Arizona Desert. Monotonous and desolate, stretching for hundreds of miles in all directions.....look at it: The last, of course, is the Grand Canyon. I spliced some of these together to scan them out of my monthly AAA magazine, so of course they're not perfect. The scenery is, in reality! Frank
Its my number one favourite views, takes my breath away every time I see it I'm looking forward to a 3 part documentary on it next week, so excited !!
Awesomely beautiful , @Frank Sanoica ! I have been to Arizona twice. The first time was when I was about 9, and my folks went on a vacation to California, and one of the places we stopped was at the Grand Canyon. Back in those days, I am sure that it was a lot different going there than it would be now. We walked over to the rim and looked over the railing at the magnificent canyon stretching for miles down below us. As evening came, it slowly changed colors, and even to my 9 year old self, it was an incredible experience. Native American dancers (then known as Indians) came out in full costumes and put on a show for us that lasted about an hour, as they chanted their songs along with the native dances. My second trip to Arizona was after I was grown and married, and we went down near Phoenix and saw Superstition Mountain. We camped overnight at one of the nearby campgrounds, and then went to the gigantic flea Market that was on the outskirts of Phoenix. My mother actually lived in Arizona for a while when she was little, but old enough that she went to school. My grandfather was an Indian agent, and they lived on the reservation there. Her best friend was an Indian girl, who made my mom a silver friendship bracelet with glyphics on it. My mother wore that bracelet all of her life; so they must have been really close friends.
Ive only been to the airport there but quite a few times, it's a popular connection from CA. I do know a few people that live there ...my daughter's sister in law and also her best friend from grade school. I personally don't think I'd want to live there....Fresno is hot enough. When I say the airport there I mean Sky Harbor in Phoenix....think that's what it's called.
Posing with a young saguaro in the Sonoran desert 2004 We drove across Arizona several times when we were young with a young family but never had the time or money to linger as tourists. In Benson there is a turnoff to Tombstone an old mining ghost town . My wife always wanted to go see it. Years later we had the money and the time so we left Sparwood, BC and drove down there. Stayed in a Best Western for over a week and saw the sights including the famed "Boot Hill". Ir was a really hell-roaring town in the 1880's but today it's a tourist haven and party town. We liked it so much that we went home, sold our place, and moved to Tombstone two months later. In the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson
Only places I really like in Arizona are Tucson and Flagstaff. Now, give me Yellowstone NP in both Wyoming and Montana.......oh, YES!!
I spent a year or a year and a half hitchhiking around the country after high school, and the word was never to get dropped off in Flagstaff. Apparently, their police department wasn't very friendly to hitchhikers or non-conforming travelers. People would wait outside Flagstaff for a ride all of the way through Flagstaff.
Hi @Ted Richards , those are great pictures, and that flowering cactus is amazing. Have you ever been to Jerome AZ? My first visit to AZ was at a college in Prescott, that had just opened around 1970, and that is just next door to Jerome. I don’t know if it is still there, but Jerome was a old 1800’s western town that was sliding down the mountain at the time. I’ve always wondered If it ever got to the bottom. I’ve been to Az a few times, but I never had the time to go back to Jerome. I wish I could find someone here in Texas to go with me for a few days to just hang out and see the sights. I still haven’t been to the Grand Canyon. But I promised my daughter that I would stop traveling by myself a couple of years ago. But I know she just wants what is best for me.
Those little green things are the fruit. The Saguaro only blooms one night a year and are pollinated by by bats and a night moth seeking nectar. After the fruit matures, it turns red and falls to the ground where animals feast on it and spread the seed in their scat. The Papago Indians (now called the Tohono O'odham) use long poles to harvest the ripe fruit before it falls and use it in jams and jellies. Note the Octillo cactus behind it. Looks like a bunch of dead sticks with lots of thorns until a rain then it flowers, see the little red flags on the end of the bare sticks? Later, if there is enough rain, it will sport little round green waxy leaves, as soon as the soil dries out it will drop the leaves until next year.
Yes, we did tour Jerome in on one of our trips and as we recall, there was a very twisty road going up to it. I was driving a little Honda Civic so it was no problem but I would hesitate to take a motor home up that road! I hope you can find a friend to tour with. Arizona is spectacular in the early spring when everything is in bloom.
@Ken Anderson Never heard that one. I'll ask my nephew. He has lived in Flag since the mid-80s, teaching and advising at both NAU and Coconino Community College. He is quick to describe how Flag has lost much of it's quaintness over the years. Frank
"Note the Octillo cactus behind it....." The Ocotillo is commonly called "Coach-whip", a most apt name! Frank