Filled with Surprises

Apr11

I enjoy finding things about Arizona that are new to me after living here for a lifetime. I grew up hiking with my father and scouring the ground ahead and around me for rocks that he would help me identify. I find myself doing the same thing now with plants. Sometimes the new ones are minuscule, as this morning’s find.

I took a quick hike in the Cave Creek area, and deep in a wash were these amazingly tiny specimens. Can you spot them?

Sometimes to really see what’s out there in nature, you have to get in really close.

Yes, crawling about on hands and knees can be dirty and awkward, and I do have to watch out for spines and biting things, but the interesting things are there to be found. These tiny flowers bloom in the desert in April and are called Miniature Wool Star, Eriastrum diffusum, Phlox Family (Polemoniaceae) I don’t recall seeing them before, but they actually are very common. Often they might be larger than these, up to 8 inches in height. These were barely 2 inches off the ground.

The Desert Botanical Garden Butterfly Pavilion

Apr8

Naturally, once all the desert plants begin producing bright flowers, the first to be aware of them are the various types of pollinators. This is a small sample of the many beautiful butterflies housed in the spacious Butterfly Pavilion within the Desert Botanical Garden.

Agraulis vanillae, Gulf Fritillary

Anartia jatrophae, White Peacock

Battus philenor, Pipevine Swallowtail

Buckeye, Vanessa cardui_

Zebra Longwing

Male Papillio troilus, Spicebush Swallowtail

Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charitonius

A Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charitonius

The Life of an Arizona Hedgehog

Mar31

Hedgehog cacti grow from seeds found within their fruit and spread by the birds and desert animals that eat them. A clump of columnar stems four to twelve inches tall makes up a single cactus. A cactus might have sixty stems in a clump. There are many varieties of Hedgehog cacti.

At low altitudes in the Sonoran desert, the most common Hedgehog is the Saint’s Cactus, or Strawberry Cactus, Engelmann’s Hedgehog, a member of the Cactaceae, Echinocereus engelmannii.

March is a good month to look for Hedgehogs in the desert, as they begin blooming at this time of year. The Engelmann’s Hedgehog produces purple to magenta blooms that are two to three and a half inches wide. This cactus blooms during the daytime and closes at night. The red fruit will mature in late Spring or early Summer.

They are said to taste like strawberries and are a favorite of small animals and birds like the curve-bill Thrasher, which can easily reach the fruit with its long bill.

At higher altitudes, the Claret Cup or Crimson Hedgehog, Echinocereus triglochidiatus grows.

Claret Cup or Crimson Hedgehog is shorter and more densely arranged than the Engelmann’s Hedgehog. They also differ in that the Claret Cup typically blooms at night and closes during the day. They are the only Hedgehog cacti with red flowers.

Twist

May29

Slidefire in Oak Creek Canyon

May21

Smoke filling the Flagstaff sky today from the Slide fire. Photo by Amy Dryden

Two weeks ago we camped with our tent trailer at beautiful Cave Springs Campground in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona. We have lived for decades in the area, but never actually camped in the canyon previously.

Highway 89A through Oak Creek Canyon

View from our campsite

Crossing Oak Creek at the entrance to Cave Springs Campground.

Home sweet tent trailer

Cliffs above Cave Springs Campground

Seep Monkeyflowers at the creek

Take it easy driving through the camping area

Highway 89A

Hillside red rocks

New Oak leaves

Cave Springs ferns

Highway 89A

Ponderosas on the western slope

Cliffs above Cave Springs

Brushy hillside

Yesterday, Tuesday, May 20, a devastating wildfire started in the canyon south of the Cave Springs Campground, and has been whipped along by high winds. Twenty-four hours later it is estimated at 4500 acres and has topped out of the canyon and approaches Flagstaff, Arizona. ABC News 15, reports at this time the fire is zero percent contained. (Air15 fire photos at the link)

San Xavier del Bac

May10

San Xavier del Bac, Tucson

Interior photos and information here.

Construction on the current San Xavier del Bac began in 1783. More than 200 hundred years of harsh desert climate, use, abandonment and attempts at restorations have taken a toll on the interior and exterior of this incredible structure. Finding funding for proper conservation has been an ongoing challenge.This year, 2014, conservation and preservation efforts are underway. Photos here.

San Xavier del Bac: The White Dove of the Desert

Varied

May8

Mountain wildflowers

Cinquefoil along a stream

Desert wildflowers

Blue sky with thunderheads

Desert clouds in dry times

Mountain sunset

Desert sunset

Sculptured rocks

Volcanos and lava flows

Basin and range vistas

Desert vistas

Thick Saguaro forest

Cool desert shade

Dry Sonoran desert

Desert volcanic hillside

Desert lakes-Lake Pleasant

Mountain Lakes-Lake Mary

Snow-covered volcano

Wordless Wednesday

May7

T is for Texas Canyon, Tombstone and The Thing

May4

If you drive a car on I10 in southern Arizona, you will undoubtedly see sign after sign asking “The Thing?” In fact, a miracle in advertising, the first signs begin near El Paso, TX, traveling west. By the time you arrive at exit 322, in the middle of the desert between Willcox and Benson, Arizona, your curiosity should be aroused. For a whole dollar, you can find out just what The Thing, the Mystery in the Desert, is. And you can buy an ice cream cone, or other tourist delights.

In the same southeastern corner of the state you will encounter beautiful Texas Canyon, rich in the history of Arizona Territory, the Butterfield Stage Route, ranching, and Apache country.

Entrance to the historic Adams Ranch in Texas Canyon

Fascinating rock sculptures in Texas Canyon

Mesquites in Texas Canyon

Balanced rocks in Texas Canyon, Arizona

Texas Canyon, Arizona

A few minutes driving will take you to famous Tombstone, Arizona. In 1877 Ed Schieffelin announced to cavalry stationed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, that he intended prospecting in the valley of the San Pedro River. He was warned that he would only “find his tombstone there.” It was a dangerous time in Arizona Territory because this was Apache country. But he persisted, found silver and staked the Tombstone and Graveyard claims. Soon other rich deposits were discovered and more prospectors came and the town of Tombstone blossomed. It was a rough, tough boomtown until 1886 when fire destroyed the pump works and the mines flooded. Tombstone remains as a thriving tourist attraction, complete with shootouts in the streets, busy saloons, stagecoaches and people dressed in the best of western wear.

Tombstone gunfighters

Tombstone retains some of its rough and tough attitude

Last stage to Tombstone

Just take the Detour

May3

I know, today was supposed to be all about “T” on this A to Z Challenge, but sometimes a road block stops all progress.
We were driving along I17 north toward Flagstaff yesterday. As we topped the steep hill near Sunset Point, all traffic began to slow and we could see that it came to a standstill not far ahead. Knowing about the old back road from the Bumblebee exit to the town of Mayer and hence back to the I17, we took the exit and enjoyed the drive. You never know quite what surprises you will find on a detour.

A lot of history here if only they could tell us.

Well, sometimes a dirt road is dusty.

Just take the long view and enjoy.

Why is Arizona so…

A blog about Arizona

Category Archives: Desert