We spent a whole week exploring a variety of areas right around Phoenix and collectively collected well over 500 spiders! Here are some of the cool places we spent some time at:
Rio Salada Restoration Area
This park, right in the middle of the city, is being restored beautifully. We found a lot of Habronattus here, and even some ant mimics!
Tres Rios Wetlands
Who knew a wetland complex for wastewater treatment would make such a beautiful hiking trail and spider collecting site?
Schnepf Peach Farm
Not just peaches.. this place has a field filled with Habronattus pyrrithrix, one of the species our lab needs for behavioral research studies.
Queen Creek Olive Mill
No trip is complete without daily visits to the Olive Mill to stuff ourselves with olives. This place has 5 varieties of fresh olives from their own trees, plus many fancy and stuffed varieties, oils, tapenades, gifts and body products made from their olives. The best part is the samples. They also have a full menu of food items as well, all from locally sourced ingredients (many of which are grown in their own garden outside!) and a bunch of indoor and nice outdoor seating on their gorgeous grounds surrounded by olive trees.
Superstition Mountains
Probably my favorite stop was for a hike in these beautiful mountains up the Peralta trail. The views were breathtaking and the vibes these mountains gave off were extraordinary. There are endless trails throughout different parts of these beauties with different views.. if you have more time than we did to explore them I recommend checking out multiple trails. These mountains will take your breath away. Bonus was that I even found a jumping spider here!
Besides the glorious views, the unpredicted 70 degree weather for half the trip, and the abundance of spiders, I got to enjoy meeting up with one of my BEST friends from high school who lives out there at a delicious give-me-absolutely-all-the-food-because-its-so-amazing type of vegan restaurant called Pomegranate Cafe. The rest of the time I was able to successfully carry on with my current "raw" diet eating streak by stocking up with food at Trader Joe's and enjoying the meal prep with my poor quality mini-blender I packed in my luggage back at our AirBNB (seriously the cheapest way to travel!)
What a great time overall! Thanks to my boss, coworkers and the students I work with for a great week!
No comments:
Post a Comment