Wildflower Season in the New River Mountains

Update!  Thank you to my friend, John Barto, for catching and correcting my erroneous wildflower identifications.  Corrected as of April 2, 2017.

Just a stone's throw from here on the ranch - that is, a stone thrown by a powerful volcanic eruption, perhaps - on the other side of New River Mesa is the stunning terrain cut through by upper New River along the Table Mesa Road. This time of year, the New River Mountains are swathed in yellow brittle bush blossoms and punctuated by an assortment of less-abundant wildflowers and cactus blooms. With generous rain recently, New River still has water pooled in areas and flowing in others.

New River east of Table Mountain
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Armed with a new ruggedized pocket camera (not by choice, but because my previous pocket camera wasn't ruggedized and couldn't stand up to being stood on) and a few essentials (including my ubiquitous travel mug of coffee), we took the Jeep east on Table Mesa Road scouting potential access to the north side of New River Mesa in the future.

North Mountain
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

The invasive stinkweed hasn't yet leapt to the north side of New River Mesa. The yellow blossoms covering the slopes of North Mountain are mostly brittle bush blossoms.

Red Mountain
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Farther to the east is Red Mountain. True to its name, it remained barren of the yellow blossoms covering most of the hillsides around us.

Corral south of North Mountain
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Once part of the historic upper T-Ranch, the area still shows evidence of its history. An old catch pen thick with hare grass and common mallow begs to be photographed.

New Mexico Thistle
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

An interesting pale pink thistle greeted us in several areas. Below, a thistle poses cooperatively in front of North Mountain. Kudos to John Barto for identifying this as a New Mexico thistle.

New Mexico Thistle
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Hedgehog Blossoms
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

New Mexico Thistle
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

One of the earlier-blooming cactus, the hedgehog, is already open for bee-business with its fuchsia blooms.  Naturally, having a new toy to play with, I needed to experiment with filters.  

Hedgehog Blossoms
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Desert Marigolds
(c) MJ Miller

The Indian Paintbrush - firecracker-red blooms popping out of the backdrop - are always a visual treat.

The Coulter's lupine is a toxic beauty, containing alkaloids that can poison livestock. Commercial wildflower seed medleys often contain lupine seeds nonetheless for the sake of their gorgeous purple blooms. Distinctive for their star-like leaves, they line roadsides this time of year. Corrected from "Wyeth's Lupine" courtesy of John Barto, who also tells us that despite toxicity to cattle, the Coulter's Lupine is a favorite of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise.

Coulter's Lupine
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Below is a type of legume - per John Barto, it is a common pink fairy duster. 

(c) 2017 MJ Miller

During snake season, everything with the slightest serpentine shape gets your attention. The root protruding from the rocks below got my attention. Guitar Guy thought it amusing to make a buzzing noise as I stepped forward to snap a picture.

"Snake Root"
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Near this distinctive peak, a couple of men on mountain bikes stopped to ask us local information. They'd bicycled from Fountain Hills via Seven Springs. Having driven through to Seven Springs from Table Mesa a couple of years ago, we knew what the road was like. I asked, "How was the road?" The taller rider paused for effect and then simply said, "Gnarly." 

Me, thinking of a cold beer.

Already footsore by the time we met the cyclists, I found increasingly more reason to stop and photograph the landscape as Guitar Guy forged ahead. As I trudged slowly uphill, he called out: "Come up this far and you'll be rewarded!" For a moment, visions of a cold beer flickered into my imagination. Although the beer didn't materialize until we returned to civilization, I was indeed rewarded when I reached the top of the hill and could see a view of Gavilan Peak - which we can see to the west from our own backyard - in the distance. 

Gavilan Peak
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Gavilan Peak, often referred to by older locals as "Twin Buttes" or "Twin Peaks," once served as a landmark along the old stagecoach road from Prescott to Phoenix - now the Old Black Canyon Highway.

Saguaro Sentinels
(c) 2017 MJ Miller 

Despite the competition of their showier, more delicate wildflower cousins, the saguaro never fail to impress. Today's puffy clouds and bright blue sky made a stunning backdrop.

Cross
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Atop a peak near the quarry is a cross, barely visible, erected by persons unknown. 

Mariposa Lily
Identification courtesy of Mr. John Barto
(c) 2017 MJ Miller

Interested in learning more about our Arizona wildflowers?  Click here to order a field guide:

Recommended Field Guide: Wildflowers

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