When we travel we like to take the lesser path, the road not taken. So when Jim noticed on the map that we were near the Sonoran Desert National Monument we started looking for signs to enter the monument. There were none, but we did find an exit for "Freeman Road" and decided to get off. Not far from the exit ramp we found a dirt road and this sign...
and this sign:
This was not the last time we would see references to being near the border with Mexico. More on that later. We did see our first saguaro cacti here - the Sonoran Desert is their home, both on the US and Mexican side of the border.
Our destination was Tucson, Arizona, and more specifically Tucson Estates, which is a 55+ mobile home park made up of 75% snow birds and 25% year round residents. My sister Carol and her husband Frank winter here most years in a mobile home owned by Frank's brother and loaned out as a guest house. This spacious accommodation has three bedrooms and three bathrooms and comes with its own golf cart!
I never had cause to drive a golf cart before. Who knew how much fun it would be? Everyone in Tucson Estates, or TE as it is called, has golf carts so no one worries about ever taking the keys out of the ignition! Yes, there is a golf course here, as well as three swimming pools, a huge jacuzzi pool, sauna, pickle ball, shuffle board, tennis, exercise room, exercise classes, quilting classes, travelogues, potlucks by region (the Minnesota dinners were the biggest), and countless other organized activities.
TE has the advantage of being out of Tucson to the west and so it abuts Tucson Mountain Park, among others, with hundreds of miles of trails. We loved piling all 4 of us on one golf cart (someone stands on the back and the 3rd person in front has only one cheek on the seat) and driving up to the end of the road to start our hike in the desert.
Here are Jim and my sister Carol checking out cacti.
We were continuously blessed with gorgeous vistas of mountains covered in cacti (mainly Saguaro, Cholla, Prickly Pear and Barrel), Palo Verde, Ocotillo, Creosote Bush and...
Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla).
When we first arrived at the end of January none of the Ocotillos were in bloom. Here they are (the tall wispy bushes) looking dead but just waiting for a bit of moisture so they could start blooming. The cacti in the foreground is Cholla.
After a rain storm we saw this Ocotillo getting ready to bloom. These are such interesting plants - they bloom at the end of dead looking branches and then they leaf out.
Here is one in full bloom
And here it is after blooming, all leafed out:
The Fish Hook Barrel cactus (below) is well named, but maybe not as evocative as the so-called Horse Crippler cactus!
The mighty Saguaro never fails to enchant. These desert giants do not put out "arms" until they are over 70 years old!
This is the magnificent Hanging Fruit Cholla, so named due to all the pendulous fruits. Other chollas have equally fun names, such as the Jumping Cholla (watch out, it WILL jump on you if you get too close), the Pencil Cholla and the Teddy Bear Cholla.
Happy hikers Frank, Jim and Carol on the way home.
Next time - A Visit from Ron and Naomi
Audrey
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