Was getting too chilly to head north so we zigged and headed
south. I didn’t think we would get to
the Sonoran Desert on this trip but with this zig we headed toward Tucson and
the Saguaro cactuses. You know the ones-
the iconic arms, the striking silhouettes, Wiley Coyote. Saguaro (pronounced Sa-waro) cactuses are
perfectly evolved for their environment. They start out as a tiny seed near a nurse tree and it takes until 50 years of age before they start to grow an arm which starts out as little prickly bud. They have ribs that expand and contract depending how dry or wet it is for water storage. All shapes and sizes and homes to tons of cactus wrens and curved billed thrashers.
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| Dying saguaros |
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| Goofy girl |
Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum- amazing. It is an outdoor- natural history museum
combined with a zoo. Very well done and
well worth going to if you are in the area.
Highlights were the artificial cave- Leland loved the bat ears.
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| and the turtle shell... |
The free flight raptors were semi trained to fly over our heads and dive and land on branches nearby.
and the hummingbird aviary.
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