Saguaro National Park | Tucson | Arizona

At the top of Gates Pass in Tucson is a place to pull over and get some scenery shots of the surrounding area.  There are some ruins in this area, including the one above.

Contrary to what most people would think of a desert - there are times when it's quite colorful.  All the yellow trees are called Palo Verde.

 

Palo Verde trees bloom yellow in the spring, and then will turn green.  The trunks of the trees are also green, and the name means Green Sticks.   Unfortunately, with the partly overcast day, this one doesn't look as vibrantly colored as they are.

 

 

Cactus!  Really pretty and colorful when blooming - just don't get too close!

 

 

 

Usually a cactus will have a single color in one plant.   There were multiple ones of this type with two different colors blooming together.

Cholla, the cactus below has a nickname - the "jumping cactus".  Definitely stay extra far from them - you can imagine where they got their nickname!  They have caught me and I knew I wasn't that close!  This one is a small one.

 

The Saguaros usually look similar to this and some have many more arms on them. 

 

Some of them get tired, and their arms sag.  Technically, I have no idea why they do this, but it may just be a problem of getting older.

 

These cacti grow slowly, and may be 70 years old before sprouting branches on them.  By the time they are 150 years old, they can reach 50 feet, some of them, even taller.  Since they collect water, the bigger ones can weigh tons.

 

Saguaro cactus is home to many birds.  They drill into the cactus to make a little den for a nest.  Some birds will use abandoned spaces from previous years and build new nests.  This was taken at a different location, since I couldn't get a good shot that day.

 

 

This photo is an ocotillo, and it's not a dead plant, although it looks a bit sad.  This is what it looks like when there has been no rain.  You'll see in the following photo this (at another location) another ocotillo has had enough rain to keep leaves on the branches.   You can see a few flowers at the tips of the branches, even though it hasn't had rain recently.  When it does rain, it takes only a few days for the ocotillo to sprout lots of green leaves.

 

 

This is an ocotillo near where I'm staying and it has been full of greenery and blooms for weeks.  It's an interesting plant - just multiple stalks from the roots - with lots of thorns along the entire branches.

 

 

This might be cheating a little, but this cactus was near where I was staying, I just thought I'd add this because it's so pretty. 

 

Arizona has lots of nice sunsets.

Tohono Chul | Tucson | Arizona

 

 

Spring is when cactus blooms come out - in many different colors and sizes.  It was a perfect time to visit this botanical garden. 

 

There are those plants who have not put out flowers, a few of which I have not seen in my time wandering out in the desert in this area.

 

 

 

There are also many cacti that I have not seen in my time in the southwest.  Some of these smaller cacti have larger blooms than the saguaros. even though the saguaros are much larger. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might think this next photo shows a nice furry little cactus, but the spines are just tiny, which make them harder to get out of your skin if you should get too close.

This is a rare saguaro, a Crested Saguaro.  For some reason, and not very often, they grow a larger area at the top.  It almost reminds me of a crown.  The two holes have been made by birds so they can nest inside the cactus.

 

This garden has some interesting features, including a fish pond.  

 

 

This plant is related to the pineapple family, and apparently just grows in a mound. 

 

Some of the plants here are not native to this area, and since they're rare, they might be a little pricey, as evidenced by this price tag.

 

I'm surprised this little lizard posed for me.

 

 

Lots of interesting metal sculptures were scattered through the park.

 

I'm don't think this guy was metal, but he was interesting.

 

Roads in this area are interesting to drive.  Very often, they're like a roller coaster.  It doesn't bother me, but I can imagine some people would get car sick.  

Desert Hiking

 

 

 

I'm happy to say that I finally have seen a blooming Saguaro cactus.  This species of cactus is so tall that some of them reach well over 30 feet or more.  Therefore, it's hard to get a picture of the bloom that's at human level.

 

This is typical of the Sonoran Desert around Arizona.   Not very much like the old cowboy movies where someone is struggling through the desert with nothing but sand.

 

Apparently this guy got lost and never made it back to civilization.

 

I'm not sure what animal makes a hole in the ground and then covers it with a web,  but I'm thinking maybe tarantula.   In any case it's a very intricate cover to his home.

The creosote bush has furry seeds, as you can see in the close-up below.  By the way, this is not where we get creosote.

This is probably my least favorite cactus but it sure does make pretty blooms.

I just love this purple coloring and then the yellow flowers on this cactus.

 

 And this is just a different way of seeing a sunset.