SaddleBrooke Hikers experience the desert at its best

 

Elisabeth Wheeler

Twelve SaddleBrooke hikers got an early morning start to enjoy hiking the Windmill Loop in Oracle State Park before the hiking club spring picnic. The early bird hikers were rewarded with over 40 wildflowers and 58 sightings of the stunning mariposa lily. Hikers delighted in the views of the Galiuro Mountains from the fairy duster covered slopes of the ridgeline. Two gila monsters were sighted as well as a rattlesnake whose tail safely extended from his den. Several hikers remarked that this was their new favorite hike in Oracle State Park because of the views and wildflowers.