The RV is in the shop today for regular scheduled maintenance. That means we have to be out of the RV all day long. Normally we'd spend a better portion of the day hiking. But since Boogie is sick we can't do that.
There is a park nearby that has a nice short little trail that we do often when we're in town. It's only about a 15 minute walk so we figured this would be doable. Boogie did great for the first six or seven minutes. After that he plopped down in the first shady spot he could find.
He was totally stretched out from end to end.
And each time I thought he was moving to get up, he’d just change his head position.
Since we had all day to kill, we weren't in any hurry. Good thing, as it took us over 45 minutes to do this short little walk. Boogie kept wanting to rest. And what better to do while you’re resting than chew on a stick. I think it was a stall tactic.
We finally had to “convince” him to move along as the other dogs were very bored just standing still so long.
After we finally finished our little walk we drove to the grocery store and parked in the shade. Mike and I took turns going in and doing some shopping. Mike bought himself a couple donuts. I figured I’d go wander around as I was getting a little bored just lying in the car.
It has been 10 months since I’ve been in a grocery store. Wow, I felt like a real person! So I figured since we had time to kill I might as well do some shopping. I’ve always loved grocery shopping as I am very competitive and I like to play a game to see how much money I can save….without using coupons now since we don’t get a newspaper.
I only bought stuff that we truly use and were out of. Since I didn’t have a list (as I didn’t know I was going to the store) I just went up and down all the aisles looking for deals on items we needed. I was having a grand time!
By the time I’d finished and the lady rang up my groceries I had saved a whopping 56%. How good is that!! I was so proud of myself. I thought I’d be out of practice but instead I think I actually got better! Okay, so the rest of family wasn’t so impressed…time to move on.
We then drove to the Saguaro National Park. It’s a part of the desert that hasn’t been intruded upon by people…other than to build a road through it. There is an eight mile single lane one way loop that takes you through the park that has over 50 different species of cactus.
Dogs of course have to either stay in the car or be on leash in parking areas since it's a National Park. Sparkie was sure it looked like a great place to hunt bunnies. But she would have been in for a rude surprise as there were gazillions of cactus around and she would have gotten so many stickers just in the first five seconds.
But talk about pretty! I’m not a desert fan. I like the temperature of the desert but the landscape just doesn’t excite me all that much. But having said that – I really enjoyed this drive. I actually did think it was very pretty scenic.
The speed limit was 15 miles an hour through the park. Right next to the car lane was a bicycle lane – and it was very well used! (Too bad someone stole Mike’s bike a week or so ago. Big bummer.)
When Mike is sightseeing he drives all the other drivers crazy. He just can’t understand why you’d come to a National Park and then just zip right through. In order to see all the scenery you need to go slow! Ha, even the bicycles were passing us!
Since we were going so slow and there was only one way traffic (and there were VERY few cars) we decided it would be safe enough that Boogie could be out of his crate. He really enjoyed being able to look out the windows and see what was going on. This was his first time to ride out of the crate and he seemed to think the scenery was fascinating. Since he's not experienced at looking out the windows though he didn't notice all the ground squirrels running back and forth across the road - but Wazzu sure did! Look closely - there is one in this picture.
The dogs had been in the car for a long time now so we decided to stop at the first little pull over area and let the dogs have a chance to move around a bit. The big dogs all wanted to investigate but Boogie just wanted to plop after only five seconds of getting out of the car - once again stretching completely out from end to end.
Mike walked Sparkie and Slugger toward a bush on the edge of the parking lot. As they went toward it, Slugger jumped way back and looked petrified. Mike couldn't get Slugger to go anywhere near the bush. Mike pulled and pulled but Slugger was not budging. It didn't dawn on us until later that this was the EXACT behavior that Slugger did when we saw the rattlesnakes during his training! Guess we'd better learn to listen to him.
There were so many different types of cactus that we could see right from the car. I'm sure you're all familiar with the Saguaro. Like most other cacti, the Saguaro has a short growing season and a long dormancy. A fully-grown Saguaro can soak up to 3,000 litres of water in 10 days! But what surprised me most is that in the first 10 years of life the Saguaro only grows to a height of 10 centimeters (about 4"). It can grow to 50' tall and weigh 12 tons and can live to 200 years old. The first arms don't grow until they are 75 years old. This should help you gauge the approximate age next time you see a Saguaro. Of course you'll have to come down here to the Sonoran Desert as that is the only place in the world that they grow.
This purple cactus is the Staghorn Cholla. They also come green in color and the two can be seen just feet from each other - although today I only noticed the purple one. It is a tree like cactus that normally gets 5' -7' tall but can grow up to 15'.
This really isn't the time of year that most cactus bloom but this one had a couple buds starting. This particular cactus normally blooms in April and May - so we're a little early. But when these buds do open they can be a very brilliant red color or an orange color and are about two and a quarter inches in diameter.
And actually, many cactus species only bloom at night as they are pollinated by nocturnal insects or small animals - mainly moths and bats.
In addition to flowers, the Staghorn Cholla also has fruit but they only stay on the plant for about a year.
Another common cactus is the Prickly Pear. It stores water in it's large flat pads and has a waxy finish to help keep the water inside. It is among the fast growing of all cacti.
Here is the Chain-Fruit Cholla. Anytime you see the word Cholla associated with a cactus - stay clear. They have very sharp and painful spines that are plentiful (just ask the dogs!).
Cholla are most common type of cactus in Arizona.
I don't know how they come up with these names but this is the Teddy Bear Cholla. It looks a little too prickly to cozy up with.
The one cactus we found in bloom was the Fish Hook Barrel. And I know how this one got its name! If you look at the spines sticking out of the barrel you'll see they are shaped just like fish hooks. And they catch things easily! Last time we were in Tucson we took a nature walk and the leashes kept getting caught in the fish hooks.
Here is a close up of the blooms...which are actually dying.
The Barrel Cactus holds water for many months, long after other plants have died. It's roots stretch out over long distances to quickly collect water when it appears. It is like a sponge inside which helps it to retain water.
This is not a cactus but was plentiful in the park. It has a cactus like name though - Ocotillo. Much of the year it appears dead but with rainfall the plant quickly becomes a lush green color and can remain like that for weeks or months. It gets up to 33 feet tall.
In addition to the various cactus, we also saw some very pretty flowers. Sorry, I have no idea what some of them are - but I found them pretty nonetheless.
Desert-Marigold: Annual, 10 - 30 inches tall
Desert-Marigold: The most interesting thing about this plant is that whole flocks of sheep have died from grazing on this plant. It doesn't affect cows or horses though.
Desert Globe Mallow; Annual, 2 ft tall
As we drove up a hill there was a very interesting mix of cactus on the side of the road.
The views really were very pretty.
What a great day for a drive!
The overall scenery from the road was interesting and very different depending on which direction you looked.
Near the end of the loop there was a short trail that went up Javelina Rock. I guess the Javelina must have been taking their afternoon naps as we didn't see any.
The dogs weren't allowed on the trail and it was steep so we waited in the car while Mike went on a short hike. The views from the top were beautiful.
We had a very nice time driving through the park and had really taken our time but we still had time to burn before the RV would be ready. So we decided to head over to Costco to buy Mike a new computer as his totally bit the dust yesterday. It was seven years old so it was pretty outdated anyway.
We were really glad when the day was over and we could all get back into the RV. Fortunately they finished all the work that needed to be done so we don't have to go through all this again tomorrow!
Debbie
3/11/08
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