July update - Trip through Four Corners, Grand Canyon, and Wyoming

Over a span of four days (July 12th to 16th), I traveled across five states and drove more than 2,400 km.

The trip began from Colorado and passed through Blue Mesa Lake again.

Blue Mesa Lake.


Somewhere before Telluride.  Then I drove through San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests, just like the last time.

I approached the Four Corners Monument in the afternoon and thought it would be an interesting place to check out.  But boy, was I wrong.  Feel free to Google it and read the reviews (wished I had done so before I entered), but it was a waste of my money ($5) and time (~ 1 hour).

Four corners - where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet.

Visitors lining up to take picture with a cross on the ground.

What interested me more were the plants planted around the point.  My first cactus (in whatever state I was in at the time).

A bee inside the cactus flower.

The cross.

I did not realize how popular selfie sticks are until this trip - I saw people carrying them everywhere I go.  Quite ridiculous.

Another unknown plant growing around the monument.

The landscape started to change quite drastically once you enter Arizona - like these rocks sticking out of the ground like they don't belong there.


More rocks sticking out in the distance.

While I pulled over on the side of the road to stretch my legs, the biologist in me started to notice critters around me.

A large robber fly.

Some kind of potter wasp.

Tiger beetle.

Unknown hairy fly.

After finishing my fieldwork in the afternoon of the 13th, I drove to Tusayan to buy my park pass and ride the free shuttle into the park.

To get from Tusayan to the park, you ride the purple route.  Then transfer from the blue route to the red route to get to the scenic route where you can either hike or bus the whole way.


The breathtaking view that you see once you are on the scenic trail.  I find that my photos do not do Grand Canyon justice but they are the best I can do to capture the memory.

While admiring the scenery, I was also searching for interesting plants and animals that I never seen before.

Cliffrose (Purshia mexicana)

Cacti.


Century plant (Agave americana) growing on the side of the canyon and rising at least several metres into the air.


Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri).  If you look closely, you can see that there is a crab spider waiting inside one of the flowers.


Unknown bee visiting flowers next to a cliff.


Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)


 Juniper Titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi) - lifer!

I was traveling during the hottest part of the day, so I didn't see much wildlife overall.

But look at this spectacular view!  It felt so alien to me.
















Dark thundering clouds brought periods of rain during my hike/bus ride.












See the larger image here.

In the evening, I returned back to Tusayan to find food and shelter.  The following morning (14th), I realized that I needed to go through the park once again in order to travel northward to Utah.  So I was able to enjoy Grand Canyon once again.

Duck on a rock.

I was having a hard time capturing all the different beautiful colours Grand Canyon was showing, so I had to post-process most of my photos in order to bring out the colours.






A more extreme version of the post-processing.

While pulling over at a rest area to photograph more of the Grand Canyon, I realized several cars were parked at weird angles and people were looking away from the canyons.  I turned around and quickly realized that there was a handsome male elk (Cervus canadensis) eating on the side of the road.

Looking at the antlers!




One of the photographers annoyingly set off his car alarm on purpose so that the elk will raise his head and look at his camera.  Ugh, some people.

At another rest area, I saw several hummingbirds resting and visiting the thistle plants growing next to the parking lot.

I am having a difficult time identifying this species, but I think it may be a female Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri).  If it is indeed a BCHU, then this will be another lifer for me.




According to All About Birds, the females have "three outer tail feathers have broad white tips."  So this bird appears to match the description.

Towards the eastern entrance/exit of the park, there is a Desert View Watchtower that people had purposely designed and built so that it looks like a rustic, ancient watchtower.  I personally was at Grand Canyon to appreciate nature, not to look at man-made structures.


Handiwork of Mother Nature.

This is what the watchtower looks like.


Outside the tower, I saw at least two Mountain Chickadees (Poecile gambeli) - another lifer!

After filling up my water bottles, buying postcards and supplies (i.e., Grand Canyon beer), and getting ready to leave the park, I noticed a lizard on the walk path.

I think it was an Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) - my first lizard here in Arizona!!!






What a handsome fella.

After exiting the park, I noticed a sign directed towards a scenic area.  I pulled over and then saw this sign, which suggested a potential to see more wildlife.

Although most of the animals listed here are not reptiles.

Cacti.


A large group of cacti and century plants.

I was photographing this sulphur butterfly when a whole bunch of tourists passed me and wondered what I was photographing.  Life must be boring for regular humans who can't slow down and appreciate nature.


I am pretty sure I was the only one who saw this Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii).

Then I (excitedly) saw three different species of lizards!

Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)










Giving me a wink.


Handsome.


Such a cool-looking animal.

Common Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana)






Love all the different colours on it.




Tiger Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris).  Compared to the other lizards, this one was incredibly shy and kept hiding in the vegetation and wanting nothing to do with me.


So beautiful!


Oh yeah, this is the view that the free scenic area has to offer.  It offers a chance to be closer to the canyon than being inside the park.  I definitely recommend this spot both for the scenery and wildlife-viewing.




As I was heading towards the car, I saw a flock of birds hanging out by the gated trash cans.  I took pictures of some of them, but I still can't figure out what species it is.  [Edit: I now believe this is a juvenile Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata).]

Close to the border between Arizona and Utah is Glen Canyon Dam.  I stopped at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center for a bathroom break and took some photos.


Lake Powell - the second-largest artificial lake in USA.

After this, I drove pretty much non-stop across Utah and spent a night at Sandy, Utah.  The following morning (15th), I went to Cache county only to find that my second Mertensia species had flowered (at least a month ago) already.  So I started driving back to Colorado via Wyoming.

Near Cache county is Bear Lake.

Bear Lake.

According to this board, there are four endemic fish species found only in Beak Lake.  Pretty incredible.


Bear Lake also has sandy beaches.  Definitely not what I was expecting in a landlocked state.


Unknown damselfly.

Along the shore, I saw several bird species, including Killdeer, a Spotted Sandpiper, and this group of birds.


I soon realized that they were American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana), a shorebird species that I always wanted to see.  Another lifer!




Such a graceful-looking bird with its long upturned bill.


Then I continued with the drive and passed through the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming.

Stopped here for a late lunch (~ 2 PM).

Watched the clouds turned darker and darker with flashes of lightning.

Then at one point during my drive, it got really cold (~ 3 degrees Celsius) and started hailing really hard.  I had to pull over to the side of the road because the windshield wipers were not wiping fast enough for me to see the road.

Then I passed through an area (I think somewhere in Utah) where trees on either side of the road were black and dead.  I wonder what happened here.

More dark clouds.

In the evening of the 15th, I spent a night at Grand Junction, Colorado and then arrived back in Gothic in the afternoon of the 16th, which concluded my road-trip of the field season (not counting the one where I drive back to Ottawa at the end of July).  Overall, this might be the best roadtrip I have ever had - mainly because of Grand Canyon and all the different plants, lizards, and birds that I encountered.  Thanks for reading this super long post.