Doug Kreutz's amazing outdoor scenes
Our favorite photos from the hiking enthusiast and former Star writer. Doug took advantage of every good photo op.
Red lobelia
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Red lobelia in bloom at the Shade Oasis. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Golden columbine
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Golden columbines are blooming this month in a dry stream bed along the Green Mountain Trail in the Catalina Mountains.
Four turkeys
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Four wild turkeys on the move in Madera Canyon south of Tucson.
Clumps of ferns
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Some sections of the Green Mountain Trail pass clumps of green ferns.
Cluster of blossoms
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Saguaros are putting on a grand bloom along and above the Catalina Highway northeast of Tucson.
Chaste tree bloom
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The bloom of a chaste tree at the Shade Oasis.
Lizard
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A lizard at the Shade Oasis.
Columbine bloom
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A blue columbine flower at the Shade Oasis.
Butterflies and blooms
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Butterflies and blooms are abundant at the Shade Oasis, open during the day, seven days a week, free of charge.
Blooms at Prickly Park
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Yellow prickly pear flowers at Pima Prickly Park. — Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Red cactus blooms
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Red cactus blooms at Pima Prickly Park. — Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Desert flowers
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Desert flowers in bloom at Pima Prickly Park. — Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Prickly pear cactus
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A prickly pear cactus in brilliant bloom.
Cholla cactus
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A cholla cactus with red blooms.
Prickly pear
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A prickly pear cactus with red blooms in the desert west of Tucson.
Yellow prickly pear flowers
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Yellow flowers of prickly pears add color and beauty to Tucson Mountain Park west of the city.
Brilliant bloom
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A saguaro produces a brilliant bloom in the Catalina Foothills in mid-April 2018. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Wildflowers along Catalina Highway
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Wildflowers bloom along the Catalina Highway.
Penstemon wildflowers
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Penstemon wildflowers along the Box Camp Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains in 2016.
Globemallow
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Globemallow blooms add to the color show at Saguaro National Park West in 2017.
Blooming verbena
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Verbena are among wildflowers beginning to bloom at Saguaro National Park West in 2017.
Blooming saguaro
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This saguaro is in the Catalina Foothills. While full bloom usually arrives in May, the blossoms often start in April.
Saguaro blooms
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A saguaro blooming in the Catalina Foothills on April 12, 2018.
Finger Rock
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Finger Rock points to the sky high above Finger Rock Canyon.
Brittlebush flowers
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Brittlebush flowers along the Finger Rock Canyon Trail. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Blooms and ridge
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Ocotillo blooms and a ridge above Finger Rock Canyon.
Bee and palo verde
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A bee pays a visit to a blooming palo verde tree. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Fairy duster flowers
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A fairy duster in bloom. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Blooming creosote
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A creosote in bloom. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Starz
Spring in Tucson
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This hedgehog cactus is just one of many plants blooming as the desert goes through spring bloom Chapter 2.
Spring in Tucson
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A yucca wears a coat of white as it blooms in the Catalina Foothills area.
Blooming ocotillos
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Ocotillos like this one are blooming across the Tucson Valley.
Ocotillo in bloom
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An ocotillo in brilliant bloom.
Lupines and poppies
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Blue lupines and gold poppies are among the wildflowers blooming at Catalina State Park.
Purple bloom
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A purple bloom gracing the desert at Saguaro National Park west of Tucson. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Desert chicory and poppies
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A desert chicory bloom, in the foreground, with gold poppies blooming nearby. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Globe mallow
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Globe mallow. Photo taken along the Catalina Highway on March 12, 2013.
Pool along Sabino Creek
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Some large pools have formed along Sabino Creek since the creek resumed its vigorous flow after a long dry spell.
Sabino flowing again
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Sabino Creek, which had been bone dry for 153 straight days until mid-February, is now flowing again thanks to runoff from rains and mountain snow.
More poppies
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Gold poppies blooming at Catalina State Park north of Tucson. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Bee visits a poppy
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A bee visits a Mexican gold poppy blooming at Catalina State Park north of Tucson.
Cactus with a nasty side
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A chain fruit cholla, also known as a jumping cholla, at Saguaro National Park west of Tucson. Chains can have 10 to 12 fruits.
Chain fruit cholla
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Jumping cholla further increase their reproducing potential by hitching a ride on passing people or animals.
Clouds over cactus cluster
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Unusual clouds grace the sky over a cluster of small saguaros in Tucson Mountain Park west of the city.
Sunset light
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Sunset light illuminates clouds over Tucson.
Sunset clouds
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A rich mix of clouds decorates the sky over Tucson at sunset, with wispy cirrus clouds having an almost transparent character.
Wild Burro Trail
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Wildflowers dress up a stone ruin, apparently of an old ranch building, along the Wild Burro Trail in the Tortolita Mountains.
Small pool
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This small pool is a remnant of Sabino Creek, which hasn't flowed since Sept. 14. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Desert scene
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Small saguaros and other plants create a complex desert scene along the Bajada Loop Nature Trail. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Sunburst effect
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Diffused light creates a sunburst effect around a saguaro along the Bajada Loop Nature Trail in Sabino Canyon. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Crested saguaro
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A rare crested saguaro grows next to a more common saguaro specimen. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Trail view
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The Phoneline Trail and Blackett’s Ridge Trail provide some of the best vantages to see the canyon from above.
Phoneline Trail views
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A guardrail provides protection for hikers taking in views of Sabino Canyon from the Phoneline Trail.
Canyon tram
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A tram on the Sabino Canyon Road shown in a telephoto view from high above the canyon floor.
Birds at Deep Pond
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Birds, including a great blue heron, are finding less water than normal these days in the pond, near Forgeus Avenue and Ajo Way.
Deep Pond
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The Deep Pond at the Kino Environmental Restoration Project has become smaller after months with no measurable inflow from rains.
Barrel cactus
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Barrel cactus fruits brighten the landscape along the Big Wash Trail.
Catalina Mountain views
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Mature desert vegetation and views of the Catalina Mountains are part of the scenery along the Big Wash Trail in Oro Valley.
Brown Mountain Trail
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Cactus blossoms along the Brown Mountain Trail, which yields more beautiful views than its name might suggest.
Mount Wrightson
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The trek up Mount Wrightson — the highest of all the peaks surrounding the city — is a workout for legs and lungs.
Madera Canyon
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A deer in a secluded part of Madera Canyon on April 6, 2016.
Finger Rock Trail
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The challenging Finger Rock Canyon Trail is roughly aligned with North Swan Road.
Saguaro National Park
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A maze of interconnected trails — more than a dozen of them — await hikers at the end of East Broadway.
Violets
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Violets are blooming in January in a garden at the Tumacacori Mission south of Tucson.
Citrus fruits
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Citrus trees are bearing fruit in the orchard at the Tumacacori Mission, which has a wide variety of fruit trees.
Columbine flower
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Brilliant yellow columbine flowers are blooming in gardens at Tumacacori Mission south of Tucson in January. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Sabino Canyon hues
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The extended autumn color in Sabino Canyon is “pleasant to the eye but troubling to the soul,” says naturalist David Lazaroff.
Roadrunner
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A roadrunner sometimes visits a heritage tree site at the Tumaccori Mission. -- Credit: Doug Kreutz / Arizona Daily Star
Flourishing plants
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Plants along Tucson waterways flourish in the sunshine.
Golden poppies
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Spring wildflowers like these have bloomed abundantly in recent years, but this year's bloom could be largely a bust because of a lack of timely rains.
Tangled saguaro
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Several books suggest freezes may cause saguaros’ irregularities, like the one seen above off the Linda Vista Trail.
Tangle of saguaro limbs
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Several saguaros with a bizarre tangle of limbs stand out along the Linda Vista Trail north of Tucson.
Saguaro with limbs hanging down
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This specimen, sometimes called the “pooped-out saguaro,” has its four main limbs hanging toward the ground rather than standing tall.
Saguaro blooming in mid-November
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Saguaros usually burst into bloom in late spring or early summer, but some are flowering in fall’s cooler temperatures.
Red hues
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The red hues of a maple tree brighten the Marshall Gulch Trail in the Catalina Mountains.
Red autumn color
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Maple leaves add splashes of brilliant red autumn color along the Marshall Gulch Trail high in the Catalina Mountains.
Leaves floating on water
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Colorful autumn leaves float in a pool along a stream beside the Marshall Gulch Trail in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson.
Autumn color endures
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Colorful leaves endure into November along the Marshall Gulch Trail in the Catalina Mountains.
Clouds at sunrise
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An aerial armada of clouds graced the skies over Tucson at sunrise on Thursday, October 12. Photo by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star
Tucson Sunsets
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A monsoon storm over Tucson on Monday evening was followed by radiant rays at sunset. Photo by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star, July 10, 2017.
Sea of clouds
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A sea of clouds sailing over the Catalina Mountains on Wednesday morning, August 23.
Pincushion cactus in brilliant bloom
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A pincushion cactus, nurtured by monsoon rains, is in brilliant bloom in the Catalina Foothills on Tuesday, July 18. Photo by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star.
Crested saguaro signals touchdown
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It’s still months until the football season, but this crested saguaro beside Old Main on the University of Arizona campus is already signaling a touchdown. Photo by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star
Clifftop climbers
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A climber perches atop Hitchcock Pinnacle in the Catalina Mountains while another rappels down the cliff. Photo by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star.
Forest beauty
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Colorful wildflowers and emerald-green ferns grace forests of the Catalina Mountains in the first week of June. Photos by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star
Forest beauty
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Colorful wildflowers grace forests of the Catalina Mountains in the first week of June. Photos by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star
Forest beauty
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Emerald-green ferns grace forests of the Catalina Mountains in the first week of June. Photos by Doug Kreutz, Arizona Daily Star
