Sierra Vista: Cooler than you think.

Erin Olmstead and Lia Sansom

A sunshade adorned with this cheeky slogan winked at us from behind the windshield of the only other car in the parking lot when we arrived at San Pedro House for an early morning walk. Our plan was to check out the river for a bit before heading into town to help out at TAS' booth at the Southwest Wings festival. What a way to start the day! If the amount of caked-on mud accumulated on the soles of one's boots is any measure of the level of enjoyment derived from an hour's worth of mucking along the banks of a flowing desert river, then you'd have been able to tell we had a blast. They really ought to make a detergent commercial featuring a few intrepid birder-naturalists on the chase. We grown-ups can get just as dirty playing outside as little kids do!

Thanks to a healthy amount of rain over the last several weeks, our surroundings were a lush green and the river was really flowing. The weather was perfect and bird highlights were Gray Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Blue Grosbeak. Other exciting finds were snakeskin incorporated into a bird's nest, a beaver's gnaw marks, and a variety of fungus, feathers, and footprints. Here are a few shots from our refreshing ramble along the San Pedro. Enjoy!