Brother Don is in Cottonwood this week getting some repairs done on his jeep. Apparently a mechanic in Cordes Junction is the only one in the country who could, or would, do the repair. So I kept the week open so I could join him in some back country adventures if it got repaired in time.
It didn't.
But we don't let things like that stop us. On Tuesday I headed up to Cottonwood in my jeep. We selected a destination and took off on Wednesday. Bloody Basin is a section of central Arizona where few people live. The name derives from either: a) the frequent battles between settlers and Indians; b) the slaughter of a flock of sheep by annoyed cowboys; c) the reddish hue of the rocks and soil found in the basin. Depends on what source you believe.
At any rate, there is a Sheep Bridge across the Verde River at the bottom of the basin. There is a road from the Interstate to the bridge. There are a lot of "roads" going over hills, and into canyons, going we know not where. And, that is the motivation. We don't like knowing not.
It is deer hunting season, and we encountered numerous deer hunters. We saw no deer. The hunters we spoke with saw no deer. But we saw javelinas. Usually, if you see javelinas it is dark or semi-dark, and you see one family group. This was broad daylight, and we saw several groups. We didn't think to count until too late.
But we estimate about 20 in the space of a few
hundred yards of well shaded creek bottom.
Then we got to the bridge. While we were exploring the area, I saw this saguaro who demonstrated his kindred spirit. Apparently, he has always wondered what was over that hill. Finally, after 150 years or so, he just decided to climb over the rocks for a look.
When we left, he was still searching for that foothold. Good luck.
6 comments:
That is a GREAT picture of a saguaro--such personality!
Yep, pretty funny cactus shot! And fun javelina shots too! Bill and Don were kind enough to let their little sister tag along on their Thursday Jeep drive to check out some of the other roads they saw on Wednesday! No deer that day, either - just a jackrabbit and a roadrunner and three red-tail hawks. Fun though!
I looked more closely at our rock-climbing saguaro and got a big surprise. He is growing a tertiary arm! Most people don't know that tertiary arms are as rare as crowns on saguaro. Many good healthy saguaros grow secondary arms. In fact, most do. But when you really look hard, and study lots of saguaros, you find very few tertiary arms. And most of those are associated with some trauma, usually to the primary or secondary arm. The only trauma I see on this fellow is that the uplifted, climbing foot, is actually the main trunk that has bent over and curved back up. What appears to be the body of the climber is actually the primary arm. What look like upraised arms are secondary arms. And growing back towards the camera, is a tertiary arm. Amazing.
Loved the climbing saguaro...I think you need to submit that photo in some kind of competition...would probably win.
Thanks for the info on tertiary arms...I think we had that discussion while driving one day last January.
hugs from here...jane
Bill, you are a fount of information if not wisdom! Who knew? Do you mind if I steal your saguaro photo and post it on Facebook?
Margie, what do you mean, not wisdom? You can't steal the photo, I already published it in an unprotected site. It is there for the taking.
Post a Comment