Saguaro Nat. Park

Since we had to leave Paradise and go to town we decided to head south to Douglas and up through Bisbee. We hadn’t been to Douglas before so it was something to do. But there is no Douglas, per say. So did a drive thru and headed for Bisbee, AZ. This is an old town and built on the side of hills. A lot like a small San Francisco, or Grass Valley, California, very hilly and narrow streets. No place to park with doubles so had to drive straight through. I’m learning we need a motorcycle to visit some of these old towns. Never really thought about it with just the truck or family car. Well you guest it we drove through to Saguaro Nat. Park in Tucson. Know this is another Nat. Park and it has no camping or parking for a big rig . If you camp you have to carry everything in by back pack and hike to where your staying for the night.

This is a 8 mile drive up and down a roller coaster road and one way only. So once you start you can’t go back. Your dog is allowed, but only on a leash and then only walk on pavement. You can not walk the trails with you pets. 

This was very disappointing for me and Tiger. He really likes to smell the flowers. And other things. LOL

This drive also had a length limit on your vehicle and it was 35 feet. But this time they just asked the length of the 5 th wheel. So I guess he didn’t see the ATV trailer. Any way they let me drive the 8 miles of desert. We got some good pic’s of the plant life.

The saguaro begins its life as a shiny black seed no bigger than a pinhead. A single saguaro produces as many as 40 million seeds in a lifetime. Their life time is 175 to 200 years.

In summer the saguaro produces a nourishing bounty of juicy, fig-like fruits. The Tohono O’odham Indians knock them off the cacti with long poles. From this fruit they make jam, syrup, and for religious ceremonies, wine.  (Yeah! I’m religious). Saguaros also provide edible seeds and strong woody ribs that O’odham use to build fences and shelters.

The Saguaros collect water with a network of roots that lie about three inches below the desert surface and stretches as far from the main trunk as saguaros are tall. In a single rainfall these shallow roots may soak up as much as 200 gallons of water. Enough to last a saguaro for a year.

The saguaro has been called the monarch of the Sonoran Desert, supreme symbol of the American Southwest. It is renowned for the variety of odd, all-too-human shapes it assumes, shapes that inspire wild and fanciful imaginings.

The saguaro grows very slowly. In a year it could grow to 1/4 inch. In 15 years it could barely reach 12 inches. In 30 years they begin to flower and produce fruit.

By 50 years saguaro’s can be as tall as 7 feet, and after 75 years it may sprout its first branches, or arms. By 100 years they may reach 25 feet. At 150 years they may reach 50 feet in height and weight up to 16,000 pounds. These are the largest cacti in the United States.

Tiger is saying he is ready to go. It’s getting hot in this desert. So until the next time. Have a safe one from Tiger and Stu.