Wednesday, January 27, 2016

By the Time I Get to Phoenix*

Picacho Peak, Arizona
We drove a couple of hours north to Phoenix today.  Wayne's long-time friend Ralph and his wife, Bobbie live there.  On the way out of Tucson we passed this most unusual shaped mountain, Picacho Peak, which can be seen from parts of Tucson 45 miles away.   It's known for wildflowers that bloom in March and April.  The area between the interstate highway and the Peak is an unspoiled Sonoran Desert packed full of Saguaro cactus.  It was just breath-taking.  I know I keep writing 'breath taking', 'amazing', 'awsome', etc.  But it truly is.  The mountains here are so unusual to my eye.  They are not consistent nor regular in their shapes.  And they surround this huge, vast area of flat farm land that was once the bottom of an interior sea.  
Bobbie, Christy, Sweetness, Ralph and Wayne at the Desert Botanical Garden
In Phoenix we met Bobbie and Ralph Friedly at the Desert Botanical Garden for lunch and a tour.  As we ate Roadrunners and Gambel's Quail visited the table.  I kept looking for Wile E. Coyote!  The gardens are filled with perfect cacti unblemished by man or beast. Sweetness was wondering why there were Teddy Bear cacti but no Swine Spines.  Phoenix was warmer than Tucson despite its northern location.  It sits in Sun Valley, which intensifies the heat.  
Sweetness with the Teddy Bear Cactus.
More pics and movies at flickr.