DesertDogDad
@jamesventura
Doggos and I enjoy hiking, gardening, camping, healthy living, and weekend adventures. We live in the low desert of south-central Arizona. We hope to connect with like-minded folks 🤗
Looking eastward over the sprawling San Simon Valley. The prominent standalone peak is Harris Mountain. Below the peaks stretches the vast San Simon Valley, a classic desert basin separating the region's isolated "sky island" mountain ranges. #Arizona
Today, volunteers clear brush and maintain over 270 cataloged graves. History isn't just in textbooks; it’s preserved by native plants and high-desert hills. Do you have a favorite historic spot or pioneer story in the Southwest? 🏜️
Serenity = Wild Horses of the Salt River, Arizona. Red Mountain is in the background.
Nervous System Reset: (sound up) Red Mountain in the background & the Salt River, Arizona.
Thirteen years ago today, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (Yarnell, Arizona) never came home. As I stood looking across the same landscape they faced, I couldn't help but think about the unimaginable courage it takes to run toward danger when everyone else is running away.
A massive dead tree somehow suspended 15 feet off the ground, perfectly wedged between two living trees. I’ve spent a lot of time on Arizona trails, but I’ve never seen anything quite like it. My best guess is wind, gravity, and a little bit of wilderness magic. What do you think happened here? 🌲
The last snow in all of Arizona, June 26 2026. Inner Basin above Lockett Meadow near Flagstaff, Arizona 🫶🏻 Am I wrong? 👇🏼
A golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), native to the western United States and Rocky Mountains. While they resemble chipmunks, these squirrels lack facial stripes, which is the easiest way to distinguish between the two. Humphrey Peak, Arizona
My first encounter with a bashful Green Mojave Rattlesnake on Blackletts Ridge in Sabino Canyon this morning near Tucson, Arizona. Beautiful color and markings. ❤️🐍✌️ Cropped and zoomed.
Sound up 👂📣 for the Cow Whisperer, talking to the cows 🐄 in the Kaibab
👂📣 If you’re tired, angry, lonely, ill, or depressed please watch, listen and let nature speak to your soul ✌️ Mount Baldy Wilderness, Arizona. Join me as I called out from work and escaped to the mountains 🏔️
Called out from work. Went hiking with my doggo Odin in the Mount Baldy Wilderness. We did 10 miles next to the Little, Colorado River. Odin says, “10/10 we should do this again soon.”
The sun was rising behind the peak. And I thought… maybe this is what it means to be alive✌️ to keep going, because something beautiful is always waiting to meet you halfway. #MorningGrace #LightWillFindYou
The Santa Rita Mountains host hundreds of bird 🦅 species including the rare Elegant Trogon. This clip has a very rich birdsong 🎧 Turn up the volume up. Taken at 7500 feet elevation on the Old Baldy Trail yesterday ✌️
I’m on top of Mount Wrightson looking south to Rio Rico and Nogales, Arizona. The largest peak in the distance is Sierra San Antonio located in Sonora, Mexico with an elevation of 9843 slightly higher than Mount Wrightson’s 9455 elevation.