was a beautiful, warm morning.  We haven't had much of a winter this year and we are having an early spring, so I can only IMAGINE what this summer will be like...sigh...But, I intend to take advantage of this beautiful weather while I can!  :-)  This is a view from the visitor center trails looking down toward Palm Desert.