Mike in the Wild

South of Avondale and within eyesight - not to mention hearing distance - of a sprawling Nascar racetrack is the Base and Meridian Wildlife Area, owned by the Arizona Game and Fish Department.  The area is also called Tres Rios due to the nearby confluence of the Salt, Agua Fria and Gila Rivers. Once a year, the city of Avondale and a combination of parties interested in the viability of the waterway and its native habitat come together in the form of the two day-long Tres Rios Nature Festival. Besides entertainment and food, the event features water sports like paddle boarding sponsored by REI Sports Equipment and bird walks hosted by the local Audubon Society.  In addition, the local utilities are there to explain the history of the waterway and how they've managed to restore the once dry riverbed back into a natural riparian preserve. While it doesn't take a festival to enjoy the wildlife that call the preserve home, the event reminds nature lovers that it takes an enti...