Say "sah-WAH-row"

East Saguaro National Park, Arizona


Mrs. Phred and I made a pass though the East Saguaro National Park yesterday. The full moon was impending in the evening and I wanted to scout locations to get shots of Saguaro in the moonlight.

Unfortunately, the Saguaro Park on the East side of Tucson closes at 7 PM, so I went to my archives to pull out a photo from 2006.

I wondered how climate change might be impacting the Saguaro forests. They have a fairly limited range. The Park newsletter says they are under pressure from declining rainfall and increasing summer temperatures. The other problem is buffelgrass which was introduced into the area by cattle ranchers before the East and West parks were established in the 1930s.

We're starting to see a few cactus blooms, but lack of rainfall has delayed the desert flowers this year. The cactus above is a prickly pear which is fairly ubiquitous in the Southern United States. Some species contain psychoactive drugs including mescaline. It is also used to make Colonche, which is an alcoholic Mexican drink. Huevos con nopales (eggs with prickly pear buds) is a fairly common breakfast in New Mexico.

Prickly pear buds are also known as "tuna", "nopal" or nopales, from the Nahuatl word nōpalli. You can get rid of the prickles on the buds by rolling them in sand or holding them in campfire flames. The prickly pear can also be used as a hair conditioner. It is considered a potent hangover remedy because of it's anti-inflammatory properties.

Today we want to go to the Pima County Fair in Tucson.

Saguaro by Moonlight

Saguaro National Park (East) – 15 April, 2006

We are camped in saguaro cactus country in the vast Sonoran Desert, about 20 miles west of Tucson. The saguaros are giants, reaching 30 or 40 feet over their 200-year lifespan.

This area has a lot to see. The Davis-Montham air base is in Tucson. The Air Force mothballs obsolete airplanes there because of the desert climate. The Pima Air Museum is next to the airbase. Pima is the largest museum of its type in the world. We plan to hit it on the way out in the morning.

Here are a few Saguaro National Park pictures. There are some interesting saguaro moonlight silhouettes and also confused coyote hunting in a parking lot.

Kitt Peak Observatory is the largest collection of optical, infra-red, radio and solar telescopes in the world. It's in the dry desert air on a 7,000 foot peak 50 miles from light sources. One scope is four meters in diameter, but there are larger ones elsewhere. We took a tour and snapped a few Kitt Peak pictures.

The Desert Museum, just south of the park, is worth a visit. There are desert animals, minerals and flora on display. We arrived early and were lucky to watch the rattlesnakes swallowing white mice.