Impressions From Our Morning Walk

Along the edges of dry washes where there is more access to moisture than on the dry rocky flats some flowers are still blooming. 

Flowers along a dry wash

The whole area seems more like a park than desert, though the green carpet is slowly fading. 

A green carpet where  is covering the rocky desert floor

Globe Mallow

Palo Verde tree and blooming Brittle Bushes

The growing season for these desert plants is very short. They have to finish their life cycle within a month or so before the summer heat bakes everything to cinders.

Labyrinth

Someone build a neat meditation circle on one of the flats. 

In the middle people left some "gifts".

When walking a labyrinth think about 

the three "Rs" of

Releasing, Receiving and Returning/Reflection

A tiny desert lizard warming itself on a rock

There are not so many birds to find a in previous years. Most of the times it is very quiet among the shrubs. Once in a while one can hear some chipping or even a song. 

Most likely a "Brewer's Sparrow"

Northern Mockingbird

Our friends have all but left and very soon we will be on our way home as well. 

Our friends, all packed up and ready to go ...

We have just to wait out another storm that brings rain/snow to the higher elevations

 and high winds to the open desert.

Opuntia, cactus flowers in a garden in Quartzsite

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Translation for my German readers

Entlang der ausgetrockneten Wasserläufe blühen immer noch einige Blumen. Die Wüste gleicht im Frühling eher einer Parklandschaft, doch das Grün verblasst schon langsam. Die Pflanzen haben hier nur eine sehr kurze Zeit bevor die Hitze des Sommers ihnen den Garaus macht. In diesem Jahr sind auffallend wenig Vögel zu sehen. Meistens ist es sehr still, nur ab und zu hört man ein Gezwitscher. Alle unsere Freunde sind nun auch wieder abgefahren und in ein paar Tagen werden wir uns auch auf den Heimweg machen. Wir warten nur noch darauf das ein weiterer Wintersturm weiterzieht, der Regen und Schnee in die höheren Lagen bringt. Hier auf der offenen Fläche gibt es nur sehr starke Windböen. Da möchte man nicht auf der Straße sein, denn die können einen Campinganhänger leicht umwerfen.

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona

 We were flying through the states, first all the way through Texas, from Abilene in the East to El Paso in the West,

Lots of oil industry along the I-20 

We saw typical Texas which is marked with 

oil production everywhere.

Work camps along the I-20 in Texas

Bustling El Paso city view

then crossing into New Mexico,  Las Cruces, Deming

Welcome sign

A landmark greeted us along the I-10 north of Las Cruces, 

towering over a the rest area where we always stop on the way home.

Roadrunner sculpture along the Interstate 10

And crossing into Arizona, and another time zone (Mountain Time), driving through Benson to Tucson. 

I-10 West, desert landscape

Desert landscape opening up in New Mexico and finally cacti, lots of Saguaro in Arizona. 

Formations at Texas Canyon near Benson

Saguaro Cacti
 Ending our marathon run in Why (near Ajo, AZ)

Free camping on BLM land near Why, AZ

We also met with our friends from Quebec. 

They run into us at a rest area while we where 

just preparing to have lunch. 

How nice to see each other again! 

Together we continued to the BLM land near Why, AZ 

where we will rest for a couple of days until we start out onto our last leg to Holtville, CA

 Some real birds observed on a rest area along the road: 

Northern Loggerhead, Cactus Wren, Curved-billed Thrasher

Northern Loggerhead

Cactus Wren

Curved-billed Thrasher

Translation for my German readers

Die letzten Tage war ein Marathon. Wir durchquerten Texas von Abilene im Osten bis nach El Paso im Westen. Die Landschaft ist dort überall von der Ölindustrie geprägt. Von El Paso wechselten wir von Texas nach New Mexico über und fuhren an Las Cruces und Deming vorbei. Heute morgen erreichten wir dann Arizona und auch eine weitere Zeitgrenze. Es ging von Central in Mountain Time über. Das heißt wieder eine Stunde zurückstellen. Die Landschaft ist typisch für den Südwesten. Der Himmel tiefblau und die Temperaturen stiegen stündlich. Überall wachsen Kakteen. Auf der letzten Strecke wurden wir an einem Rastplatz von Freunden aus Quebec eingeholt. Gemeinsam legten wir die letzten Kilometer zum Zielort zurück. Das BLM Land (Büro für Landmanagement) nahe dem Ort "Why", auf dem man bis zu 14 Tage gratis campen darf. Hier werden wir nun ein paar Tage stehen und uns ausruhen, bevor wir dann die letzten Stunden nach Holtville in Kalifornien fahren werden.

Vögel: Wüger, Kaktus Zaunkönig, Rotsteiß-Spottdrossel

Visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Flowers along the road

 While it was not too hot or too windy we decided today to take tour around Organ Pipe National Monument Park. 

Park entrance

They road in the park itself was rough gravel and we rattled along in our van 

for about two and a half ours.

Peter studying the trail map

There is lots to see and it was good that we came early. When we were done the visitors center was pretty full and we would not have had time to stop and take photos. 

Saguaro that looks like a cellphone pole

Too many cars driving through the park and not enough turnouts along the narrow gravel road. When cars are passing the dust is flying, covering everything with a thin layer.

Saguaro and Organ Pipe cactus

Peter taking a photo

Once in a while we stopped and that was when I accidentally saw this Cactus wren.

Cactus wren on a Cholla cactus

Saguaro and Organ Pipe cacti

A rare growth form, Crested Saguaro (cristatos) cactus

Near the end of the visit my camera run out of battery power. Ugh!

Penstemon in a wash along the trail

Owl's clover

Among Mexican desert poppies (just a step off the trail)

Young Saguaro

Weird Saguaro

Jumping Cholla cactus in front of Saguaro

Barrel cactus with last years flowers

Unfortunately I lost my spare some time ago and have not got around to buy a new one. That will definitely be on my next shopping list!

Peter took this photo of a flowering Hedge Hog Cactus at the visitors center. They must have forced them, because nowhere else where flowers on the cacti we saw. 

Usually the blooms starts in April.

Hedge hog cactus

Quartzsite - About Saguaro Cactus

 Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea)

Walking around the premisses will bring you sooner or later close up to one of

those gigantic cacti. I thought it would be a good idea to learn 

some more about this plant. 

Luckily there is a lot of information available on the internet.

Here are some:

Sonora Desert, Quartzsite, AZ
Kofa Mountains in the background

A cactus can be as much as 150 - 200 years old

Saguaro cactus, and I

some are partly damaged, but still alive.
The damage can happen through desert rats and kangaroo mice. They gnaw on the fleshy
 cactus part. Those wounds subsequently can get infected by fungi.

There are many different forms of growth,
some Saguaro have multiple arms, others have none.

The branches are called "armes". Certain growth spots develop either into flowers or arms.

Nobody knows exactly what decides whether it is is the one or the other.

Flowers develop always on the very top of the cactus or arm.

Around its centre the soft flesh contains a lot of water.

Those fleshy cells inside shrink with drought and enlarge when water is available.

A cactus can visibly swell up, after a good rainfall, similar to an accordion.

Here ,one can see the start of a new pleat. Those vertical pleats guide rainwater

right down to the root system. Pleats contain all those fleshy water conserving cells.

Palo Verde trees are important nursing plants for a young cactus.  They provide
valuable shelter against cold or heat, nutrient rich soil and access to water through
their  deep root system. 

New grow points on a Saguaro Cactus

Cactus spines (thorns) are actually transformed leafs.

They are thin to minimize surface evaporation. They are nearly

as strong as steal needles.

These are growth points that will turn into more arms.

A saguaro cactus can grow up to 40 - 60 feet (12 - 18 m) tall.

But they grow very slow, it takes 20 to 50 years to grow just 3'.3" (1m).

Saguaro roots small and very shallow and grow up to 100 feet ( 30 m diameter) around

the base of the cactus with one tap root that goes down about 2 feet ( 60 - 70 cm)

The wooden ribs in the centre of the cactus and are visible when the flesh is eat off, 

or the plant damaged otherwise.

The ribs support the growing plant and give it strength.

Dixie and Peter examine a dead, fallen over cactus

One or the other cactus dies off. Old age, drought or damage to the root system

may be the reasons.

Saguaro dried up and fallen to the ground

Those cavities that birds like woodpecker, wrens, finches and other nest in 

are called "Saguaro boots".

Woodpeckers carve out those holes with their strong bills. 

Then the cactus creates lignin rich callus tissue in order 

to close the wound off against water loss.

 The Native people used these hard shells as containers for water.

 A Gila Woodpecker flew off of a Saguaro

It was still too early for the Saguaro to have flowers, they will bloom the first two week in April, but I learned that important pollinators

are among others:

 Bees, White-winged Doves, Hummingbirds and Bats.

The fruit are edible.

Source: USDA Forest Service

I hope you enjoyed my short Saguaro cactus excursion.

Some of the info was from: 

desertmuseum. org Saguaro - Cactus Facts

de.wikibrief. org,  Saguaro

others were just googled