In Search Of A Queen Of The Night Cactus
(Photos From Our Wandering In A Tucson Area Desert - February 4, 2007)
I will begin this picture collection and adventure with one of the very last photos taken during our afternoon.
My buddy Joel (right photo) was determined to find a Queen Of The Night Cactus
in a desert area in the southeast part of Tucson. According to Joel, the thin, spiny plant is often overlooked because
of it's stick-like shape. They are also frequently unnoticed because
they generally grow below shady large palo verde trees to take refuge from Arizona's seemingly furious sun.
After wandering in the desert for about an hour on a sunny day in the upper 70's,
Joel finally found what he was looking for! That's a great shot of you, Joel! :)
Below are some of the Arizona scenery photos I snapped during our afternoon.
I really enjoyed my 4.5 week trip in the Tucson area (with brief excursions to San Diego and southern New Mexico), and
here are just a few of my more memorable adventures:
Picacho Peak
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
B&B Cactus Farm (Tucson)
Tall Saguaro
Cacti in Tombstone, AZ
All the best,
Steve
The Arizona Desert (Photos)
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I'll start with some pictures of saguaros. People seem to get most excited about them over other desert cacti. |
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Look at these crazy chollas! :p) |
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These particular chollas were displaying some orange and yellow fruit. Pretty neat! |
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Notice the really thorny cholla that got stuck on my boots! |
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Here's a golden barrel cactus that grew more horizontally
apparently because of heavy branches laying on top of it. |
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Things got a little crazy with this golden barrel cactus.
I pushed lips as far into the cactus as I could while kissing it.
That wasn't too much of a problem, but then when I hugged it,
a bunch of the thorns stuck into my shirt and I couldn't pull myself off of it for a few seconds.
It hurt and I ripped my t-shirt a bit. :(
Definitely check out my cactus kissing page! :) |
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Here are a couple of shots of the mountains around Tucson.
TOP: The Santa Catalina Mountains to the north.
BOTTOM: The Rincon Mountains east of Tucson. |
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Great job finding that "queen of the night" Joel! ;) |
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