Raymond Ranch Wildlife Area
Blog 385: West to Winslow
10, 10 22, 13:21
Our journey to our next destination was 97 miles (95 of which were all interstate). Little traffic and a light breeze pushing us east along I-40. Not much for trees as we entered to a landscape one naturally thinks of Arizona, but greener.
Homolovi Ruins State Park
Months ago, I had been intrigued in reading about Homolovi State Park and the Anastazi ancestors of the Hopis in the 1200s to the 1300s that habituated this area.
More than 300 archaeological sites have been identified within the park boundaries of 4,000 acres, including four major 14th-century pueblos.
Ravens were everywhere, and when humans were around they acted like guardians of the ruins, flying in groups doing fly-bys.
Hikes
We had several hikes during our stay, but our first morning was the most memorable. The four of us were out the door about 20 minutes to dawn hiking the Nasungvo Trail. Our campsite had a slight breeze with a few mosquitos flitting along. As soon as we walked down about 30 feet into the valley where the trail led, the breeze died and those flying rascals turning into a hungry horde. Luckily, we had high-potency Florida bug spray to at least minimize their feast. The variety of wildflowers we encountered minimized the pain as we trudged along.
Wild Donkeys
After seeing many plops of large poop, I mentioned to Jan that I was surprised that horses were allowed on the trail. My comment was soon answered as within thirty seconds of my announcement, Jan pointed to the west and there were four wild donkeys eyeing us curiously.
Of course, the Pups were quite interested, and the donkeys were a nice addition to our hike. Later we learned that there were around 80 donkeys residing on or near the park. At least once a day we took a drive with one of the objectives being that the Pups could see the donkeys up close.
Jan’s Antelope Squirrel
After our first full day at the park, the boys and I were taking a nap in the coach. Jan was outside laying back in a recliner, reading, listening, and snoozing. Here are her comments: I awoke from my doze with a feeling of something moving along my stomach. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw this cute face looking at me less than a foot away. I had met a new friend!
This little fellow hung around our camp site our whole stay. To learn more about these interesting critters check them out here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_squirrel
Hummers
As per our routine, our Hummingbird feeder went up within an hour of our arrival. Here are some of our customers, mostly all black-chinned hummers, but a Rufous now and then to stir things up.
Meteor Crater and Barrington Space Museum
Fifty-thousand years ago a huge iron-nickel meteorite, approximately 150 feet wide and weighing several hundred thousand tons, impacted the earth with a force 150 times greater than an atomic bomb. This created a bowl-shaped cavity, called Meteor Crater, which measures 550 feet deep and almost a mile wide. This is one first-class place that has close ties to NASA. Lots and lots of learning opportunities for young astronauts and future scientists. I took the tour (tour guide in one photo) and would highly recommend this stop about a half-hour from Winslow. https://meteorcrater.com
Mogollon Rim
We took a road trip to visit this interesting place. By the scenery, you’d swear you were in Shenandoah National Park and not in Northern Arizona. We stopped at the Visitor Center, took this photo, took a short hike, and then drove around exploring the area. Pretty scenery everywhere.
Raymond Ranch Wildlife Area
This 14,000-plus acre wildlife area has habitat dominated by desert scrub grassland and pinyon-juniper woodland. Their promotional plug states: Due to the fact that the wildlife area is winter range for elk and year-round range for pronghorn antelope, mule deer and bison, Raymond Wildlife Area is highlighted as a premier location in northern Arizona for watchable wildlife opportunities. It was pleasing scenery but seeing lots of wildlife? Not so much.
Little Painted Desert County Park
Less than 20 minutes away from our RV site at the state park is a place of beauty that rivals the Grand Canyon. We drove out one afternoon, enjoyed the views, and took some pics. We came back the next morning about 30 minutes prior to sunrise. For both of our visits we had the place to ourselves.
Odds and Ends
Here is a pic of an Hemileuca Hera moth that lives by our RV site, a jackrabbit hiding in the brush, a Brewer’s sparrow, and a Swainson’s hawk that flew directly overhead.
A wonderful two weeks! We are on a roll.