Thanksgiving trip
Grateful for a trip to AZ this week. I head back to NM Sunday morning...back to school Monday.
I shot about 150 pics yesterday on the day trip I took with my dad. The only $ we spent was that for the gas...as I had my handy-dandy National Parks Pass that I bought on my Grand Canyon romp back in May.
We drove southeast of Phoenix to Saguaro National Park first. It's on the outskirts of Tucson. So for those of you that have imagined I lived in the middle of the desert (which really is a riot if anyone actually makes it to Santa Fe)...i can NOW, FINALLY present you with some actual DESERT pics!
But first, a touch of cacti-edumacation...
Saguaro Cacti are the ones most often use as a representation of desert cacti; typically drawn with the two near-perfect arms extending on either side of the main section. THIS, I discovered yesterday, is actually rather rare for them. We could count on one pair of hands the number of cactic with two well-formed "arms" on them....and considering just how many of these cacti there are in that park---it's rather funny.
Saguaro Cacti don't flower for about 30 years, and don't start to grow their first arm until they are 50-70 years old, depending on the climate they're in. Scientists believe they can last for around 200 years, with the average life span being 150-175. They actually grow in a VERY limited area.....which is the Sonoran desert of SE AZ and a part of Mexico. They can grow up to approximately 50 feet...really....think about that for a minute...that's HUGE.
There's also an area of the park (which we went to) where you can climb a little hill...to see some petroglyphs. There is something mind-boggling about looking at a picture scratched on a rock....when you realize just HOW LONG AGO it was put there. A little reminder that the choices we, both as individuals and as communities, states, countries, etc, make today...can and do sometimes last far, far into the future.
THIS, my dears, is why I am so concerned about how we plunder the resources of our earth. Sure, the oil won't run out in our lifetime (hopefully)....but the world won't live indefinitely if we keep treating it the way we do. Period.
*stepping off of soap box*
So, after our visit to that park, we headed back west, stopping at the Casa Grande Ruins. One of the largest prehistoric structures ever build in North America. I don't have a picture of the whole place, but I'm including a picture of a degraded wall that, to me, gave me a clear image of something much more than just a wall. See in it whatever you will. :)
enjoy the pics...
I shot about 150 pics yesterday on the day trip I took with my dad. The only $ we spent was that for the gas...as I had my handy-dandy National Parks Pass that I bought on my Grand Canyon romp back in May.
We drove southeast of Phoenix to Saguaro National Park first. It's on the outskirts of Tucson. So for those of you that have imagined I lived in the middle of the desert (which really is a riot if anyone actually makes it to Santa Fe)...i can NOW, FINALLY present you with some actual DESERT pics!
But first, a touch of cacti-edumacation...
Saguaro Cacti are the ones most often use as a representation of desert cacti; typically drawn with the two near-perfect arms extending on either side of the main section. THIS, I discovered yesterday, is actually rather rare for them. We could count on one pair of hands the number of cactic with two well-formed "arms" on them....and considering just how many of these cacti there are in that park---it's rather funny.
Saguaro Cacti don't flower for about 30 years, and don't start to grow their first arm until they are 50-70 years old, depending on the climate they're in. Scientists believe they can last for around 200 years, with the average life span being 150-175. They actually grow in a VERY limited area.....which is the Sonoran desert of SE AZ and a part of Mexico. They can grow up to approximately 50 feet...really....think about that for a minute...that's HUGE.
There's also an area of the park (which we went to) where you can climb a little hill...to see some petroglyphs. There is something mind-boggling about looking at a picture scratched on a rock....when you realize just HOW LONG AGO it was put there. A little reminder that the choices we, both as individuals and as communities, states, countries, etc, make today...can and do sometimes last far, far into the future.
THIS, my dears, is why I am so concerned about how we plunder the resources of our earth. Sure, the oil won't run out in our lifetime (hopefully)....but the world won't live indefinitely if we keep treating it the way we do. Period.
*stepping off of soap box*
So, after our visit to that park, we headed back west, stopping at the Casa Grande Ruins. One of the largest prehistoric structures ever build in North America. I don't have a picture of the whole place, but I'm including a picture of a degraded wall that, to me, gave me a clear image of something much more than just a wall. See in it whatever you will. :)
enjoy the pics...