One more Salt River trek

On Tuesday our Photo group went out on our last outing of the year.  Our group is dwindling in size, now down to 4 of us, but this is typical of all the activities in the park for the last part of March.  Many start packing up and heading back to their northern roots and others find the 90 degree heat a bit much for any sort of activities after about 10:00.  Count Lori and I in that last group.

We didn't leave till 10:30 and with an hours drive we were venturing out in the heat of the day.  Good thing there was a light cloud cover which kept the heat tolerable.  We decided to take another trip to the Salt River to see if we could spot the horses again and also hoped to spot an Eagle or two plus check out the Heron nesting site.  We did spot one yearling colt all by himself but before we could get down to the river he was scared away by people and their dogs splashing in the water.  Didn't see any eagles but the Herons were back tending their nests and spotted lots of Buzzards circling way up above.  We also spotted on more wild creature which you will see below.  

These trees are just starting to bud.
The clumps in the branches are mistletoe which is a
parasitic plant, often killing the host trees.  

Looks like the trees from Lord of the Rings.  Ready to start walking.
During the monsoon season the flash floods take the river
way up the bank, carrying away ground covering the trees roots. 

I tried picking my way across the river on the rocks
but some of them weren't so stable.
Was easier, and safer, to just tromp through the shallow water.

With all the rain and cool weather this winter the grass is
growing everywhere.  The cows are happy but as it dries out
this spring the danger of brush fires increases. 

Some shots from the river.  

Can you see him.  If not look below.

We were torn between being excited and scared.
Our first rattler.  He just lay there.
We kept our distance but snapped a bunch of pics.
Finally one of the braver or crazier members of our group,
despite his wife's protests,  decided to toss a couple of rocks
at it to get it in a strike position.
Despite our efforts to agitate him he never moved.  
Figured maybe it was dead so moved in a little closer.
(I'm sure this is how many stupid tourists get bit)
Finally it started to slither off and we noticed no rattler at the end of its tail.
Turns out it was a bull snake.  How disappointing.
I made sure I kept an eye out for more of its kind hiding in the grass.
Although you'd probably never notice it till you stepped on it or
 heard the warning rattle.  

The Herons were up in their nesting tree.  With my 105mm it was hard to
get a close clear shot and extreme cropping left things a little blurry. 

More shots of the Salt River as it meanders along. 

On Wednesday Lori and I went in search of wildflowers and will post those pictures as soon as I can get them edited.    

Till then.