Finally made it to Davis Mountains State Park in Texas. A lot of people I’d seen in Big Bend also stopped here. At a mile above sea level, the landscape is made up of a oak trees, junipers, and grasses. They are in the midst of a drought and many oak trees have died in the Davis Mountains. Water is a precious commodity. Also, the two recent cold fronts that brought freezing temps to west Texas killed a lot of plants. While in a hardware store in the nearby town of Alpine, heard people say they lost most of their plants, including cactus and palm trees. During my visit, a red-flag condition was in place, with temps in the 70′s-90′s and the humidity around 4%.

The picture above was taken from a scenic viewpoint looking down at the Chihuahuan Desert near Fort Davis.

Spent a lot of time at a bird watching station hoping to see some Montezuma quail. It never happened, although some people were lucky enough to see them.

Again with the peanut butter! Although I didn’t see any Montezuma quail, was pleased with the birds I did see.  Shown above are a cactus wren, a black-crested titmouse, a ladder-backed woodpecker, a Bewick’s wren, and an acorn woodpecker.

An overabundance of white-winged doves were present. Their call sounds like “Give us this day” to me. I will definitely recognize a white-winged dove by it’s call from now on.

Above: a dark-eyed junco and a canyon towhee.

In Big Bend you were warned not to leave food out at night because of the javelina. Didn’t see any while I was there, but they did come around at night here. The javelina and the deer both visit the bird feeding stations for water (drinking all the water meant for the birds). The javelina trump the deer—the deer gave them wide berth when I saw them both there at the same time.

The deer above has it’s head in an oak tree.

Seen below, the campground at Davis Mountains State Park. The park was established in 1933/1935. The white structure is Indian Lodge, originally constructed in 1935 by the CCC. It’s a beautiful building. There’s a trail up the mountain nearby where you may see mountain goats.

Drove from Riverside to Cave Creek Regional Park above Phoenix, Arizona. When I got to Blythe it seemed to early to stop, so I continued on to the campground. It’s a very nice park with lots of birds. The weather was in the 90′s during the day, however, so I just stayed the one night.

Phainopepla

A black-throated sparrow

Blue-gray-gnatcatcher

Cactus wren

From Phoenix I went on to Cottonwood, Arizona and Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Cottonwood is around 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix. The park is very popular and people are coming and going all the time. It is not just a weekend park.

It is just the second time I’ve driven on the I-17 that connects the I-8 and I-40. It has a significant grade, but it’s worth it to get away from the heat of Southern Arizona.

Gambel’s quail

Canyon wren

A brown creeper