Today is Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - Happy Birthday Matt!
We are all settled into Desert Trails RV Park just southwest of Tucson, Arizona. We'll be here for three months, as we await delivery of our new motorhome and Jeep. The RV park is located just outside the boundaries for the Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park. We can start our hikes and bikes right from our 5th wheel.
This morning we decided to explore Tucson Mountain Park. The park was established in 1929 by the Pima County Parks Commission. At approximately 20,000 acres, the park is one of the largest natural resource areas owned and managed by a local government in the U.S. The park has approximately 62 miles of non-motorized shared-use trials. We'll that should keep us busy for a few weeks, at least.
We started today's hike just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Tucson is having unseasonably hot weather this week. Highs are expected to be in the mid-90s. We need to be out and back before noon or we'll melt! No time for a coffee walk this morning, so we brought the coffee on the hike! Kathy stopped for a sip at the trailhead. Cheers!
With such an early start, we watched the moon set in the arms of the saguaro.
The park maintains several miles of bike trails which loop around between the campground and the park boundaries. It can be a little confusing at times, but with friendly sentinels like the guy below, we should be able to find out way.
In about a mile, we reached the park boundary road, shown below. We had decided on a five to six mile loop hike. We would start out on the Ironwood Trail to the Ironwood Picnic Area and then circle back on the Caliche Flats Trail.
As we hiked along the Ironwood Trail, Golden Gate Mountain loomed before us. That will be a hike for another today. For now, we contented ourselves with scouting out the various trail connections and plotting our future routes while getting to know the local saguaros.
We stopped for a rest at the Ironwood Picnic Area in the shade of a mighty ironwood tree. Desert Ironwood is a “keystone” species of the Sonoran Desert: a tree with enormous ecological value, critical to the very structure and function of the desert. It is considered a “habitat modifier,” as it plays a primary role in creating the ecosystem it occupies, and greatly enhances desert diversity. It does this by creating shade, building soil, and providing shelter. We certainly enjoyed the shady shelter it provided. As we enjoyed its beauty, we noticed striking red seed pods hanging from its branches:
Saguaros sometimes grow in odd or misshapen forms. The growing tip occasionally produces a fan-like form which, if present, caused the cactus to be described as "crested" or "cristate."
Though these crested saguaros are somewhat rare, over 25 have been found within the boundaries of the park. Biologists disagree as to why some saguaros grow in this unusual form. Some speculate that it is a genetic mutation. Others say it is the result of a lightning strike or freeze damage. At this point they simply do not know what causes this rare, crested form. Can you say treasure hunt? One down, 24 more to go!
On the way back to our RV, we discovered these little beaver tail cacti hiding among the prickly pears. More than we expected, our desert hikes are discoveries of new types of plants and animals!
It will be a week or so before we're back on the trail. We are heading back east for our grandson's five-year-old birthday party. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.