Cacti

The morning after the election in Flagstaff it was 14 degrees. We spent another day (Bob and Darwin playing disc golf - Flagstaff had been the site of the World Disc Golf Competition and I visiting the Northern Arizona Museum). The museum was fabulous. It included two rooms on the geology of Northern Arizona, including the dinosaurs. An unknown flying dinosaur was discovered in shale beds by an archaeologist at the museum. It was a flying dinosaur which fell into the water. Other rooms were devoted to basketry, weaving, jewelry and katsina dolls. The differences between the tribes' in these areas were described.

The next morning we headed off towards Tucson where Bob's cousin Sally and partner Paul live. We took two days getting there, searching for a lower (i.e. warmer) campsite. We found one on the Apache Indian reservation north of Globe. This is copper country (symbolized by the star in the center of Arizona's flag). The open pit operations are huge. We arrived in Green Valley and stayed at our first over 55 Snowbird RV park. They have lots of amenities; pools, hot tubs, rec centers, etc. Green Valley is supposedly one of the most popular places to retire.

We ate dinner each night with Sally and Paul and Sally's daughter Cecily who was helping to care for her mother as she recovered from a fall which broke a vertibrae and her elbow. During the day we would go off and do different things. Bob played disc golf on two courses.

We went to the Sonoran Desert Museum where Bob waited in the car with Darwin since dogs weren't allowed in and it is a crime to leave your dog unattended in a car, even if it isn't blazing hot. The grounds of the museum are amazing; filled with cacti, animals, minerals and other exhibits. I learned a lot about the saguaro cactus. The above photo is of the skeleton of a saguaro.

Saguaros grow very slowly. They will not put out any branches until they are about 70 years old. The cactus has a folded surface so that it can expand when it rains. It consists of about 90% water and can weigh up to 10 tons. The roots spread out in a circle with a radius equal to the cactus' height. The holes visible in the above photo are made by two types of birds which nest in the saguaro. The cactus creates a wall, called a boot, around the bird's nest.

Barrel cacti, of which this is an example, come in numerous varieties. They generally lean towards the south, so that is a rough indicator of direction.

This cactus just attracted me because of its color and shape. The museum had raptors, javalinas, coyotes, snakes and lizards. Even in October it was filled with people.