Saguaro Cacti
From Wilcox it was just a short trip to the
Saguaro National Park, where we could
enjoy the large numbers of very tall Saguaro cacti. We learned so much about them: they
live 150-200 years, the first little nubbins and then arms appear around age 50,
and during the first 15 years they grow one foot at best - which made Essan
truly proud of her own 5+ feet. Still, next to one of these monsters she looked
rather small, but then so did all of us.
Not much else can be said about the cacti - they are everywhere, and in large
numbers. The hills are green with them, and when you walk through the desert you
better watch where you step, as they come in all shapes and sizes. No wonder, as
on this last day of November it was still very hot, warm enough to strip to a
T-Shirt and to run the A/C in the car.
Click on the first image
to start a slide show for this day (20 pictures)
Images shown below are a small selection.
In slide show, click on image to return to index.
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From Tucson we had to head back to Phoenix to catch our flight home. The traffic
was pretty miserable but still flowing, and we got to Phoenix just around
sunset. We did the usual drive-by to scout for local cuisine, where I need to
admit that Mexican cuisine was by default disqualified. We found that downtown
Phoenix is just about as dead as L.A. at this time of week. We did notice
however that the population of Phoenix is color blind, as it seemed the traffic
lights were considered to be recommendations at best, despite - or maybe just
because of - numerous signs asking people to please observe the traffic lights.
We dropped off the car at Hertz and checked in with Southwest. At about that
time I noticed that I forgot my GPS antenna in the car, so I headed back to
Hertz. Of course I was waiting on the wrong side of the terminal, so it was not
very surprising that the Hertz bus never came until I ran to the other side. The
bus driver called ahead and I was awaited by Miguel, the manager, who handed me
the antenna and gave me a ride straight to the terminal in their Camry, which
you can even rent - as an upgrade of course.