Bikes, Trains, and Autos...

Corona de Tucson

August 18, 2024

Barrel Cacti are a member of the genus Ferocactus  meaning "fierce or wild cactus".   These thick barrel-shaped body cactus with long hooked spines and prominent ribs are fiercely armed with heavy, strong spines.  Some species, like the ones we see here in the Sonoran Desert have curved spines like a fishhook which gives them the common name fishhook barrel cactus.  They can grow to be 6-10 feet tall with a life span of 50 to 100 years old.  Barrel cactus grow along washes, gravely slopes, and beneath canyon walls.  Thursday, Joe and I enjoyed an adventure at Saguaro NP East to find these blooming beauties.  

The flowers always grow at the top of the plant which I refer to as a crown.  Native Americans boiled young flowers in water to eat like cabbage and mashed the older boiled flowers for a drink.   

Native Americans used the fishhook spines as needles, awls, and for tattooing. They also used the cactus as a cooking pot by cutting off the top, scooping out the pulp and inserting hot stones.

Once the buds unfold, the cactus flower lasts from a few hours to several days.  But each plant has lots of buds so the bloom season can last for a couple of months.  

These blooms range in colors from yellow, orange and red and usually appear in September thru October.

These gorgeous flowers are not only visually appealing but also serve an important purpose....They attract pollinators like bees and birds that transfer pollen from one flower to another enabling the cactus to produce fruit.

Saturday mid-morning, Jamie, Andra and Ozzie came to visit.   

We had a great time catching up with lots of laughs, lunch (toasted bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with cheese, macaroni salad and fruit) playing, and sitting on the patio watching the birds and an awesome storm complete with rain, thunder and lightening rolling by.  

Thank goodness the skies cleared as we had Saturday night plans for a double date.  Tucson Botanical Gardens had an event hosted by the gardens and Truly Nolen Pest Control.  There was a display of lowrider bikes which are highly customized bicycles with styling inspired by lowrider cars.   Lots of chrome, overspoked wheels, long curved banana seats and ape handlebars are common.

Complete with a spare tire, and blue dice tire valve stem caps...

Back in the 1920s, Old Pueblo, was coined by the locals as a name for Tucson to bring tourists, snowbirds, health seekers, and retirees to the area.  It represents the location with its Spanish-Indian past and was first used publicly in a 1937 issue of Arizona Highways Magazine.  Also on exhibit were Old Pueblo lowrider cars.  The bikes were cool, but the cars were way more cooler !  These unique vehicles which are an expression of identity...social, cultural, and aesthetic...feature extended bodies and a "low to the road roll".  They have been a popular choice for cruising and a popular pastime in many American communities...Tucson is no exception !  Lowriding puts both the cars and their riders on display.  Beautiful colors...

The suspension can raise and lower rapidly causing the car to hop and jump.... sometimes completely off the ground !  We saw one entering the event last night doing just that!

...artisitc designs...

Low and Slow is the lowrider motto.  This phenomenon had its origins in the 1940s when Mexican American communities in California began customizing their vehicles... a contrast to the muscle cars built for speed that also began in the 40s.   

...and unique and one of a kind vehicles invite conversations and interest. 

Also on display were vintage VWs. I do have a soft spot for VW Beetles.  When I was 15 and got my learners permit to drive, my grandfather had a Beetle...a 1965. It was a baby blue color with chrome bumpers and a stick shift.  Back in those days our state had tax collectors and my grandfather was one of them. He had a route he traveled monthly to collect payments.  During the the summer when I was 15, I would go with him at least one day during the week and drive him to his stops.  We traversed the backroads of Troup, Meriweather, and Harris Counties.  I loved it !  Country stores and out of the way full-service gas stations were my favorite stops ...fresh hoop cheeses and crackers and homemade summer sausages, and salted peanuts dropped in bottles of coke were always on the lunch menu for the two of us.  Such wonderful memories.  

The last exhibit is actually a permanent exhibit at the gardens.  The Great Garden Express brings classic model trains to life while featuring landmarks from national parks/monuments and southwest missions nestled in high desert plantings and also structures that mimic the picturesque, rocky landscape of the Southwest and Arizona.  We walked under elevated tracks with engines pulling passenger cars...

and along the path we watched as engines pulled freight thru tunnels and around points of interest.

There are six G scale model trains winding their way thru the exhibit.

Taos Pueblo in Taos, NM dating back between 1000 and 1450 AD.

As we meandered thru the exhibit it was fun looking for structures like Tucson's own Mission San Xavier, the Canyon Diablo elevated bridge near Flagstaff, Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon Depot.  I wish we had been given a check list of the structures.  After doing a wee bit of research, I know I want to return to see them all.  

Grand Canmyon Depot was completed in 1910 and the last passenger train passed thru the station in 1968.

The Great Garden Express was custom designed and made for Tucson Botanical Gardens by Laura Busse Dolan and the team at Applied Imaginations...nationally-recognized for garden railways using only natural materials.  Everything they design and build is made with plant materials that these artists select to hand-sculpt each unique architectural element...pods, barks, cones, branches, leaves, and even fungus.  With the proper coatings, these models can "live" for decades.  The Great Garden Express is the only Busse railroad in Arizona and the first to debut west of the Mississippi.  

Simple designs...

very elaborate designs...

The crepe myrtles were blooming...a reminder of our Georgia home.

Huge evergreen bushes of Cape Leadwort were full of gorgeous blue blooms.

I had to look up to the sunflowers...

and we saw signs that maybe fall is just around the corner...

It was a fun date night with the kiddos topped off with dinner at Edna's Cafe located inside the gardens before heading home.   

 

Back at the oasis, we had wind, rain, and hail on Thursday.  That was exciting !  

Sometimes we just get a nice rain shower...we love rain in the desert !

I made a veggie quiche...it was yummy !

The skies never disappoint...

The birds are entertaining...

Busy little hummers...

Still molting...

The first hawk to stop by in awhile...

It's always important to take time to smell the flowers...

And that's a wrap on the week.  Until next time...

Coral Vine at TBG...

Sunset from the patio at Edna's Cafe when we had dinner...

HAPPY TRAILS !