Madera Canyon, Arizona April 2024

 Madera Canyon, Arizona April 2024

The Santa Rita Mountains is part of the Coronado National Forest, elevation 5,000 feet. We were able to use our National Park pass for our admission in the park. It is 13 miles from Green Valley Arizona and 25 miles from Tucson. There is lodging in the park, the Santa Rita Lodge is where you can rent cabins and they have a wellness center. It is a perfect place to stay close to some great birdwatching. 

One of the many hummingbirds we saw at Madera Canyon.  

The Santa Rita Gift shop, was also selling coffee and delicious blueberry muffins.  A nice treat for the early morning birdwatchers like us.

The bird feeders set up at the Santa Rita Lodge, they had a great seating area for the bird lovers.

A view of the mountains from the parking lot. 

This lush canyon is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. It is a hotspot listed on Ebird, attracting birdwatchers from around the world. It is home to 250 bird species, including 15 hummingbird species.

We hiked a part of the Madera Creek trail, crossing the bridge and walking past the Amphitheater. We followed the creek for awhile. Looking for the birds and any wildlife. 

Spring is a good time to enjoy hiking in Madera Canyon. Beside the birds we saw, a few deer were seen off the trail. 

If you are ever in the area, I highly suggest a visit to Madera Canyon. 

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Camera Critters

For this weeks Camera Critters  I have a few more critters we saw while on vacation in Washington State. One is a deer we saw during our hike on the lakeshore trail in Stehekin also a few goats some we saw penned up in the town of Leavenworth and some goats we saw while hiking at Artist Point, Mt Baker. The goats were far away and looked like white spots until we saw them get up and they started moving around.


I am not sure but I believe this a mule deer

Leavenworth goats, farm next to the sidewalk in town. 

Mt Baker..From a distance the goats looked like white rocks on the ground that is until they got up and walked away.

I love animals....any kind of animal and seeing them wild and in their own habitat is a real treat for me.

To enjoy more critters from all over click here: Camera Critters  Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting and thank you for stopping by to see my critters.

Scenic Sunday .. viewing fall foliage at Shenandoah nat'l park

This is my Scenic Sunday and for more great Scenic Sunday photos please click on my link.

The red foliage in this first picture looks like it is a Ruby Tuesday photo to me, what do you think?  For more beautiful  red photos stop by the Ruby Tuesday site . just click on my link. Thanks Mary for hosting.

My Camera Critters post now follows my Scenic Sunday.


Yesterday hubby and I spent the day driving on the Skyline Drive and a hike on the Limberlost trail and the Big Meadow at Shenandoah National Park.

The Limberlost trail

The fall colors are not peaking just yet but there were enough pretty colors around for us to enjoy. The wildflowers on the Big Meadows were turning a beautiful red. The sky was a pretty blue with some puffy clouds even the moon was out.

Along the drive I had to stop there was a Ruffed Grouse crossing the road in front of my car. How cool it is a lifer for me and I can add the Ruffed Grouse to my birding life list. I tried to take a picture thru my front window and the bird was moving along at a fast pace so the photo is blurry.

 I was looking for the Black Bears but we had just missed a sighting by minutes. We did see some pretty deers along the Skyline drive.

Thanks to the Aisha for getting Scenic Sunday started and for hosting.