Nocturnal Excursion with Wild Man Phil

I hauled Don along on another one of my adventures.  This time we hopped aboard a safari of SUVs with Wild Man Phil and his crew.  I asked Phil to pose as Tarzan of the Desert.  He's a fun KNOWLEDGEABLE entertainer and tour guide!
 
Part of the adventure is the ride itself.  About 20 of us "Creekers" piled into the vans and headed for the dusty wilderness.

 
This was our major stop where we scouted the area for petroglyphs, admired some of the cactus flowers and vegetation and waited for nightfall.

 
One of our young energetic tour drivers climbed to the summit to admire the view.

Nice zoom lens!

This rock looks like someone's doodle pad.

 

 We found some strange looking desert plants in bloom.  All the hedgehog cactus were in full bloom with their pretty purple flowers....and I can't believe I didn't take a single picture of them!!!  Sorry.

 
We enjoyed the sights as dusk enveloped us.

Nightfall arrived.  Phil and his crew handed out flashlights and black lights so we could go hunting for scorpions.  WOW!!  I was amazed at how these critters really glow under that light.  We discovered several different kinds and Phil provided an educational story about each one.

 
Rosemary was brave and volunteered to hold one of the critters.

 
This was a pretty big one.

 

 
Phil is quite the entertainer and had this guy well into his mouth !!!!!!  

 
Next speciman spotted was this long-nosed snake.  Quite a colorful guy.

 
We (some of us anyway) took turns holding the snake for a photo opportunity.

This rattlesnake was a different story though.

Another interesting stop was at an old stagecoach site with a couple old buildings and fences still in place.  We carefully entered the buildings to see who was residing there now.  There were a good number of bats so Phil and crew got out their nets and caught a specimen to examine.

This baby tarantula was another resident we found.  There were some very strange looking insects and beetles too so it was interesting to hear a full description and story of each from Phil.  Black widow spiders were quite abundant.

It wasn't just the cri77ers that made this trip so pleasant.  The night sky away from the city lights is just beautiful.  We spent lots of quiet time just admiring the stars.

You can put this adventure tour on your bucket list for next season.  If you haven't been to one of Phil's presentations here, be sure and make a point to attend.  He is a VERY entertaining and knowledgeable speaker.  He calls his talks "Edutainment".