Waddell, Arizona

Just north of our home here in Buckeye, Arizona, lay the White Tank Mountains. In 1961, the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, almost 30,000 acres in the heart of the range became Maricopa County’s largest park. Open year round with only five paid staff and a host of unpaid volunteers, the miles of hiking trails, picnic ramadas and other park facilities invite guests from all over the world.

In the spring, especially when rains have been plentiful, as was the case this year, wildflowers cover the desert landscape. On Wednesdays in the months of February and March, 2015, a volunteer leads a hike on the most promising trails providing information on plants with a focus on available wild flowers.

The first week of the hike didn’t provide many flowers for us to view, but we learned a lot about many of the plants found in the park, and over the next few weeks we will be able to spot and identify plants as they start to bloom during the short spring wildflower season. This week, Lynn and I are traveling, gathering more images to share. In the meantime, I submit for your approval, a gallery of images taken on our first wildflower hike in 2015. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

The White Tank Regional Park has a busy schedule of events open to the general public. You can check the current schedule at the park’s web page here. If you get the chance, one of the most interesting and enjoyable hikes is the night moonlight hike typically held twice a month on full moon nights. One hike is for families, including the family dog; the other hike is open to adults only.

John Steiner