Saguaro National Park West

Corona de Tucson

May 4, 2022

I don't know about other bloggers, but I refer to the blog often when it comes to questions like... "when did we do that?" and "what did we see?".  I have been wanting to take the back way to Saguaro National Park West for awhile and when I checked the blog, I realized why.  We have driven Gates Pass a few times, but had not visited the west side of the national park since 2016.  So Sunday, we headed north and slightly east (avoiding the interstate and major highways) in search for saguaro cactus blooms.  

I always enjoy the drive on Kinney Road once we enter the Tucson Mountain District. This day was no exception as I was excited at the prospect of seeing those beautiful saguaro blooms up close and not just out the window.

I only had a vague memory of the Visitor Center on the west side and was pleasantly surprised at how pretty it is.  

The front... 

 

and the back...

We did learn something new at one of the outdoor displays.  Did you know saguaros have boots? A hard shell of callus tissue, heavily impregnated with lignin that the cactus creates to protect the wound, is formed that the birds can use for nesting.  The hard shell is referred to as a boot.  We have seen many saguaro cacti skeletons, but never knew to look for a boot.  Now we know !

The cactus wrens were busy eating the bees and other insects swarming around the blooms and never noticed they had visitors.  

A Ranger told us about a short walking trail a quarter of a mile from the VC where we might find more birds.  It is considered to be a riparian area as it has water during certain times of the year.  

We saw a pair of White-winged Dove.  In the Sonoran Desert, nesting White-winged Doves eat mostly nectar, pollen, fruit and seeds from the saguaro and are nicknamed "saguaro specialists".  Both the saguaro and the dove benefit from the relationship.  

And we saw a Curved-billed Thrasher...well, most of him.

Our auto hike continued on to Bajada Loop Road...the only scenic drive on the west side.  It is a 6 mile graded dirt road with pullouts for photographs, hiking trails and picnic areas.  It is a combo two-way and one-way road that begins about 1 and 1/2 miles from the VC.  

 The prickly pear cacti were glowing...

and the buckhorn cacti were radiant.

The dainty hedgehog cacti always catch my eye.

And then there are the magnificent Saguaro cacti that can only be seen in the Sonoran Desert.

And finally ...a turned down arm and low enough for me to photograph...jackpot !

Bajada Loop, like Cactus Forest Drive in Saguaro NP East is a beautiful and fun scenic drive.  Both never disappoint !

From there we took a few left and right turns, and found ourselves on another favorite road...Gates Pass.  Sundays and auto hikes just seem to go together sometimes and this was a really nice day.  

I had started out with the intention of blogging about the whole week, but this is too long and I have run out of time so I will have to continue later. 

By the way, I still haven't figured out why google will not let me make comments signed in to our account like I have done for the past umpteen years.  I have checked, double checked and triple checked settings, visited the google help site numerous times, and all updates for google and chrome are up to date.     So for now and probably forever, I am ANONYMOUS.  

We enjoyed the long way home !  Until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS ! 

Slow, But Steady

Corona de Tucson

April 28, 2022 

I took this photo on April 19 at 5:40 am, but didn't include it in the blog as I had too many pictures already.  

I took this photo on Saturday, four days later at 5:41am after several very windy days.  It's a great example of how the wind and dust particles affect the colors we see in the sky.   

You might recall that last week (4-20-22) I tripped over Sally and sprained my big toe.  It is better as the swelling is gone from the bottom of my foot, but the top is still quite swollen at the joint.  We read on google that a bad sprain can take 4 to 6 weeks to heal...YIKES!  I'll be as big as a blimp by then !  Walking is something we really enjoy...not just for the physical benefits, but for the mental benefits as well.  The best comfort comes when I tape the big toe to the little toe next to it and wear snug fitting socks and shoes with good support.  I really, REALLY hope that by next week I can put my full weight on that foot and hit the trail !

The week seems to have flown by.  We have been to the dentist twice...once for  doctor exams and back again for cleanings.  We have been to the oncologist twice...once for blood work and then to see the doctor.  All is good and Joe is 8 years cancer free.  Always a relief to hear those words !  

Sunday, we headed south to explore and ended up at Kartchner Caverns State Park...a new to us gem that is nearly in our backyard.

  

We learned a lot at the Discovery Center.  It is very well laid out with tons of information about the history, the caves, and the bats that hibernate there.  The caves were discovered in 1974, but did not become public knowledge until its purchase in 1988 when the property was approved for purchase as an Arizona State Park.  Bones and fossils were discovered in the cave that proved to be 86,000 years old.  The biggest cave visitor to date is a ground sloth that roamed the area all those thousands of years ago. 

The Kartchner Cave is composed of mostly limestone which is a sedimentary rock.  That in itself is amazing considering that the limestone developed a few million years ago when the land was still under a shallow sea.  

Dripping water has played a huge part inside the caves.  

To say I am chomping at the bits (as my grandma would say) to go down under is putting it mildly.  Heal, big toe, heal !

My favorite part of the Discovery Center was all about the bats.  I always included a unit about bats when I was teaching mammals in Kindergarten.  

Listen like a Bat is a child friendly display that explains how bats have enhanced hearing.  I was curious...

Bats are such horribly, cute little creatures that care for their young, can find their food in total darkness and consume half their body weight in insects everyday...that is up to 1,200 mosquitoes an hour!  Their life span is 30 years + and they fly at speeds of 60 miles an hour.  Hold your heads high little bats and thank you !

Back at the oasis, it has been one of those piddling weeks with lots of patio time.  I was excited when Randy offered terra-cotta pots he didn't need any more.  

The front of the house faces west...not so good for plants in the hot afternoon sun.  We chose blue agave for their tolerance to heat.  We bought smaller plants to give them room to grow.  

We had a new visitor in the backyard this week.  A female Gilded Flicker perched on the concrete post.  She didn't stay long, but has returned several times for some orange.  I hope she convinces her handsome beau the oranges are really tasty at the Taylor's. 

For some reason, the male and female cardinals rarely visit the feeder at the same time.

The Lesser Goldfinch always visit and and eat together.

And the Curved-bill Thrasher never looks happy even with lots of choices.

Maybe this visit he was just bothered by the wind.

 

Joe and I spent a few hours putting a puzzle together.

Job well done...a futon for the extra bedroom.

Sally loves the patio as much I do.

Jack still loves to play ball and I still love my rocker.

And all three really love morning naps !

Well, that's a wrap for the week and for April.  The prickly pear are beginning to bloom and yesterday on the way home I spotted a saguaro with lots of buds and a single bloom.  Bring on May !

Until then, 

The palo verde trees have been so pretty !

The road home...

HAPPY TRAILS !