Larry,

Just in case it's of interest, have you heard about the trike rally in Palm Springs? Feb 8-11. That's a six hour drive from Tucson.

https://www.triabike.com/about/winter-escape-recumbent-rally-pg216.htm

You are most welcome! Being able to use the rental van to quickly get from one trail to another let us pick some good ones.

I've really enjoyed following your journal. It's given me lots of ideas of trails to ride when we start our trailer traveling next year. Thanks for posting!

Sumac is becoming spectacularly bright this time of year!

Garter snake

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/28378-Thamnophis-radix

Probably a painted turtle... by way of elimination. Not enough red on the shell to be positive, but nothing else fits.


https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/39771-Chrysemys-picta/browse_photos?place_id=24

Female monarch (thicker dark lines) on sunflowers.

https://extension.umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/indicator-species/monarch-fact-sheet/

https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-sunflower

Thank you … so many stories and events along the way.

That’s an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations on sticking with it! It sounds like you’ve had a lot of fun on the way, too.

Sunflowers. Possibly prairie sunflowers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus_pauciflorus

Love the pictures but don’t really like the experience. Got caught by a tornado in Kansas a long time ago. It avoided the town but completely destroyed miles of fields where I had been cycling a few hours before.

Thanks … still trying to wrap our minds around it and now we are looking to see which states might need more miles ridden in them.

Congratulations!

Yikes!

I’m glad you pointed that out. Good job giving perspective!