Nine days ago, Mother Nature finally realized Phoenicians were weary of triple-digit temperatures and has since provided phenomenal conditions. The type of weather where a sidewalk-egg experiment won’t fry at 1 p.m. The kind of weather featuring a gently warm sun and brisk breeze, a sweatshirt might even be necessary at dusk. The sort of weather that urges ‘get out there and explore more’…
Time to poke around Papago.
This approx. 1,500 acre park straddles Phoenix and Tempe – different websites claim different acreage and different city lines – but regardless of the exact facts, it encompasses a lot of ‘stuff’. Papago is home to the Phoenix Zoo, the “Hole in the Rock” hike and other trails, golf, the Desert Botanical Garden and a heritage center. I have now tackled two of the sites.
First stop: Admiring the animals.
The largest privately-owned, non-profit zoo in the U.S. opened in 1962 named after the founder Robert Maytag, but pivoted to the current (and creatively coined) “Phoenix Zoo” the following year. Having been to many zoos around the world, (some favorites are Lincoln Park, Berlin, San Diego, Taronga in Sydney and Honolulu), I was excited to see what might set this apart.
The grounds are extremely pretty, and the available animals were (of course) beautiful in their own right. However, not many were out and about, and the hours had just changed to close quite early in preparation for holiday Zoo Lights. At least they waited until the day after Halloween unlike many, many retailers…
In the short time there, I did see some intimidating vultures and a couple bunnies that wandered into the porcupine display. Hopefully, the vultures did not see the bunnies.
The baboon was quite striking.
As were the flamingos in all their pink-ish gracefulness.
Even though the park was starting to empty out, I was determined to find the Australian section and finally came across a couple emus. Did you know that the emu is the second tallest bird (averaging approximately 5 – 6 feet)? Its African-relative, the ostrich, claims the gold medal on height (up to 9 feet). Both birds (part of the ratite family) are fairly fast and each has the less-than-desirable distinction of being not too intelligent. Interestingly, ostriches can walk backwards, whilst the emu cannot. As a side note, the flamingo generally measures in at about 3 ½ to just under 5 feet – but unlike their towering buddies, they can fly.
Now it was definitely after the 4 p.m. shut-down and although I hadn’t seen any lions or snakes, I still didn’t want to get locked in for the night, in case they were biding their time for a sneak attack. Best to head out.
Next stop: Hiking the Hole (in the Rock)
A super-short trail led to this unique-looking rock formation. And as the sun is setting much earlier these days, it felt smart to stick with ‘super short’ (lest a snake or lion be lurking in the dark by the pathway).
This sandstone butte came into existence more than 6 million years ago (maybe even 15 million… again different websites seem to offer different facts but let’s just say it’s been around for a long while). Follow the path around the (small) mountain/hill, start trekking up at a semi-easy slope and suddenly you’re at the top.
The natural structure itself is very cool-looking and the outward views were stunning, too.
So that was my introduction to a smidge of the Papago Park area. Wildlife-watching and trail-traversing against a gorgeous backdrop without becoming lion-lunch or cobra-chow. Arizona has continued to amaze!