Sunday August 8th, 2010

Phoenix is in monsoon season now. I got rained-out last weekend as both Saturday & Sunday it was either raining or dark & cloudy all day. We had rain yesterday in the morning and in the evening today, but it was a mostly sunny weekend. Yesterday was actually pretty nice in mid-afternoon as I put in about a 45-minute run/walk, humidity was high for Phoenix but the temps were in the upper 80's so it didn't feel so hot. Today, however, was in the upper 90's when I went for another 45-minute run/walk and it was very humid, so noticeably more uncomfortable today compared to yesterday.

I noticed that there was a burn area just off of the concrete path, heading northeast on the concrete path just before the path parallels with Hwy 51. I'm not sure if the fire was man-made or from a lightning strike as we've gotten quite a few storms over the past few weeks, or it could have been a controlled burn by the fire department. I took a photo of it with my cell phone camera, as I didn't have my digital camera with me, unfortunately the photo file is too large to send to my online album.

**This photo is of one of the odd items you find at Dreamy Draw which seems oddly out of place. I assume it is related to the water control at the dam, but I don't know. There never is any water in the dam, and the park rangers always make sure to keep the weeds around this box cut back, so it most be important for something! It probably dates back to when the Army Corps of Engineers built the dam.

Sunday July11th, 2010

I was not able to run today @ Dreamy Draw for what has to be the most unusual of circumstances. I arrived to Dreamy Draw today about 3pm to find that police had the parking lot area blocked-off with crime scene tape, and news crews were just starting to arrive. I just learned a few minutes ago on the evening news that a body of a 50-year old man was found shot to death inside the park. ABC News 15 has reported that it was a single gunshot wound, and suicide has not been ruled out. I'll post an update as I learn more on the topic.

Saturday July 10th:

I was able to get a 45-minute run/walk in yesterday - I stayed on the main concrete path and it was a very hot day with temps about 107 and noticeable humidity. Didn't see any bodies on the concrete path yesterday!

*Congrats to Spain on their World Cup win today!

**This short video clip just shows part of the northeast corner of the park along the Hwy 51. There are some nice blooming trees & shrubs along this part of the concrete path in spring.

Saturday June 26th, 2010

Very hot in Phoenix now - 110 was the high yesterday, and about 105 today. I put in a 50-minute run/walk today in the early afternoon & didn't even encounter anyone on the concrete running path! LOL. I like when I have the place all to myself! There were a few cars in the parking lot, but I guess those people were out on the hiking trails perhaps; and I did see one mountain biker.

I also saw about half a dozen baby Quail running behind their mother as they crossed the concrete path in front of me. That's one of the nice sightings during the middle of summer at Dreamy Draw - always lots of baby Quail around.

**this short video clip I took a couple of weekends ago shows the area around the "ranger station" which is basically just a supply shed I think, LOL.

Sunday June 13th, 2010

Yesterday was quite cool for this time of year - about 85 and we even had a touch of rain in the morning in Phoenix. After the brief rain let up and the sky cleared it was surprisingly cool, and not really very humid.

Today also was about 10 degrees cooler than usual this time of year, 92 today. And today we had a very nice blue sky with puffy white clouds. It was a good day to take some video of Dreamy Draw, which is exactly what I did. You can find one of them attached to this blog entry. I'll add others on future entries.

I put in a 45-minute run/walk on Saturday & about an hour of walking today.

Saturday June 5th, 2010

Very warm today - 107 was the high. I went for about a 50-minute run starting at about mid-day and the temp at that time was about 100. Good workout though! Only a handful of cars in the parking lot, and even fewer people found on the main concrete running path, which I like!

**This photo shows the view to the North, across Hwy 51 - that's Paradise Valley.

Saturday May 29th, 2010

Quite a nice day @ Dreamy Draw today. About 95 today, sunny with only a little gusty wind. A nice day for a run! I did about 50 minutes today. Pretty much nothing is in bloom now! To be expected though in late May. The bougainvillea of course is still in bloom, it likes the summer heat! But all the wildflowers, the sunflower shrubs and the blooming cacti are no longer in bloom, including the bottle brush tree I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. When I ran by it today I noticed the red blooms were all gone. What a difference a couple of weeks makes around here! Just 2 weeks ago it was in full bloom with bees and hummingbirds buzzing all around it. Now, done!

**The photo is of some grasses that were very pretty back in April when I took this photo. They are turning yellow now.

Saturday May 15th, 2010

A hot weekend in Phoenix - summer has definitely arrived. Sunday reached 98 degrees, but we still haven't had our first 100 degree day yet, though they are forecasting it will happen next week. Usually happens mid to late May. I put in about an hour run/walk today staying on the main concrete path.


Pretty much all the wildflowers and even the sunflowers shrubs have died now from all the summer heat, though some trees like the red bottle brush are in full bloom. There aren't any bottle brush on the preserve, but on the main concrete path there is a nice one that is near the pedestrian overpass that connects to the high school on the other side of Hwy 51. Actually there's a lot of bouganavilla in that area that is in full boom as well. Very pretty over there right now, and a good place to see hummingbirds not only because of the bottle brush tree but there are hummingbird feeders there as well.

**The photo is of a map of the Dreamy Draw hiking area. You can find this map at the trail head that is just about 50 feet to the right of the toilets on the main concrete path.