Arizona Trail

This hike was along a segment of the Arizona Trail, which actually run all the way through Arizona from the Mexican border to the Utah border.  We went with the Hiking Club.

 The trail was flat but longer than any we had done before, about 6 miles altogether.  We had a nice sunny day, but it was a little chilly in the early morning.

 We saw some beautiful desert scenery and bluffs.

 This is a baby Saguaro Cactus growing in the middle of a nurse bush, with a Jumping Cholla Cactus behind it.  The Saguaro usually start out in a nurse bush which provides protection and prepares the soil.  After the Saguaro gets big enough it takes all the water and the nurse host dies.  The Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia Fulgida, is native to Sonora.  It can get 13 feet tall.  It gets its name from the fact that the stems are easily detached when brushed against, often just the merest tough.  Then it sticks to its victim.

Don't know what type of cactus this is that puts out this tall trunk and then dies.  This one has a black bird sitting on a nearby branch.

Young Saguaro with the mountains in the background.