Nearly 50 acres have been added to Saguaro National Park in Arizona through the Trust for Public Land, which has helped protect more than 2,300 acres in and around the park since 1993.

An early summer heat wave will bring dangerously hot temperatures this week to some Southwestern units of the National Park System, including Death Valley National Park, which could see temperatures flirting with 122° Fahrenheit by Thursday.

Seven national parks will host special events this year with Ada Limón, the nation’s 24th  Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

As the sun set over the Sonoran Desert, the animals came out to play. The deer grazing among the saguaro were probably mule but could have been white-tailed — it was tough to say at dusk with only mini red-light flashlights in hand instead of binoculars. The bird that perched on a tree branch for a few seconds before flying away had the distinctive silhouette of an owl. There was no mistaking the yips and howls of coyotes.