A Visit to Picacho CA State Recreation Area

Picnic with a Colorado River view.

This past Easter weekend we decided to visit Picacho State Recreation Area which lies on the California side of the lower Colorado River. We left before dawn and had a fun and a little bumpy one hour ride up the dirt road north of Yuma, Arizona where we’re staying. 

Picacho Road to the Park 

As the sun rose, the desert gave way from being a moon-like volcanic landscape to a glowing and rusty red swath of peaks and valleys. Were we in Mars?  The big Picacho (which I found out means “Peak” in Spanish) stood tall and grand, like a big king of the desert! I was so happy to finally see it up close after looking at it far off in the distance from our hotel!

Look at all that color!

Some say the desert is stark, but I say it’s full of drama. Between the crazy and multi-colored rock formations, there were lush green cottonwood trees, beautiful yellow flowers on the palo verde and acacia trees, bright red flower spikes on the ocotillo plants, and the cactus was in bloom. If the desert ever became an ocean again, I think the ocotillo would make neat kelp, and the cactus could be cool coral.

Ocotillo "Desert Kelp" in Bloom

From the rocky hillsides to the river and plants, this park was just loaded with all kinds of colors! It reminds me of Death Valley National Park, and even the Grand Canyon in some places.

We did a bit of exploring and spent some time at the Taylor Lake Overlook, and had a picnic at one of the Colorado River dock areas. Yay for yummy cheese croissant sandwiches and the Porto-Vino Backpack for keeping our wine nice and cool! Nothing like a little Vino-with-a-View! 

This park has a lot of natural and geological history. For thousands of years this area was home to the Quechan and native people of the Great Basin culture. Later in the 1890s, Picacho turned into a thriving gold mining town. You can see the remnants of the river and mining history all throughout the park.

Picacho Stamp Mill Trail with an Ore Cart at the Trailhead

My favorite experience was seeing two little wild burro families! How lucky! I can’t wait to go back in the fall and do some hiking and more birdwatching (it’s on a migratory flyway), and maybe we can explore the river in a boat or kayak. I really want to see the bighorn sheep that live there too! I love this park, it’s real special!

Wild Burros....here's lookin at you kid...

Pretty in Picacho,
Miss P.

Explore, Learn and Protect!

My first hiking adventure in Sequoia National Park

National Park Week runs from April 20-28, with all kinds of fun and educational programs in our parks. It’s the perfect time to #FindYourPark and go exploring! I’m really excited because it all starts with Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 20, and to celebrate, ALL units within the National Park Service are FREE to enter! What a bonus for families!

Park Ranger Dana Dierkes took me on a walk on Big Trees Trail in Sequoia National Park

When I visit parks, even state parks, the first thing I like to do is check out the visitor center to get a basic idea of what I need to see in the park, and to find out if they have a Junior Ranger Program! I found out about this program from my good friend Park Ranger Dana Dierkes who I met on my first visit to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. She gave me a cool activity book that had fun projects and games, and taught me neat things about the plants and animals in the park. Once I finished the booklet and pledged to “Explore, Learn and Protect the Park,” I was given a badge and sworn in as a Junior Ranger! Talk about some sweet park bling, I love my badge collection!

My Junior Ranger Activity Book....how do you like my hat?

I was so lucky to meet Park Ranger Dana -  only did she teach me about the Junior Ranger Program, she also took me on a walk along the beautiful Big Trees Trail in the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. Those trees made me feel so tiny. There’s no way I was going to be able to swing on them, let alone be able to even wrap my arms all the way around their trunk. These Sequoia Trees are the largest trees (by volume in the world) but they  have tiny little pine cones, especially compared to the big long sugar pine cones. It’s mind boggling!

Look how small these Giant Sequoia Tree pine cones are!

If you want to see what it’s like to take the Junior Park Ranger Pledge, check out my video below  from then when I was in Coronado National Memorial in southeast Arizona!

You can find out more about the Junior Ranger Day activities (and see the neat new Junior Ranger Button) here on NPS.gov.  

Park Ranger Suzanne Moody takes us on a walk through the rock formations in Chiricahua National Monument.

 In closing, I want to wish Chiricahua National Monument in southeast Arizona a very Happy Birthday! Established on April 18, 1924, this park was nicknamed ‘The Land of Standing-up Rocks’ by the Apache, because it protects these really interesting looking rock formations that were made from a volcanic eruption over 27 million years ago. Talk about ancient! I really had fun hanging out with Park Ranger Suzanne Moody who took my friend Flying Fabio and I on a hike up to the Echo Canyon Grottoes.

Happy Park Adventures,
Miss. P.

Yay! Parks & Travel Magazine is Out!

Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground in Yuma, Arizona

While I’ve been having fun playing at the Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground here in Yuma, Arizona, Nancy and Lisa were busy at work producing the new spring/summer issue of Parks & Travel Magazine.

Parks & Travel Magazine - Spring/Summer 2019 Issue.
Front Cover: East Wetlands in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area here in Yuma, Arizona. 

And yay, the magazine came out today and it has tons of Love Your Park Tour Stories from our adventures! Plus, there are stories about African Wildlife, the Desert Southwest, Central California and the Pacific Northwest, Epic Yellowstone, Historic Louisiana and Kentucky, Canada’s Parks, Beautiful Breckland in England, Boating Adventures in the Bahamas and Florida, Summer Festivals, Park Artists-in-Residence, Filmmakers and Authors, Responsible Travel & Tourism, History and Culture, and much more.

You can read the magazine on our site NationalParkTraveling.com or directly at Calameo.com.

Happy Reading!
Miss P.

Fun with Lizzie Lizard, "Bucky" Beaver and Mr. Peanut in Yuma, Arizona!

Fun in the Children's Garden at RJ Moody Demonstration Garden

It’s so good to be back in Yuma to take our sunrise walks along the Colorado River and to connect with old and new friends. Nancy and Lisa have been really busy putting together the spring/summer issue of Parks & Travel Magazine, but this past week we did some exploring and found some new Love Your Parks Tour stories to share. You’ll see them all in the magazine which will be out next week, but I thought I’d give you a little preview of what we’ve been up to in this cool riverfront city. Yes, I said “cool”…even though the Guinness Book of World Records says it’s the sunniest pace on earth. 

Handsome Mr. Peanut at The Peanut Patch!

I was thrilled to reunite with my handsome friend Mr. Peanut at The Peanut Patch, and boy did we eat our fair share of Peanut Brittle! Nancy and Lisa were happy to get their regular orders of homemade peanut butter, black licorice and cashews. We’ve been visiting this southwest culinary treasure for years, and there’s always some new yummy treat to experience. If you visit (and note they are open from October through the end of April) be sure to try their homemade fudge and pick up some locally grown Royal Medjool Dates!  Here’s a short video to get your taste buds excited!

Basking in the sun with Lizzie the Lizard! 

We visited the RJ Moody Demonstration Garden this past January, as part of the Annual Bird, Nature and History Festival schedule of events. Nancy and Lisa wanted to cover the garden and Mr. Moody’s story as a community leader, so I was happy to revisit the garden and see all the colorful spring blooms, and to play in the Children’s Garden and visit my friend Lizzie the Lizard who is named after Mrs. Elizabeth Moody. Here’s a sneak peek at the new Moody Garden Video Nancy & Lisa made for the story!

Sunrise walk along the Colorado River in Yuma's East Wetlands.

One of our favorite ways to start the day is with a sunrise walk, and Yuma’s East and West Wetlands along the Colorado River are the perfect places to do it! The wetlands are part of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area which includes the historic downtown district, Yuma Territorial Prison and Colorado River State Historic Park. You could spend days exploring the history and nature here, and that’s exactly what we’re doing! I am so amazed at how many birds we’ve seen - ducks, geese, herons, egrets, moorhens, cormorants, grackles, mockingbirds, flycatchers and hawks, AND, we even saw "Bucky" Beaver! I wanted to get in the river and play with him but he was too busy eating breakfast and had another meeting to go to. “Walking Yuma's West Wetlands Park” is a new story coming out, but again, I get to give you the sneak preview of the new video! 

Bucky Beaver's Breakfast Bar at the Yuma West Wetlands Park

Tomorrow we get to start the day with another brilliant Colorado River sunrise at the West Wetlands Park where we’re meeting up with a new friend who is going to show us around the Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground…and that sounds like a whole lotta fun to me!

Sunrise smiles,
Miss P.