We woke around 6 am and had breakfast of eggs left by Laurie
and cereal before heading toward the western part of the Saguaro National Park. We started our visit by using our National
Park Annual Pass for entry which saved $15 on park entry. We walked around the short trails at the
visitor center and read the signs that identified the types of chollo, barrel
cactus, mesquite, creosote bush and palo verde bushes. We saw many saguaro cacti of all shapes and
sizes. The number and size of the giant
saguaro cacti amazed us. Many of them
were 30 or more feet tall with arms curving skyward. Others had what we called “octopus arms”
appearing misshapen from whatever forces caused them to bend in odd
directions. Under many of the chollo or
mesquite bushes we saw small hedgehog cacti that are generally about the size
of a teacup and in clusters of 6 to 10 cacti.
Several birds caught our attention including a Phainopepla which
reminded us of a slim and dark cardinal.
We saw cactus wrens, thrashers and a quail. According to the naturalist at the nature
center there are no snakes out at this time of year but we did see a number of
small lizards scurrying about in the underbrush. Some of these lizards were the Sonoran
whiptail lizards that are so often discussed in biology books because of their
method of reproduction. Male Sonoran
whiptails develop from fertilized eggs while unfertilized eggs develop into
female Sonoran whiptails by a process known as parthenogenesis. Since no male Sonoran whiptails are known to
exist, female lizards lay only unfertilized eggs producing only young female
lizards. It is an interesting and unique
process.
We picked up some guides to birds and cacti from the visitor
center then drove out to a driving loop to view cacti. We stopped at several trailheads and walked
out to overlooks or scenic locations.
The temperatures were in the mid 70s and a light breeze made the walk
very comfortable. Although we all wore
long pants we were wishing that we had chosen shorts for the day. We stayed in the park until nearly noon then
had lunch of peanut butter and crackers, carrots and fruit as we drove to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.
This largely outdoor museum was a huge display of desert
plants, animals and culture. Our visit
started with a raptor show where trainers showed kestrels, peregrine falcons,
grey hawks, barn owls and Harris hawks in flight and feeding. The show was excellent and had visitors up
close to the magnificent birds of prey.
We were glad that the Harris hawks were shown since we are fairly
certain that they are the birds that we had seen on Monday sitting on top of
power poles along Rt. 79. From there we
went to displays of cacti and other succulents all of which were well marked
for identification.
There were inside
exhibits of aquatic life of Arizona streams, displays of local rocks and
minerals and pollinator gardens. When we
entered the museum we expected to spend about two hours there but when we left
at 5 pm when the museum was closing we still hadn’t seen everything there was
to see there. We would be happy to spend
a day there any time.
Several local people we spoke with recommended Gates
Pass as a place to view sunset. We
discovered that it is a very popular place with locals and tourists alike.
We watched as the sky changed from the
turquoise blue to peach to red. It was a
nice way to end the day. A local Tucson
resident who was there recommended Guadalajara Grill near our
lodging for dinner so we decided to give it a try.
The restaurant was obviously popular from the traffic into
the parking lot on a Wednesday night. We
were seated quickly and had salsa made to order at our table. Cindy had a chimichanga, Mark had fajitas,
Mary had a steak and I had a combo that included a tamale, a chili relleno and
a gordita. Everyone enjoyed their meal
and leftovers came back with Mary & Cindy.
It appears that we will be visiting Tombstone and some of
the nearby attractions on Thursday which means an early start. With all of the walking on desert trails
today I am certain that we will all sleep well tonight.
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