Hiking the Nature Trail at Catalina Park

Catalina State Park has some great trails for hiking.  The one we chose is the Nature Trail.  It's a 3 mile wake from our camp site to the Natural Trail and back.  We picked a warm and sunny day.

It was only a few hundred yards on the trail before we stopped to snap a photo of the Catalina Mountains in the distance.

The desert was quiet except for the four or five birds that were chirping and cooing and making their regular morning greetings to each other.

The saguaro cactus is a monument to itself.  This old beauty is several hundred years old.

The trail began near our campsite and meandered through the wash to the trail head where we took the turn up the hill marked "Nature Trail."

There were a few signs telling of the indigenous animals including this display and info about the mountain lion.  Yikes!  We were ok without a personal appearance...

Years from now we will remember this selfie among the many we have taken over the years.  

The signs appeared to mostly be new and made of sturdy metal.  The information on them told the story of the of the creatures living in the area.

The mark of a well done display is enough information to explain things and hit the highlights.  These markers accomplished that.  I didn't care about the latin name of the desert dwellers or the biological history of the palo verde tree.  I just want the common name of the flora and fauna and maybe a few tidbits.

From the top of the Nature Trail, we could see the Catalina's in the distance and the rest of the beautiful scenery.

It was great day to go for hike.  Hopefully there will be more to follow.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!