Part 3: Phoenix to Las Vegas

On the 19th we went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, which was an incredibly fascinating and worthwhile experience. We were able to have a private tour from one of the employees that was incredibly helpful in explaining all of the important research that they do there in addition to the exhibition of thousands of different species of desert plants. We were able to see all of these various cactus and wildflowers up close and identify differences between similar species, and all of these plants of course attracted wildlife. I saw a few ground squirrels and lizards, plenty of birds, and dozens of different species of butterflies and moths. We left the Botanical Garden and drove through Sedona, where we stopped to go on a hike in the Coconino National Forest. It was here that we first saw snow up close on our trip, a trend that persisted as we continued to gain elevation on our way to Flagstaff, where we stayed that night.
We woke up on the 20th in Flagstaff and drove north to Grand Canyon National Park. Here there was plenty of snow prevalent on the ground, and we had a bit of a snowball fight in the parking lot and around the visitor center (again, being from Florida). After a few shuttle bus rides that brought us to where we could hike around the rim, we finally saw the Canyon itself and I was absolutely blown away. I took hundreds of pictures, but none could do it justice. Its size is just difficult to comprehend, and it is absolutely stunning. We went on a few short hikes, including one that went down into the Canyon a little bit, and spent a lot of time just appreciating the view. We saw some elk feeding on grasses near the road, many of which were pregnant females. They didn't seem afraid of humans, and some people were able to get pretty close to them without startling them. We had a long drive from the Grand Canyon back to Las Vegas, and got into our hotel pretty late. This didn't stop the whole group from hanging out together and talking late into our last night, enjoying the company of those that we had gotten to know so well throughout our trip.
The next morning a few of us were taken to the airport because we had flights earlier in the day, and we parted ways with the rest of the group. I must admit that it was sad to leave everybody that I had become friends with, but I am eagerly looking forward to my next immersion course, and am just appreciative to have had this amazing opportunity. As I was sitting in the Las Vegas airport waiting to board my flight to go home, I found myself thinking back over everything that we were able to do on this trip. Because we were traveling with a UF course, we had access to some pretty incredible lodgings and other opportunities that I definitely would not have had if traveling alone. I also met a lot of great people in this course, and was happy to have shared the experience with them. I feel that my fellow students helped me to enjoy this trip in ways that I would not have been able on my own, and am glad to have gotten to know each one of them. We really couldn't have had a better professor or TA for this course, and I am extremely appreciative of everything that they did both on the trip and in the classroom to give us such a valuable learning experience. Desert Biodiversity was an incredibly fun and unique course, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in future Biology Immersion programs at UF.

Posted on March 25, 2018 01:32 AM by cullencsmith