Nothing defines desert in Arizona more clearly that Seguaro Cactus (pronounced say-where-oh).
It is a feature of the Sonora Desert, which stretches from New Mexico almost to the Pacific, from Mexico north to Needles AZ.
It is an interesting plant in many ways.
Its habitat is defined very clearly by climate: it must remain frost free during the day all year round.
It must have summer rains (monsoon).
They only grow from the top. If the top dies (say struck by lightning) it does not continue to grow upwards, though may well put out arms to continue growth
It grows very slowly, about one inch per year
Seguaro can live for more than 200 years, thus often exceeding 20ft tall.
They only flower after 45 years
They only grow 'arms' after 75 years
Their roots are rarely more than 6 inches below ground, but are as long as the Seguaro is tall.
A mature plant may weigh several tons
The seguaro is not just water inside, it has a wooden structure which is left behind when the plant dies.
All things considered it is a fascinating plant.
Great journey from Tombstone, in AZ, to the Napa Valley, in CA...............................................Including Jim and Connie's Party!
What we did!
This is the blog of our 12th Trip to the U.S.A.
On this trip we arrived in March and spent a week with our friends Connie NA Jim at their Bluegrass Party, in Florida.
We then flew to Phoenix, where we collected our rig and then explored Southern Arizona, from the cowboy city of Tombstone in the East, to the desert City of Yuma in the West.
Travelling north along the course of the Colorado river we visited the London Bridge at Lake Havasu before exploring the Mojave Desert, including some more of Rout 66 and Calico Ghost Town.
Moving North West through California we shared in the CBA Bluegrass Campout in Turlock, before visiting Bodega Bay to follow The Birds. After sampling the delights of the Napa Valley we joined in The Fiddle Convention at Cloverdale before storing our rig and returning home after seeing some friends in San Leandro, near San Francisco.
This blog gives a day to day record of many of the things we did on this trip.
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