Connections

Saguaro National Park East

Desert flowers in the morning at Saguaro NP East

Our second morning in Tucson we drove 20 minutes east to immerse ourselves in the wonders of desert beauty.  We were probably a week early to see the cacti in bloom but we saw the buds and they were definitely getting ready.  We did, however, get to see a lot of these yellow wildflowers and a few purple and orange ones.

I took a photo of this chart to remember just how old some of these Saguaros are. To get all the cacti in focus, I cut off some of the test.  The top line reads

"There is no way to tell exactly how old a cactus is unless you know when it started growing.  Unlike trees, cacti do not have annual growth rings, however, the size of the plant does give some indication of its age."

The side information for the first line (10 years) is approximate age for dry areas such as Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  The second line (6-7 years) is approx. age in wet areas such as the East side of Saguaro Nat. Park. (Click photo for larger version.)

A saguaro cactus gets its first appendage at 55-60 years of age.

Below are a couple of photos of pretty old cacti.  The first includes my 5ft. 10 in husband and the second is a skeleton cactus.

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Bob mimicking the arm position of this large Saguaro cactus. 

Bob looking for elf-owl nests in the holes of this Saguaro

Saguaro skeleton aka desert art

I love the gnarly art look of these cacti skeletons though they are quite rare.

Cactus League Baseball

Rockies playing Diamondbacks at Hy Corbett Field

Several times we have used the Cactus League Spring Training games as a reason/excuse to leave the unpredictable yo-yo weather of Denver for the warm dry sunny weather of Tucson Arizona. It's a lovely town with great ambiance and much to do--if you have the time.  This trip was spontaneous and not well-researched.  Without kids in school we were clueless that we were traveling stand-by during Spring Break. We're retired and flexible so we charged into the fray.  We had no problem getting to Tucson, though we had to abandon stand-by plans and purchase tickets on Cheap Tickets for the last leg of our trip.  The return trip was chaotic as Spring Break collided with the cancellation of over 600 flights of MD-80 airplanes (130 passengers) and attempt to reschedule all the paid standbys onto RJ's (50 or 70 passengers.) 

After testing our flying motto, "Be patient, be flexible," by standing by for 5 flights in Salt Lake City, we finally got a hotel there and were able to get out the next morning on the COD (crack-of-dawn) flight to Denver. We were tired but had happy memories--and way too many photos of cacti-- to remind us of our quick 3-day dash to Tucson.

My husband found a too-good-to-be-true car/hotel combo deal on Expedia and luckily it was most definitely a true deal.  It also acquainted us with a wonderful historic lodge located just a few blocks from the continuous free shuttle to the games. 

Mid-morning outside our room at Lodge In The Desert

Before we saw the restaurant at our motel we had wondered where we would eat the first night in Tucson.  We picked up our car at the airport, checked in at the motel, changed our winter clothers for sunshine clothes and made it to the game in time to see the first pitch.

When we checked in we walked past the restaurant and immediately decided to eat there after the game.

Lodge in the Desert Restaurant in Tucson Arizona

Yesterday's Orchid Show

Just one of my favorites from the orchid show

I had no idea when I went to the gardens--mainly to battle a huge case of cabin fever from being inside for 5 days of bitter cold and snow--that I'd accidentally chosen the day of the local orchid show and sale.  Here are my nameless favorites.  Of course, they didn't have them named except in the sale brochure which I'd arrived too late to receive!

Probably my favorite

Or maybe this one.

Frozen Garden

Part of the Japanese Garden pond layered with snow

It is a relatively nice day so I bundled up, grabbed my camera and went to walk in the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Though it is March, it can still act like winter and overnight we got a dusting of snow, but this morning the sun is out and temps are in the high 40's.

The gardens are still beautiful though not with the vivid colors of summer.  Dried autumn grasses are still holding on and waving in the sun even while snow lies at their base.

When I arrived at the gardens, I saw that something was going on inside the display hall and discovered that the annual orchid show and sale was going on.  I'm sure I would kill an orchid so didn't buy any but took many photos to savor.  Tomorrow I'll post some of my favorites.Later this afternoon I took another photo of the same scene that had been under snow a week ago and again this morning.  See below:

Yo-yo weather!

Today's view with snow and 27 degree temperature

Yesterday we went to the zoo with our grandson and the thermometer maxed out at a new record for the date: 74 degrees   My son and daughter-in-law came over and put out the table and chairs on Saturday.  Sunday it was cold again.  Monday was 74. Today it topped out at 27.  This is typical of late winter/early spring weather in Denver, but this year the extremes seem, well , more extreme!  Rarely do we vacillate 47 degrees from one day to the next.  It makes it hard to plan clothing, food shopping and even the next day's activities.

I am suffering from too much winter along with election fatigue.  I'm ready for Spring, sunshine, some political certainty and the end of the Republican dictatorship.