Today is Thursday, December 19, 2019. It’s getting pretty close to Christmas. I got a wonderful gift from my girls, Heidi, Suzanne and Janet! Thank you ladies! I now have another Christmas Tree:
There was a box full of lots of little gifts. I wasn’t going to open it until Christmas, but I couldn’t wait. So now this is where it will live until I “hit the road” again.
Yesterday, we went on a little adventure. It was to the Saguaro National Park so I got another stamp on my Passport and a coin for my collection. We drove through it after watching the movie about the history of the Park. It was so beautiful. It is the place where the Saguaro Cactus lives. I can’t wait to get my car out here so I can go again with my bike. There is a great bike path through the desert! Here are a few pictures I took:
So according to the information from the National Park, “Saguaro Cacti may live to be 200 years or more. Death may come from freezing, lightning, disease, wind, old age or vandalism. The first arm on a saguaro usually appears between 60 & 70 years of age. Blossoms appear when the saguaro is about 35-40 years old. The seedling’s highly variable growth depends on the amount of precipitation. Young saguaros grow under protective ‘nurse trees’. After ripening, the saguaro seeds fall to the ground or are deposited by birds. After pollination, small fruits develop and ripen by July. Saguaro blossoms appear in May. Each blossom lasts only 24 hours.” What a story! Amazing! “Seeds that sprout near a mesquite or palo verde tree have the greatest chance for survival, as the “nurse plant” protects the young saguaro from the blazing sun, extreme temperatures, and some animals as well. After 5 years. a saguaro may reach 1 inch tall; after 15 years it may reach 1 foot. After 150 years (the average life span_ it may stand around 40-feet tall”.
So here is proof I was there:
Look at those beautiful mountains in the background! AMAZING!
While we were eating lunch a big thresher was eyeballing our food. I think you can see it in this picture:
I took a few more pictures of other types of cacti. I am amazed at the varieties of cacti in the desert. Bill S told me that Arizona is so large, that all of New England and the State of Pennsylvania can fit in it. I’m looking forward to exploring it. I think we may go out camping after Christmas. That will be fun!
And finally, this one looks like Medusa:
So today I’m going to pay for another month here at CT RV Resort in Benson, AZ. I’m going to give up my storage place in Naples for Daisy. If I take her back to Naples, which is unlikely, I’ll try for another storage place at Naples RV Resort. That place is really great!
