My wife and I are taking our kids down to Palm Springs, CA and Yuma, AZ for vacation this month. Easter falls at the end of spring break this year so we are spending it with my wife's parent's winter home down in Yuma. I'm looking forward to the trip from a photography angle as well as a much needed rest. Here in Edmonton it is late winter starting to look like spring is coming. Basically that means that the wonderful white landscape is about to turn muddy and brown. Until the plant life starts to bloom that is.
Now anyone that has been to Yuma will tell you that it's brown there all year long being in the desert and all. :) This is true but it's a different brown. It's the browns and greens of the desert. Not the brown of road gravel thrown down by the road crews to help with the icy roads. I'm looking forward to the change of climate.
I have my eyes set on three wild life and nature preserves around Yuma. Two of them on the Colorado River where the border between Arizona and California runs and one a bit further east right in the middle of the desert.
The first I plan to visit is the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. Here, along the Colorado River, I'm hoping to see Big Horn Sheep, Mule Deer, Muskrats and many species of birds. Perhaps I'll see some wild burros and some snakes along the way.
Second on my list of places to visit is the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Much the same as the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge it's just a short driver further north along the Colorado River. I expect to see much the same animals and plants here.
The third I want to visit is the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. This one is more or less due east of the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. This one is desert all the way and I expect to see lots of cacti and desert critters. What I'm hoping to see here are Desert Tortoise and Desert Kit Fox.
Of course with all these locations, it would be amazing to photograph a coyote chasing a road runner!
Timing will be very important for these locations. I don't want to be in the desert in the middle of the day. Not only will it be too hot but the animals will not be nearly as active either. I'll have to get there before sunrise or a couple hours before sunset. Having 2 young children, I'm pretty sure it will be the afternoon time slot.
Chris.
