Tuesday morning, Helen and I were up early, went for a walk and then stopped at Starbucks to have coffee. As we were leaving, we were amazed by the beautiful sunrise.
Before Helen arrived, Patty had ordered a King Cake so I went to Barb's Bakery to pick it up. The tradition is that this decorated sweet bread has a small coin or statue cooked it and whoever gets the piece with it will have good luck for the next year.
We then all got our stuff together and drove the three plus hours to the Tombstone Grand Hotel in Tombstone, AZ. While Helen and I went inside the hotel to register, Patty relaxed in the car and was greeted by several mule deer. She texted us these two photos, but I had the ringer turned off my and did not get the message.
When Helen and I came out we were greeted by them as well, but by the time I got my camera out, there was only one there.
After regaining out composure, we made the forty minute drive to Whitewater Draw. It is 1400 acres that is a wildlife preserve with naturally available water surrounded by many acres of farmland, and the whole area is ringed by mountains.
We came because I had read about the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that winter here.
But one of the first birds I saw was a vermillion flycatcher, sitting on top of a bush as I approached.
And then we began to see the cranes that were coming in to the shallow water to spend the night.
And lots of information about why it is important to protect the environment.
Looking west, the afternoon sun was very pretty.
And the cranes are quite noisy.
After spending the afternoon watching all the birds, we drove back to Tombstone. Patty and Helen went into the Longhorn Cafe to order take out for dinner; while waiting they had margaritas and I went to a local store to get some wine. When I got back to the cafe, they will still drinking and talking, so I walked around the downtown area of Tombstone, as far as the O.K. Corral and the Tombstone City Park. One of the saloons I passed had this cute sign.
We eventually had a pleasant dinner back in our hotel room and an early bed time. On Tuesday, we were all up early and left the hotel shortly after 6:00 to get to Whitewater Draw for sunrise and to see the 30,000 sandhill cranes and other birds head out to eat. To our east, there was a beautiful sunrise.
To our west was the draw and the birds, and we were constantly looking back and forth. Owls were hooting from the east where they have a protected area among the willow trees, while all the waterfowl were to the west.
The sound of all the birds talking and getting up and out was amazing.
It was beautiful in whichever direction you looked.
Why do I have the next six videos? It is to try to give some sense of the waves of hundreds and thousands of these sandhill cranes taking flight - the literature says it is about 30,000 of them and it is just an amazing event to witness.
Even looking at the sky to the west, it lit up as the sun rose.
We were not alone, other people were there to watch.
Amazing skies.
We then headed back to the hotel in Tombstone for breakfast, showers and packing. We then headed back to Phoenix. On our drive back to Phoenix, we had to stop at a Krispy Kreme Donut Shop where I got an apple fritter and coffee.
It was an exceptional trip - I recommend the Whitewater Draw as a great place to visit.
Before Helen arrived, Patty had ordered a King Cake so I went to Barb's Bakery to pick it up. The tradition is that this decorated sweet bread has a small coin or statue cooked it and whoever gets the piece with it will have good luck for the next year.
We then all got our stuff together and drove the three plus hours to the Tombstone Grand Hotel in Tombstone, AZ. While Helen and I went inside the hotel to register, Patty relaxed in the car and was greeted by several mule deer. She texted us these two photos, but I had the ringer turned off my and did not get the message.
When Helen and I came out we were greeted by them as well, but by the time I got my camera out, there was only one there.
After regaining out composure, we made the forty minute drive to Whitewater Draw. It is 1400 acres that is a wildlife preserve with naturally available water surrounded by many acres of farmland, and the whole area is ringed by mountains.
We came because I had read about the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that winter here.
But one of the first birds I saw was a vermillion flycatcher, sitting on top of a bush as I approached.
And then we began to see the cranes that were coming in to the shallow water to spend the night.
There is also an area that is protected for owls, as well as many poles with bat houses.
And lots of information about why it is important to protect the environment.
Looking west, the afternoon sun was very pretty.
And the cranes are quite noisy.
After spending the afternoon watching all the birds, we drove back to Tombstone. Patty and Helen went into the Longhorn Cafe to order take out for dinner; while waiting they had margaritas and I went to a local store to get some wine. When I got back to the cafe, they will still drinking and talking, so I walked around the downtown area of Tombstone, as far as the O.K. Corral and the Tombstone City Park. One of the saloons I passed had this cute sign.
We eventually had a pleasant dinner back in our hotel room and an early bed time. On Tuesday, we were all up early and left the hotel shortly after 6:00 to get to Whitewater Draw for sunrise and to see the 30,000 sandhill cranes and other birds head out to eat. To our east, there was a beautiful sunrise.
To our west was the draw and the birds, and we were constantly looking back and forth. Owls were hooting from the east where they have a protected area among the willow trees, while all the waterfowl were to the west.
The sound of all the birds talking and getting up and out was amazing.
It was beautiful in whichever direction you looked.
Why do I have the next six videos? It is to try to give some sense of the waves of hundreds and thousands of these sandhill cranes taking flight - the literature says it is about 30,000 of them and it is just an amazing event to witness.
Even looking at the sky to the west, it lit up as the sun rose.
We were not alone, other people were there to watch.
Amazing skies.
We then headed back to the hotel in Tombstone for breakfast, showers and packing. We then headed back to Phoenix. On our drive back to Phoenix, we had to stop at a Krispy Kreme Donut Shop where I got an apple fritter and coffee.
It was an exceptional trip - I recommend the Whitewater Draw as a great place to visit.
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