Saguaro Cacti and a Travel Day - Wed., Mar. 5

In an attempt to beat rush hour traffic in Scottsdale/Phoenix area, we left Lake Pleasant Regional Park at 6:30 a.m. It wasn't early enough!

As soon as we turned off I-17 to head east on I-101 toward Scottsdale, the traffic came to a halt. For the next 1-1/2 hours we had stop-and-go traffic until we passed Scottsdale, then the freeway opened up again. The rest of our drive to Deming, NM was uneventful.

At a rest area, we found lots of information on saguaro cacti. To us, cacti are fascinating. We grew up with pine, oak and maple trees in the Pacific Northwest, so cacti are like an alien species.

Pleasant Harbor RV Park

Pleasant Harbor RV Park

Here is information on saguaros from Rest Area signs written by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. (The photos are mine.):

Saguaros - Icons of the Sonoran Desert

Saguaros are the most north-reaching and cold tolerant of all columnar cacti. A symbol of the Sonoran desert, they define the role and variety of wildlife that inhabit it. They can obtain heights of 50 feet or more, and will live in excess of 200 years. Each of the four North American deserts is found in Arizona; however, saguaros exist only in the Sonoran desert.

HOME TO MANY

The plant itself serves as a hotel of sorts for a variety of wildlife. It provides shelter for flickers and Gila woodpeckers that excavate nest cavities in its trunk and arms. These shelters are used for only a season or two by their makers. Abandoned holes are utilized for years thereafter for nesting and shelter by a variety of other birds, such as American kestrels and screech owls.

Bird-nesting materials are often seen draped between saguaro arms. These types of nests are typically occupied by larger raptors, such as great horned owls and red-tailed and Harris hawks. Even in death, the saguaro does not lose its importance for wildlife. The decaying plant is inhabited by a myriad of beetles and fly larvae that tunnel through its rotting flesh. Even the dried husk of the saguaro provides shelter for shrews, snakes and lizards that find protection from the elements and food beneath the dead plant.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Saguaros can store enough water during a normal moisture year to last for up to 10 years of drought. One of its survival strategies is its extensive, shallow root system that exploits any available, brief surface moisture. The trunk also has a thick, waxy surface that prevents water from escaping.
• The plant's green color is due to chlorophyll, a substance the plant uses to convert sunlight to food. Like all cacti, the saguaro conducts the transpiration phase of photosynthesis at night to reduce water loss.
• To prevent water loss from bird nest cavities, the saguaro forms a scab around the exposed inner tissue. The tough, protective tissue that lines these holes lasts for years after the plant dies, and is known as a "saguaro boot" because of its shoe-like shape.
• The saguaro blossom is Arizona's official state flower. It blooms in May and early June, with each flower opening in the evening and remaining open for about 24hours.
• Saguaro fruit, which mature in late June and early July, are food for a variety of desert inhabitants, including long-nose bats, white-wing doves, ants, javelina and man.

Bob and I just love being in the Sonoran desert to hike and marvel at these huge cacti. Now we know more about how special they really are.

Pipeline Canyon Trail - Lake Pleasant
Regional Park

Pipeline Canyon Trail - Lake Pleasant
Regional Park

Travel Bug out.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park, Arizona - Mon., Feb. 24

We're exhausted. Another long travel day is behind us.

At 8:00 a.m. we headed out from Deming, New Mexico. After a stop for lunch and a truck wash, we arrived at Lake Pleasant Regional Park at 5:00 p.m.

This is my kind of camping! There are saguaro cacti standing like sculptures throughout the desert. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom. We have a view of the lake out our back window and we saw a herd of 16 burros on our way into the campground.

Bob did an excellent job of backing The Beast and Rigamarole into our site. In fact it was so perfect when we opened our passenger-side slide out, we had 1/8" to spare between the slide out and the picnic shelter roof! Good planning, Bob.

The following picture of Lake Pleasant reminds us a little of Crater Lake with Wizard Island in Oregon.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park

Saguaro cacti on our way into the park

Our site

Wildflowers in our site

View from our back window.

Shades of sunset

Wild burro

Such gorgeous color.

The sky can get even prettier after the sun goes down!

As we were driving to Bob's Aunt Sally and Uncle Skip's house in Carefree, Arizona, we saw five hot air balloons coming down from a sunset flight. So awesome!

Whenever we're in Arizona, we visit Bob's aunt and uncle. Tonight we had pizza, sliced red bell peppers, raw snow peas and Fritos with dip. Just perfect after a long day of traveling. We talked for a couple of hours, then headed back to our 5er. Thank you Aunt Sally and Uncle Skip.

Tomorrow we'll spend the day with them shopping around the Carefree/Cave Creek area. In the evening, we're hoping Bob's cousin, Charis, and her husband, Mike, will be able to join us for dinner.

When we got back to the 5er, Bowie was snarling, his tail was fluffed out, and he was obviously in kitty distress. Then we heard it...coyotes wailing in the distance.

Come back tomorrow for more adventures with Bob and Susan.

Travel Bug out.