Call for Dan Quail

Worked this morning, then headed 100 blocks down Central to the South Mountain Park. This rock ridge marks the south border of Phoenix and is perhaps the largest city park in the country. At the Environmental Center a humming bird flew within a yard of us, quite intent on the flowers at our knees.

We followed a ranger-led group of fourth graders down the sandy, rocky trail, then veered off toward the ridge. This, it turns out, was a Wrong Thing to Do. As the sign said (I missed it), Don't Be a Trail Blazer.

We weren't the first Trail Blazers, as we could tell from the empty cans, bottles and chip bags strewn here and there. If you visit South Mountain Park, bring a trash bag.

We hadn't walked far when I spotted a small stripey thing hustling toward a prominent rock. An irritated ground squirrel popped up atop the rock, shaking his tail and then hustling up to the next higher rock.

We heard some birds, and saw quail on the run up the hill away from us. Their behavior was understandable, but hardly Tourist Bureau material. Saw some nice Saguaro cactus. The information sheet said they don't grow arms until they reach 65 to 75 years of age. Takes people that long to grow brains.

We must have hiked for a couple of miles but saw little else on the ground. Some nice petroglyphs on the rocks beside the trail, mixed with contemporary graffiti. Did the Ancients a millennium ago shake their heads at the kits who marked turtles and snakes on the pristine stones?

Above us a pair of red tail hawks circled in the updrafts, and we listened to their calls and watched them for a good ten minutes.

The drive back north reminded me of how flat and funky much of Phoenix is. With little to restrain the sprawl (except things like South Mountain), the place has expanded everywhere. There are many vacant lots and lots of empty buildings. Maybe the north end is nicer, but central and south Phoenix are FUNN-KEE.

We battled the traffic up to a pizza parlor on Camelback called the Parlor. Debbie recommended it, and though we only had a drink we liked it. Good attentive staff and the menu looked great, with nice midcentury architecture. We'll be back.