After our morning hike we hit the road on our bikes. There are plenty of dirt roads and 4X4 trails in the area and we headed southeast to check out Cottonwood Wash. From the top of the mountains you see this area as a large green patch contrasted among the more desolate desert landscape. Intermittent streams running through these washes during wetter times of the year allow much different vegetation to grow, including Cottonwood trees and other tall-growing plants that have little in common to the ground-hugging, parched vegetation that occupies most of the greater valley.
There were many pretty flowers along the way.
Here is a really cool rock bridge of sorts splitting the meandering wash.
The entire area was covered with translucent, white chalcedony (a cryptocrystalline form of quartz).
I know this is gross, but I was excited to see my first land mammal out here. Dead, of course, but proof that all these holes and stuff out here aren't just from reptiles.
It just dawned on me that this "bike ride to the Cottonwood Wash" has no photos of cottonwoods, or bikes (except for this one). Not everything inspires a photo, evidently.
Great stuff. Thanks.